Does starting lineup matter? ‘It’s the rotation’ these days, Boise State coach says

Across the first seven games of the college basketball season, Boise State basketball appeared to have a clear idea of its starting lineup.

The Broncos started the season 5-2, with head coach Leon Rice using the same five starters each time: Tyson Degenhart, Alvaro Cardenas, Andrew Meadow, O’Mar Stanley and Dylan Anderson.

In the 13 games since then, the Broncos (13-7, 5-4 Mountain West) have used six different starting lineups — not once repeating the five that started the first seven games — and have a record of 8-5, including losing four of their past six.

“The interesting thing about this team is I’m still evaluating everything day to day to day,” Rice told the media on Monday afternoon ahead of a home game against Nevada (11-9, 3-6) on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Should it be a concern that Rice is still evaluating and tinkering with five weeks left in the regular season?

In this new age of college basketball, with the transfer portal overfilled every year and Name, Image and Likeness money putting so much flexibility into the players’ hands, Rice knows the game is changing.

“Part of the adjustment of the changing era is rosters are going to change ... you don’t have the, ‘I’ve known this guy for three years or two years,’” Rice said. “You don’t have as much of that anymore, and so it throws more variables into the equation.”

The NCAA permanently removed transfer eligibility rules that required student-athletes to sit out for a year if they go to a new school, allowing them to play immediately. It’s a rule that’s benefited Boise State, including this season: Senior guard Alvaro Cardenas spent three years at San Jose State before joining the Broncos.

Amid the shuffling lineups, Cardenas has been a constant, starting every game alongside senior forward Tyson Degenhart. Cardenas leads the team in assists (137), averaging 6.8 per game, and is third on the team in scoring (11.5 per game).

Junior forward Javan Buchanan and redshirt sophomore forward Dylan Anderson are also in their first seasons with the Broncos, transferring from Indiana Wesleyan and Arizona, respectively.

“I think this is more what you’re going to see in the future,” Rice said. “This is more of the norm, and not here’s our starting lineup on day one and it’s going to be the same for 30 games.”

In the past seven games, Rice has sent out four different starting lineups. He said moving forward there’s likely going to be even more of an emphasis on rotation and figuring out who’s playing well on that particular day. That’s not unusual in college hoops, with a focus on who finishes a game as opposed to who starts it, but it might be even more pronounced now.

Senior forward O’Mar Stanley is a perfect example.

Stanley is in his second year at Boise State, having started his college career at St. John’s. He started the first 13 games for the Broncos this season before going to the bench after a tough stretch. He returned to the starting lineup in Boise State’s 75-72 loss to Colorado State last week, but played just 12 minutes, scoring two points.

“It doesn’t really matter who starts, it’s the rotation, who’s out there most and who’s playing good,” Rice said. “I think you can slice it any way you want, but that’s what I’ll say. The reality is I have to figure out who’s playing good during each game and go there as much as I can.”

Nine Broncos have seen at least 230 minutes of action this year, with two more — freshman guard Pearson Carmichael and sophomore forward Emmanuel Ugbo — earning more minutes as the season progresses.

With 11 games remaining in the regular season, and Boise State sitting in the middle of the Mountain West standings, Rice acknowledged that the Broncos’ strength might be their depth. That will have to pay off if they want to make a run at a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

“Maybe I’m looking at it in the wrong way and maybe our strength is (having depth), and I have to just go out there and figure out who’s playing good that day,” Rice said.