With more league games, Boise State basketball shows needed depth in ‘war of attrition’

For the first time in Mountain West play this season, Boise State senior Alvaro Cardenas got to relax on the bench.

The starting point guard played just 28 minutes in Boise State’s 96-55 win over Wyoming on Tuesday night, featuring for just nine minutes in the second half of a blowout victory.

“It was amazing,” he said after the game. “I enjoyed sitting on the bench a little bit. I’m glad I was able to get a little bit of rest, but honestly, my body feels great.”

Cardenas has had moments to rest this season — such as the 27 minutes played against San Diego State because of foul trouble, or 22 minutes in the early-season lopsided win over Corban.

All of that pales in comparison to the rest that leading scorer Tyson Degenhart got Tuesday night. The senior forward’s 17 minutes of action were his lowest total since his sixth game as a Bronco way back in 2021, when he was a freshman.

Neither player will lose much sleep knowing they could have been on the floor a lot longer. Nor will their head coach. That’s because this season features a Mountain West schedule that for the first time has every team playing 20 league games — meaning you see every team twice.

“It’s a war of attrition,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said Tuesday night.

From Dec. 28 to Jan. 29, Boise State’s schedule has nine games, an average of a game every 3 1/2 days. And what has been a Tuesday-Saturday rotation is about to include a bunch of Wednesday and Friday games, with travel thrown in.

“We played Saturday, we flew home, we got prepped on Sunday, we practiced,” Rice said, referring to a Saturday night game at Utah State. “You’re trying to squeeze all this in in such a short time and keep your guys fresh.”

It’s a big reason why Rice has been open to giving minutes to a wider range of players. He also has juggled starting lineups some.

Nine Broncos have played at least 240 minutes this season. That probably will become 11 before too long, as freshman guard Pearson Carmichael and sophomore forward Emmanuel Ugbo continue to earn minutes. Boise State burned Carmichael’s redshirt three games ago, while Ugbo got his first start against Wyoming.

“I think when you play a 20-game league schedule, the grind of that, that’s where our depth is going (to show),” Rice said.

The Broncos (13-5) have started conference play 5-2 and are looking up at just No. 22 Utah State (16-1, 6-0) and New Mexico (14-4, 6-1), their next opponent.

“They’ve got a great look, they’re playing great and have some of the best players in the league,” Rice said of the Lobos. “It seems like it’s Coach (Richard) Pitino’s best team because they’re doing all the dirty work. That’s how they beat San Diego State so bad.”

New Mexico beat the Aztecs 62-48 at The Pit last weekend — the tough arena Boise State will visit Friday night, with tipoff at 9 p.m. Mountain time. But the Lobos followed that up with a 71-70 loss at San Jose State on Tuesday night. San Diego State beat Boise State at ExtraMile Arena 76-68 earlier this month.

Following the New Mexico game, Boise State will have relatively long and welcome breaks to close the month. Rice’s team will have five days off before a game at Colorado State on Jan. 22, and then a week off before a home game on Jan. 29 vs. Nevada.