# 2021–22 Boise State Broncos men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Boise State Broncos men's basketball team represented Boise State University in the Mountain West Conference during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by twelfth-year head coach Leon Rice, the Broncos played their home games on campus at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho. They finished the regular season at 24–7 (15–3 in Mountain West, first).
The top seed in the conference tournament, Boise State defeated Nevada, Wyoming, and San Diego State to win the title and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Seeded eighth in the West region, the Broncos traveled west to Portland, but lost in the first round to Memphis and finished at 27–8.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Broncos finished the 2020–21 regular season at 18–7 (14–6 in Mountain West, fourth). They lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament to Nevada, and received an at-large bid of the National Invitation Tournament. The Broncos traveled to Texas and defeated SMU in the first round, but fell to eventual champion Memphis in the quarterfinals to finish the season at 19–9 overall.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| RayJ Dennis | 10 | G | 6'2" | 177 | Sophomore | Oswego, IL | Transferred to Toledo |
| Donovan Ivory | 15 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Sophomore | Appleton, WI | Transferred to Green Bay |
| Derrick Alston Jr. | 21 | G | 6'9" | 190 | RS Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| RJ Keene #44 SG | The Woodlands, TX | Concordia Lutheran High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Nov 20, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Tyson Degenhart PF | Spokane, WA | Mead High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Nov 20, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Kobe Young SF | Pasco, WA | Chiawana High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Apr 20, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 22, 2021. ||||||

## Roster

Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Utah Valley | W 76–56 | 1–0 | 18 – Doutrive | 7 – Kigab | 3 – Kigab | ExtraMile Arena (7,457) Boise, ID |
| November 13, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UC Irvine | L 50–58 | 1–1 | 14 – Shaver Jr. | 10 – Armus | 3 – Akot | Bren Events Center (2,197) Irvine, CA |
| November 18, 2021* 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 22 St. Bonaventure Charleston Classic Quarterfinals | L 61–67 | 1–2 | 24 – Akot | 10 – Armus | 3 – Tied | TD Arena Charleston, SC |
| November 19, 2021* 10:00 a.m., ESPNU | | vs. Temple Charleston Classic consolation round | W 82–62 | 2–2 | 16 – Akot | 6 – Doutrive | 6 – Tied | TD Arena Charleston, SC |
| November 21, 2021* 11:00 a.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Ole Miss Charleston Classic Consolation – 5th Place | W 60–50 | 3–2 | 13 – Shaver Jr. | 13 – Armus | 2 – Shaver Jr. | TD Arena (2,407) Charleston, SC |
| November 26, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Cal State Bakersfield | L 39–46 | 3–3 | 15 – Doutrive | 9 – Armus | 2 – Shaver Jr. | ExtraMile Arena (7,429) Boise, ID |
| November 30, 2021* 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | Saint Louis | L 82–86 $^{OT}$ | 3–4 | 27 – Kigab | 10 – Armus | 3 – Tied | ExtraMile Arena (6,765) Boise, ID |
| December 3, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Tulsa | W 63–58 | 4–4 | 17 – Shaver Jr. | 8 – Shaver Jr. | 7 – Shaver Jr. | ExtraMile Arena (6,684) Boise, ID |
| December 7, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cal State Northridge | W 74–48 | 5–4 | 21 – Degenhart | 7 – Shaver Jr. | 7 – Akot | Matadome (448) Northridge, CA |
| December 10, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Prairie View A&M | W 97–60 | 6–4 | 32 – Kigab | 10 – Kigab | 3 – Shaver Jr. | ExtraMile Arena (6,640) Boise, ID |
| December 14, 2021* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Santa Clara | W 72–60 | 7–4 | 18 – Degenhart | 12 – Armus | 4 – Akot | ExtraMile Arena (6,187) Boise, ID |
| December 19, 2021* 4:00 p.m., MW Network | | Montana Tech | W 88–57 | 8–4 | 16 – Akot | 15 – Armus | 7 – Akot | ExtraMile Arena (6,429) Boise, ID |
