Boise State starts season with a flourish. Here’s what we learned in blowout

BOISE — Boise State men’s basketball team opened its 2024-25 season in style Wednesday night, showing it is not ready to take any steps backward from last season.

The Broncos (1-0) defeated Oakland 87-43 at ExtraMile Arena in front a record crowd of 10,626 for a home opener.

The Golden Grizzlies (1-1) stunned the basketball world last March when they upset Kentucky 80-76 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to N.C. State in the second round.

Oakland lost two of its top three scorers from that win, including star Jack Gohlke, who scored 32 points and now plays professionally in Europe.

It might not have mattered even if Gohlke had been draining 3-pointers, his specialty.

Three transfers saw the court for the Broncos, who made their third straight NCAA tourney in March but needed to replace many key players. Senior point guard Alvaro Cardenas (25 minutes, nine points) and redshirt sophomore forward Dylan Anderson (20 minutes, 13 points) played key roles.

Cardenas arrived from San Jose State, while Anderson transferred in from Arizona. It was also a good night for a couple of Bronco favorites. Senior forward O’Mar Stanley put up 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while senior forward Tyson Degenhart, the Mountain West preseason player of the year, scored 13 points.

Here’s what we learned about the Broncos after the first 40 minutes of the long season.

Cardenas was expected to be the immediate replacement for long-time Boise State guard Max Rice, and if Wednesday’s game was anything to judge, he’s the Broncos’ guy moving forward.

Cardenas told reporters Tuesday that a big part of his game is “getting other players involved.”

In his Boise State debut, he dished out a team-high six assists and turned the ball over only once. Redshirt junior guard RJ Keene also had six assists.

“The guys all believe in him,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said of Cardenas. “They know they can get him the ball, and he’s going to get it to them in the right spots.”

The addition of Cardenas also saw Boise State employ a faster offense than fans may be used to. The rapid pace of play saw the Broncos go 33-for-62 (53%) from the field, and the intensity also helped force Oakland into a quick pace and an ugly 3-for-26 (11.5%) on 3-pointers, which is how the Golden Grizzlies make their living.

“This is a team that can wear some people out by running and getting to the post early and spreading them out with their shooting,” Rice said of his team.

It wasn’t just Cardenas sharing the ball. The Broncos managed 23 assists on 33 made field goals, while keeping Oakland to just two assists on atrocious 18-for-66 shooting (27%).

Seven of the 10 Boise State players who saw the court registered at least one assist.

“That was definitely an emphasis we had before the game and all week, because we knew they were going to play a zone,” said sophomore forward Andrew Meadow, who finished with three assists.

Rice said that Boise State’s goal Wednesday night was 25 assists, and he expects this year’s team to be heavy on passing plays.

Meadow earned just his second start for Boise State against Oakland, and it seemed absolutely deserved.

In his freshman campaign, Meadow shot 17-for-52 (32.7%) from beyond the arc — a pretty respectable number. Then he took 50,000 shots over the offseason to work on his game, he said following Wednesday’s contest.

That practice showed. Meadow shot 6-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-6 on 3-pointers, and tied for a team high with Stanley, scoring 15 points. Boise State made 9-of-20 treys and shot 53.2% for the game.

“Just being able to get into a rhythm, getting up and down a little more, and just the work I put in the offseason definitely helped me evolve my game even more to the outside,” Meadow said.