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BOISE, Idaho -- For five seasons, Boise State coach Greg
Graham has been cobbling and extolling and finagling to get a team
into the NCAA tournament while grumbling fans accustomed to
football success wonder why the delay. This year he succeeded, and his reward is a first-round game
against perennial contender Louisville and its larger-than-the-game
coach, Rick Pitino. "He would not be my first choice of a guy to challenge in the
tournament," Graham said. The Broncos (25-8), champions of the Western Athletic
Conference, received the 14th seed in the East Regional and play
Louisville (24-8), the third seed, on Friday in Birmingham, Ala. "They're a veteran ball club," said Pitino. "It's as tough a
first-round matchup as I've had since I've been a coach." Seven of Pitino's 22 years as a coach have been with Louisville.
He won the 1996 NCAA Championship with Kentucky and made it to the
Final Four with Louisville in 2005. Pitino also had stints in the NBA with the New York Knicks
(1987-1989) and Boston Celtics (1997-2001). The last time Boise State and Louisville met was the opening
round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament. Louisville won 67-58. "Louisville has a very good team, very athletic," Graham said,
"and they're big. We're going have to battle them inside and try
and control the paint." Center David Padgett, a 6-11, 250-pound senior, leads Louisville
with 11.7 points per game. Three other starters average more than
10 points a game, including 6-9, 220-pound sophomore Earl Clark at
10.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. "Our defense is going to be tested a lot in this game because
of the way (Boise State) plays," said Padgett, who missed 10 games
after breaking his right kneecap. Pitino is concerned about Boise State's uptempo game, a style of
play he said is not used much in the Big East Conference but that
Louisville experienced in a 78-76 loss to Brigham Young in
November. "One of our weaknesses has always been transition defense,"
said Pitino, whose team lost in the second round of the Big East
Championship. "It can't be a weakness against Boise State, or
we'll have the same result we had against BYU." The Broncos can run the floor and in the halfcourt present
additional problems with 6-9 Matt Nelson and 6-7 Tyler Tiedeman,
who can play in the low post and average 15.6 and 14 points a game
respectively. "We need to make shots," said Graham. "When we shoot the
ball, we're hard to beat. We like to put the ball up." Reggie Larry, a 6-6 senior, leads the Broncos with 19.3 points
and 9.3 rebounds per game with his above-the-rim style and shooting
ability. "Reggie is more like their guys," Graham said. "He's just so
athletic and can just do some things." Guard Matt Bauscher, a 6-2 mostly shooting guard, averages 9.4
shots a game while, sophomore Anthony Thomas, a 6-0 guard, keeps
defenses honest with his ability to drive to the basket. Graham brushed off what making it to the NCAA Tournament meant
for him. "I don't know so much for me," he said. "It just shows we're
doing things right and our program is heading in the right
direction."
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