| December 22, 2021* 6:00 p.m., P12N | | vs. Washington State Spokane Showcase | W 58–52 | 9–4 | 19 – Kigab | 6 – Tied | 1 – Tied | Spokane Arena (4,018) Spokane, WA |
| Mountain West regular season |||||||||
| December 28, 2021 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | Fresno State | W 65–55 | 10–4 (1–0) | 18 – Shaver Jr. | 8 – Kigab | 6 – Kigab | ExtraMile Arena Boise, ID |
| January 12, 2022 8:30 p.m., FS1 | | at Nevada | W 85–70 | 11–4 (2–0) | 28 – Shaver Jr. | 12 – Armus | 5 – Akot | Lawlor Events Center (6,386) Reno, NV |
| January 15, 2022 3:30 p.m., FS1 | | at New Mexico | W 71–63 | 12–4 (3–0) | 18 – Shaver Jr. | 13 – Armus | 3 – Akot | The Pit (8,279) Albuquerque, NM |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Air Force | W 62–56 | 13–4 (4–0) | 19 – Degenhart | 5 – Kigab | 3 – Kigab | ExtraMile Arena (6,993) Boise, ID |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Utah State Rescheduled from January 4 | W 62–59 | 14–4 (5–0) | 22 – Armus | 19 – Armus | 2 – Tied | Smith Spectrum (7,548) Logan, UT |
| January 22, 2022 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at San Diego State | W 42–37 | 15–4 (6–0) | 14 – Degenhart | 8 – Tied | 2 – Akot | Viejas Arena (11,357) San Diego, CA |
| January 25, 2022 , Stadium | | Wyoming | W 65–62 | 16–4 (7–0) | 18 – Kigab | 5 – Tied | 5 – Kigab | ExtraMile Arena (8,292) Boise, ID |
| January 28, 2022 9:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Fresno State | W 68–63 $^{OT}$ | 17–4 (8–0) | 16 – Akot | 7 – Akot | 5 – Akot | Save Mart Center (8,250) Fresno, CA |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Wyoming Rescheduled from January 1 | L 65–72 | 17–5 (8–1) | 26 – Kigab | 6 – Armus | 2 – Tied | Arena-Auditorium (7,063) Laramie, WY |
| February 5, 2022 4:00 p.m., Stadium | | San José State | W 76–60 | 18–5 (9–1) | 23 – Degenhart | 11 – Kigab | 4 – Rice | ExtraMile Arena (10,456) Boise, ID |
| February 11, 2022 9:00 p.m., FS1 | | UNLV | W 69–63 | 19–5 (10–1) | 18 – Kigab | 7 – Tied | 3 – Shaver Jr. | ExtraMile Arena (7,660) Boise, ID |
| February 13, 2022 2:00 p.m., FS1 | | Colorado State Rescheduled from January 7 | L 74–77 $^{OT}$ | 19–6 (10–2) | 17 – Rice | 8 – Rice | 5 – Shaver Jr. | ExtraMile Arena (6,684) Boise, ID |
| February 16, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Air Force | W 85–59 | 20–6 (11–2) | 20 – Shaver Jr. | 6 – Degenhart | 6 – Armus | Clune Arena (1,850) Colorado Springs, CO |
| February 19, 2022 4:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Utah State | W 68–57 | 21–6 (12–2) | 20 – Shaver Jr | 7 – Degenhart | 2 – Shaver Jr | ExtraMile Arena (10,252) Boise, ID |
| February 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | San Diego State | W 58–57 | 22–6 (13–2) | 21 – Kigab | 7 – Tied | 2 – Shaver Jr. | ExtraMile Arena (9,193) Boise, ID |
| February 26, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UNLV | W 86–76 | 23–6 (14–2) | 27 – Shaver, Jr. | 6 – Tied | 3 – Akot | Thomas & Mack Center (7,136) Paradise, NV |
| March 1, 2022 7:00 p.m., FS2 | | Nevada | W 73–67 | 24–6 (15–2) | 23 – Kigab | 8 – Armus | 3 – Tied | ExtraMile Arena (11,954) Boise, ID |
| March 5, 2022 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at Colorado State | L 68–71 | 24–7 (15–3) | 15 – Kigab | 6 – Kigab | 5 – Kigab | Moby Arena (8,083) Fort Collins, CO |
| Mountain West tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBSSN | (1) | vs. (8) Nevada Quarterfinals | W 71–69 | 25–7 | 22 – Akot | 8 – Shaver, Jr. | 6 – Kigab | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| March 11, 2022 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | (1) | vs. (4) Wyoming Semifinals | W 68–61 | 26–7 | 22 – Kigab | 13 – Armus | 4 – Kigab | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| March 12, 2022 4:00 p.m., CBS | (1) | vs. (3) San Diego State Championship | W 53–52 | 27–7 | 13 – Degenhart | 9 – Rice | 3 – Tied | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 2022* 11:45 a.m., TNT | (8 W) No. 23 | vs. (9 W) Memphis First Round | L 53–64 | 27–8 | 20 – Kigab | 11 – Armus | 2 – Tied | Moda Center Portland, OR |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV^ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.