Months before Boise State captured its very first Mountain West Conference title and punched a ticket to March Madness for the first time in seven years, the team was somewhat at a crossroads. Through seven games, they played below .500 with four non-conference losses, and hopes of appearing in the NCAA Tournament probably seemed more like wishful thinking.
But the Broncos responded to that adversity once the calendar flipped from November to December, rattling off 14 straight wins -- finishing 27-7 overall -- and securing the MWC's regular season title. Last weekend, Boise State cut down the nets in its conference tournament, and as an 8th seed in a loaded West Region, they'll face No. 9 Memphis in the opening round of the dance.
"I declared [the 3-4 start] rock bottom. When you hit rock bottom, you've got to make some big changes -- and we did," Boise State head coach Leon Rice told The Zach Gelb Show on Tuesday. "We inserted Tyson Degenhart into our starting lineup. A freshman, who I knew was going to be really good... I think that really helped the guys. And then we settled into a good rotation, settled into understanding that our defense was going to win us games.
"The offense would come eventually, and it did. It really was just that, but we made some drastic changes to do that. We were 3-4, it just wasn't clicking... It just didn't feel organic, it wasn't coming naturally... We weren't clicking. As a coach, you can kind of feel that and see it. So, 3-4 wasn't where we wanted to be. We knew we had a lot of talent. But I wasn't going to keep doing the same thing and expect different results, that's for sure."
Boise State's leading scorer has been forward Abu Kigab, who's averaged 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists over 34 games. The Broncos didn't earn an AP top-25 finish because of their offense, which ranks 265th in the nation. They've relied heavily on their defense, which is allowing just 60.8 points per game (13th in nation).
March Madness officially started on Tuesday, with the traditional 'First Four' games in Dayton. The Broncos are scheduled to take the court against the Tigers on Thursday afternoon, and according to FiveThirtyEight projections, they currently have a 48-percent chance to reach the second round for the first time in program history. In seven tournament appearances, they're 0-7.
The entire Broncos basketball conversation between Rice and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.