BOISE, Idaho – The Boise State men’s basketball team announced the beginning of a home-and-home series with UC Irvine, Thursday. The first game will take place in Boise this coming season on Nov. 15, 2019, while the return game in Irvine, Calif., will be played during the 2020-21 season.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to have a 30-win team from last year, a team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, on our home schedule,” head coach Leon Rice said. “Similar to Loyola a few years back, this will give us an early opportunity to test our team. It’s a great home game that should excite Bronco Nation.”
The first game in Boise expects to be one of the bigger non-conference home games in recent history, as Boise State and UC Irvine have both logged 20-win seasons in six of the last seven seasons dating back to 2012-13.
UC Irvine is coming off a 2018-19 season where it set a school record with 31 wins and earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters posted their first NCAA Tournament victory in school history with a 70-64 upset of fourth-seeded Kansas State in the first round.
The last time Boise State hosted a non-conference opponent that played in the NCAA Tournament the previous season was when No. 24 Oregon came to Boise on Dec. 12, 2015. The Broncos defeated the Ducks that day, 74-72.
Boise State and UC Irvine are currently tied 6-6 in their all-time series. The two teams most recently faced each other four years ago as the Broncos earned a 71-64 victory over the Anteaters in the first round of the DirecTV Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, Calif., on Nov. 26, 2015.
The two teams were conference opponents for a five-season span when Boise State joined the Big West from 1996-2001. The series was split 3-3 in those conference games.
Looking ahead to 2019-20, Boise State will return 11 players from the 2018-19 roster. All-Mountain West third-team selection Justinian Jessup and All-Mountain West honorable mention Derrick Alston headline what should be one of the most experienced teams in the Mountain West.
Other rising seniors joining Jessup include Marcus Dickinson, Alex Hobbs and RJ Williams. Robin Jorch will return from a medical redshirt and play 2019-20 as a redshirt senior.
Riley Abercrombie, Mikey Frazier, Bing Huang and Max Rice are set to begin their redshirt freshman seasons while mid-year transfer Abu Kigab will be eligible to play in mid-December as a junior.
The newcomers include freshman RayJ Dennis and transfers Emmanuel Akot, Marcus Shaver Jr. and Mladen Armus – all three of which will sit out 2019-20 due to transfer rules.
The Broncos will announce the rest of their non-conference schedule later in the summer.
`broncosports.com
“It’s a great opportunity for us to have a 30-win team from last year, a team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, on our home schedule,” head coach Leon Rice said. “Similar to Loyola a few years back, this will give us an early opportunity to test our team. It’s a great home game that should excite Bronco Nation.”
The first game in Boise expects to be one of the bigger non-conference home games in recent history, as Boise State and UC Irvine have both logged 20-win seasons in six of the last seven seasons dating back to 2012-13.
UC Irvine is coming off a 2018-19 season where it set a school record with 31 wins and earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters posted their first NCAA Tournament victory in school history with a 70-64 upset of fourth-seeded Kansas State in the first round.
The last time Boise State hosted a non-conference opponent that played in the NCAA Tournament the previous season was when No. 24 Oregon came to Boise on Dec. 12, 2015. The Broncos defeated the Ducks that day, 74-72.
Boise State and UC Irvine are currently tied 6-6 in their all-time series. The two teams most recently faced each other four years ago as the Broncos earned a 71-64 victory over the Anteaters in the first round of the DirecTV Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, Calif., on Nov. 26, 2015.
The two teams were conference opponents for a five-season span when Boise State joined the Big West from 1996-2001. The series was split 3-3 in those conference games.
Looking ahead to 2019-20, Boise State will return 11 players from the 2018-19 roster. All-Mountain West third-team selection Justinian Jessup and All-Mountain West honorable mention Derrick Alston headline what should be one of the most experienced teams in the Mountain West.
Other rising seniors joining Jessup include Marcus Dickinson, Alex Hobbs and RJ Williams. Robin Jorch will return from a medical redshirt and play 2019-20 as a redshirt senior.
Riley Abercrombie, Mikey Frazier, Bing Huang and Max Rice are set to begin their redshirt freshman seasons while mid-year transfer Abu Kigab will be eligible to play in mid-December as a junior.
The newcomers include freshman RayJ Dennis and transfers Emmanuel Akot, Marcus Shaver Jr. and Mladen Armus – all three of which will sit out 2019-20 due to transfer rules.
The Broncos will announce the rest of their non-conference schedule later in the summer.
`broncosports.com
