Boise State has been having a big year in the athletic program--driven primarily by the football program and their (recovered) success on the blue turf this year.

Over the past couple of seasons, while the Broncos were winning overall--they were not the standout football team once known in the nation as THE 'non-power' program. This season, they set the record straight and made it back to a Fiesta Bowl in the first-ever College Football Playoff.

As that season has come to an end, the baton has been passed to the other high-profile program at the university: men's basketball.

In the past three seasons, Boise State has been in the March Madness tournament three out of three times. Not bad for a program known for football. The team has been lead by head coach Leon Rice, a product of Mark Few's impressive pedigree out of Gonzaga University.

Can Boise State go four for four? Odds aren't looking great.

Currently ranked 5th in the Mountain West Conference, the only guaranteed route for any team in the conference to make it to the big dance is to win the conference tournament for that automatic bid.

Then, it's up to the pollsters to find the best teams, if any, that could qualify in the conference.

In recent years, the Mountain West has sent several teams to the tournament other than their automatic qualifier but as a whole, the conference has not performed well.

Boise State need to win the Mountain West.

Remaining this season are four teams ranked above Boise State and some others that should be wins for the Broncos. A signature win is needed here--or it may be the NIT for Boise State this year.

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