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Thursday Special: March 12, 2026.
Broadcasting great Red Barber once said never to predict sports. Who could have predicted that? The hottest team in the Mountain West delivered its worst performance of the season, as Boise State was shocked by San Jose State 84-74 Wednesday night in the first round of the MW Tournament. You never know when this Broncos offense will dry up, and it did at the worst time. Not that the defense was anything to write home about. If this game was going to follow the regular season pattern between these two teams, Boise State would wear down the Spartans in the second half. SJSU did not get the memo, playing with reckless abandon down the stretch to become the first No. 11 seed to win a tournament game in six years. The program Boise State couldn’t wait to leave behind this year got the last laugh.
DEPTH-CHALLENGED SPARTANS RULE THE NIGHT
Boise State was 0-10 this season when trailing by halftime going into the game. The Broncos were down 41-39 to the Spartans at the intermission Wednesday night after a momentum-turning SJSU three-pointer at the halftime buzzer. But hey, this was San Jose State we were talking about. The Spartans played only seven guys, and two of them logged all 40 minutes. They had nothing to lose, though, and they didn’t. You could go on and on about how mediocre San Jose State is this season. The Spartans won only three conference games, and two of them were over Air Force. They’re 9-23 overall now. They just won only their fifth game against Boise State in 49 tries. But you talk about want-to—San Jose State had it.
AND THAT’S A WRAP?
After that, it sounds like Boise State will pass on a postseason opportunity. Wow. If that’s the case, Javan Buchanan went out with a great effort in his final game as a Bronco—a double-double with 28 points and 13 rebounds. But Buchanan was 0-for-5 from three-point range, a symptom of one of the Broncos’ biggest problems Wednesday night. It was a quiet game for Drew Fielder, the reigning Mountain West Player of the Week, who scored 12 points but didn’t have a basket until the first minute of the second half. There weren’t a lot of A-games around.
THE OTHER THREE FAVORITES DID WIN
Elsewhere in the Mountain West first round Wednesday, it was all chalk. UNLV edged Wyoming 73-70 to advance to the quarterfinals against Utah State, which was swept by the Rebels this season. The Nevada-Air Force game was over early—the Wolf Pack romped 80-45 to advance versus Grand Canyon. And Colorado State got past Fresno State 67-63 to get to the quarters against San Diego State. None of these matchups is a gimme for the higher seed, and history tells us that sometimes the advantage goes to the team that has already played a game. Oh, and San Jose State faces New Mexico late tonight.
FAREWELLS FOR THE FUTURE PAC-12ERS
There are conference exits left and right this week, as members of the new Pac-12 say their basketball sayonaras. Boise State’s didn’t go so well. But Gonzaga did what it always seems to do, winning its 23rd and final West Coast Conference championship Tuesday night by running past Santa Clara 79-68. The Zags are on their way to a 27th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Not to forget the Gonzaga women, who won the WCC title with a 76-66 win earlier Tuesday over future Pac-12 conference mate Oregon State. The Colorado State women aced their Mountain West final with a 56-42 victory over Air Force Tuesday night. Now, will one of the three remaining Pac-12 departees win the MW Tournament on the men’s side?
THERE IS INDEED A DOUBLE VANDAL WHAMMY
They might still be partying in downtown Boise. Thirty-six years after their last trip to the Big Dance, the Idaho Vandals punched their ticket last night with a 77-66 upset of Montana in the Big Sky men’s championship game in Idaho Central Arena. Isaiah Brickner put up 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, giving Vandal Nation a reason to watch TV Sunday afternoon. Idaho had to win four games in five days to get there. It is somethin’ else.
The Idaho women have their own appointment television to look forward to after holding off Montana State 60-57 Wednesday afternoon to earn their first Big Sky title and NCAA Tournament berth in 10 years. The victory was the Vandals’ 18th straight and gave them their school-record 29th win against five losses. Idaho’s Arthur Moreira was already historic as the first Brazilian head coach ever in Division I hoops.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by FRANZ WITTE GARDEN CENTER…where there’s always something happening!
March 12, 1966, 60 years ago today: In the last race of his 40-year career, Johnny Longden wins the San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita, aboard George Royal. Longden retired with a then-record 6,032 victories. Did you know? Longden was born in England, and his father emigrated to Canada in 1909. The dad saved money to get the rest of the family there in 1912, but a slow train caused them to miss their planned journey on the Titanic.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
