Boise State Broncos
vs. Saint Mary's Gaels

NCAA Division I basketball is coming to Eastern Idaho!  Hero Arena at the Mountain America Center will host Boise State and Saint Mary’s College, Dec. 1, in Idaho Falls as a neutral site game.  This is the first Division I basketball game to be held at the arena.

The perennial postseason teams, who are both coming off NCAA Tournament appearances each of the last two seasons, will meet on a neutral court – aiding both their postseason resumes.

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com. 

“This is an historic day for the Mountain America Center and the community of Idaho Falls,” comments Erik Hudson, the venue’s General Manager. “This is a basketball obsessed town and to have this potential juggernaut top 25 matchup is going to be an exciting day for us all in December. Securing this neutral site game will show off the magnitude of our facility and the enthusiasm of the local fans will be a memorable one for the players and coaching staff.”

“Boise State athletics has a strong and passionate fanbase in Eastern Idaho,” Boise State director of athletics Jeramiah Dickey said. “We’re excited to be able to connect with Bronco Nation across the state of Idaho. This is a great neutral-site opportunity, and I’m grateful to our men’s basketball coaching staff for continuing to be innovative in their approach to scheduling marquee opponents as we seek a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.”

The Broncos are looking to make three straight NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history, and they come off the best two-year stretch in Boise State history with 51 victories since the start of the 2021-22 season. Leon Rice returns for his 14th season at the helm of the Broncos as the winningest coach in school history with four NCAA Tournament appearances to his name. Returning for Boise State are All-Mountain West selections Tyson Degenhart and Max Rice, alongside starter Chibuzo Agbo. Broncos will field an experienced squad in 2023-24, with the roster featuring a combined 564 appearances and 273 starts at the NCAA level entering the season.

Saint Mary’s is projected to return three of their five starting players from the NCAA Tournament. Ducas will join Aidan Mahaney and Mitchell Saxen as returning starters, with Augustas Marciulionis likely to enter the starting lineup at point guard. Joshua Jefferson and Mason Forbes figure to both see time at the power forward position, vacated from the graduation of Kyle Bowen. In the three returning starters (Ducas, Mahaney, Saxen), the Gaels are returning 38 points per game from their starting lineup. Saint Mary’s went 27-8 in 2022-23 and were ranked in the top 20 in the NET throughout much of the season, en route to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.