Boise State Wrestlers Host #20 Oregon State Friday

Boise State's young wrestling squad has been improving.  Whether it's enough to give Oregon State, the nation's #20 team, a tough fight may be another story. 

OSU put away the Broncos in Corvallis earlier this year 32-10 and features five nationally-ranked wrestlers.  Sounds a lot like Boise State in past years. 

Admission is just $6 for adults, $4 for youth and senior citizens.  Action begins Friday night at 7 at Taco Bell Arena.

Bronco Gymnasts #13 in This Week's Gymnastics Poll

Rank	Team Name	Team Ave	Region	Conference		High
1	Arkansas	196.775	SC	SEC	1	197.225	-
-	UCLA	196.775	W	PAC 12	1	197.575	-
3	Utah	196.713	NC	PAC 12	1	197.400	-
4	Nebraska	196.575	SC	Big 10	1	197.375	-
5	Oklahoma	196.433	SC	Big 12	1	197.450	-
6	Alabama	196.325	C	SEC	1	196.475	-
7	Georgia	196.275	SE	SEC	1	196.525	-
8	Florida	196.158	SE	SEC	1	196.275	-
9	Penn State	196.000	NE	Big 10	1	196.125	-
10	Oregon State	195.675	W	PAC 12	1	196.525	-
11	Ohio State	195.483	C	Big 10	1	195.900	-
12	Stanford	195.413	W	PAC 12	1	195.925	-
13	Boise State	195.288	W	Mountain West	1	196.175	-
14	Illinois-Champaign	194.900	SC	Big 10	1	195.075	-
15	Arizona	194.763	SC	PAC 12	1	195.150	-
16	Auburn	194.725	C	SEC	1	195.600	-
17	L.S.U.	194.617	C	SEC	1	196.325	-
18	Denver	194.517	NC	WAC	1	195.225	-
19	Michigan	194.325	NE	Big 10	1	195.500	-
20	Missouri	194.308	SC	Big 12	1	195.525	-
-	North Carolina State	194.308	SE	EAGL	1	194.675	-
22	Washington	194.108	W	PAC 12	1	195.725	-
23	Iowa	194.058	NC	Big 10	1	195.075	-
24	Maryland-College Park	194.008	SE	EAGL	1	194.225	-
25	West Virginia	194.000	SE	EAGL	1	195.100	-

Boise State Tennis Team Travels for Annual California Trip

Once again, we'll have a good indication of how good #48 Boise State's tennis team is.  When they've gone into California and won their matches, they make the NCAA Tournament.  When they lose one or both, they don't.  Lately, it's been that simple.

The Broncos are in Stanford, California for play in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.  Boise State will play the Broncos of #50 Santa Clara Friday at 11 a.m.  #6 Stanford meets #62 Saint Mary's in the other match.  The winners of those two matches will meet in the Kickoff Weekend championships with the losers also squaring off. 

Damian Hume is ranked#25 in singles while James Meredith is #31.

UNLV Survives Boise State 77-72 in Overtime

Mike Moser had 18 points and 21 rebounds as #12 UNLV held off a determined Boise State team for a 77-72 win in overtime last night in Taco Bell Arena. 

Chase Stanback added 15 points and Oscar Bellfield had 13 for the Runnin' Rebels who couldn't shake the Broncos in the second half.  Coach Leon Rice's team battled back to tie the game and send it into overtime.  but UNLV took care of business in the extra period as good teams do.  Bellfield netted a three-pointer that put Vegas up 70-65 with 2:03 left and Moser sank two free throws in the final minute to seal the win, UNLV's 19th on the season against just three defeats.

Boise State, meanwhile, is still seeking its first Mountain West Conference win, despite the fact that they can play well enough to take UNLV to overtime.  They have the start of the game to thank, as UNLV ran out to a 12-0 lad while Boise State missed their first seven shots.  Derrick Marks scored a career-high 21 to lead the Broncos and Thomas Bropleh came off the bench to score 17 points and added 13 rebounds.

Boise State had a brief lead 33-31 but Moser hit three pointers, Kendall Wallace buried a trey and Bellfield's layup on a fast break put the Runnin' Rebels up 48-39 with 12:51 left.  Tre Nichols then scored nine points in the next five minutes as the Broncos went back on top 56-55.  Another three from Bellfield with 4:39 remaining gave UNLV the lead 63-59 and Brice Massamba was able to hit one of two free throws on the next possession to build a 64-59 lead.

Once again, the Broncos battled back.  Anthony Drmic hit a three pointer and Marks hit two free throws to tie the game at 64 with 59 seconds left.  Both teams had shots in the final minute but couldn't break the tie.

Despite the poor start, Boise State proved that playing good defense can keep you in a game, even if it is against the nation's 12th-best team.  A baseline drive that Marks finished with a punctuating dunk led his team back, and his jumper with 43 seconds left gave Boise State its first lead of the game 27-26.  Just Hawkins gave UNLV the lead at halftime 29-27 on a three-pointer with eight seconds left.

Boise State hosts Wyoming Saturday night.  It will be interesting to see if Boise State plays as well as they did last night.  If they do, they'll get a double digit win. 

Jacksons Invite Draws Top Talent

The prestige of hosting the NCAA National Indoor Track & Field Championships has its benefits.

Once again, some of the top talent in the country is coming to Idaho for a regular-season meet (They want to get a feel for the track they'll be competing on for Nationals.)  Georgia is the top draw at the Jacksons Invite this week; the Bulldog women are #13 in the nation while the UGA men are #23.  Other nationally-ranked teams include Utah, Utah State, Idaho State and Weber State, while 12 other collegiate teams will be in town.  Over 600 student-athletes are scheduled to compete.

Kurt Felix, Boise State's all-around athlete and great guy, is ranked #8 in the nation in the heptathlon and 22nd in the high jump, while Eetu Viitala is #13 in the long jump and Trevor Kraychir is 16th in the weight throw.  Mele Vaisima (#24 in the weight throw) and Alexi Morton (#25 in the pentathlon) are the only Bronco women in the Top 25.

The women's pentathlon will get things rolling Friday at 10:30.  The 60-meter dash starts the men's heptathlon Friday morning at 11.  Individual events kick off at 4 p.m. Friday.  There is a full schedule for Saturday, with events beginning at 9 a.m.  Tickets are just $5 per session with students and senior citizens admitted for $3.  An even better is the All Sports Pass, which I helped initiate at Boise State.  For only $50, the Pass entitles to a year's admission of all wrestling, softball, women's basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, soccer and outdoor track and field.