NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - BOISE STATE VS NORTHWESTERN

March 15, 2023

Leon Rice

Max Rice

Naje Smith

Golden 1 Center

Boise State.Broncos

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Our two gentlemen from Boise State, Max Rice and Naje Smith. Coming here to Sacramento, I know Sac State, I think UC Davis, have both played you guys in the past. What did you feel was the turning point, if there was one, in your season so far?

MAX RICE: Yeah, I think maybe just that first game. We had a tough first game to our season. We opened at home. It was our only home loss of the season. I think that kind of woke us up and made us realize we all need to play together and kind of from then on we never lost another game at home. I think we played better team ball. Just over the course of the season, I think we grew a lot as a team. I thought we got better from there.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Max, what would winning an NCAA tournament game mean for Boise?

MAX RICE: Yeah, I think he's last couple years we've done a lot of checking off boxes that this program has never done before. That's one of the last boxes I think would be huge for this program, to check off an NCAA tournament win.

I know Northwestern did that a couple years ago I think. I remember watching that. That's something that has been our goal all year. We've been locked in on that goal. We're really close to achieving that goal.

I think it would be huge.

Q. You guys played in the tournament last year. Max, what did you learn? Naje, what did you learn about being on the floor that you'll be more ready for this time?

NAJE SMITH: I think it's kind of like your first time going to a dance: you're a little nervous, shaken. The second time you kind of know what to expect and you feel like you have your feet in your shoes, that you can kind of take it slow out the gate.

I feel we were very anxious that first year. The lights seemed so much brighter. Now I think we're definitely composed and ready to play.

MAX RICE: Kind of the same thing Naje said. You have more of a calm feel about you I feel like. Kind of like the same thing we did in our Mountain West tournament. We won that, then the next year we felt more confident going into it.

But I think it's just super fun to experience something like this, just having these open practices, watching all these teams get ready for this event. I think we're just super blessed and fortunate to be here.

Q. Naje, coming to the final stretch of your Boise State career, what does it mean to you to be here? How do you feel spending it on the big stage of March Madness?

NAJE SMITH: It means a lot to me to get this opportunity to kind of make a legacy for myself, kind of leave my footprint at Boise State University. As Max said earlier, just kind of checking off boxes.

I think this would be a huge one to put me as one of the greats at Boise State if we can win a game.

Q. Max, you talked about how dominant you guys were at home. Now that you're in the neutral arena, you have the experience from last year, what do you need to do to replicate what you can do?

MAX RICE: Yeah, that's a good question. I think our points per game is way up at ExtraMile, stuff like that. We just play better there.

Finding a way to channel off our fans and get that energy going, then just play with a lot of confidence and play together I think. We've had a couple good games on neutral sites this year, too. But, yeah, I think playing as a team, not straying away from what has made us good this year, is big, is a key to us playing good tomorrow.

Yeah, we have played really good at the X this year, too, so...

Q. Utah State is here playing Missouri tomorrow. You're familiar with them obviously. What advice could you give Missouri who never played Utah State before?

MAX RICE: No comment.

Q. As far as their strengths and weaknesses, schemes?

MAX RICE: Naj?

NAJE SMITH: Don't let 'em shoot (smiling).

Q. Boo Buie has been a great player for Northwestern this year. Now that you've seen some tape, what are the challenges he brings?

NAJE SMITH: He's definitely a great competitor and a great player with a strong right hand. It's definitely going to be a challenge for us to keep him out of the box, kind of limit he can make plays for other people.

MAX RICE: Yeah, I think he does a great job of just running their team. He can score his, but he can also get others involved. Like Naj said, he's good at going right. Try to take that away. Try to contain him the best you can.

Q. Naje, when people turn on the TV tomorrow night, regardless of what happens, what do you want them to remember about Boise State?

NAJE SMITH: That we play hard, we play together, and we're a fun team to watch.

Q. Max, I think it was after that San Diego State game you talked about how you got to spend that moment with your best friend. You're now up on the podium for a second year in a row at March Madness. How are you trying to appreciate these last few moments you get to play together?

MAX RICE: Yeah, we talked about it a couple times just throughout the season, now being here. We knew we didn't want to go out sad. We knew we wanted to go out or finish up our careers together in March Madness. We're doing that. So that's a dream come true for us.

We grew up playing AU together. Naj has always been a great friend of mine. To be able to be on the biggest stage in the last couple games together is awesome. We want to leave it all out there on the court and try to make a run.

Q. Naj?

NAJE SMITH: It's funny because he's always told me, I'm going to get you to Boise State. I'm going to get you there.

I'm like, the journey.

To see it all unfold, I realized he's kind of a mastermind.

Q. You play really good defense, so does Northwestern. What does Northwestern do that reminds you of them and might be a little bit different?

NAJE SMITH: They definitely got good size and they rotate really well, which I think is a lot like us, how they pack the paint. Get out to contest.

One thing that's going to definitely be a challenge for us that we haven't seen in the Mountain West is how they hedge ball screens. That will be a challenge for us to overcome.

MAX RICE: Kind of the challenges we're going to face is how they hedge. They're going to face how we down ball screens, which is new to both programs because the Big Ten doesn't need to down ball screens because how big their bigs are. That might pose an interesting defensive game for both of us.

I think it's definitely going to be a rock fight, probably in the 50s or 60s. But that's what we're used to. I think that's what they're used to. It's kind of a perfect matchup for both teams.

Q. Max, earlier today Coach Collins had great praise for your game, the challenges you're going to bring. What does it mean to you to have put the work in to be in this position where you're a big threat to one of the premier teams in the country?

MAX RICE: Yeah, I think it shows dedication to the grind, not giving up or transferring when things aren't going your way. It's a really common thing nowadays that people go to the portal when they're not getting the minutes they want or not getting everything they were promised right away.

It was definitely difficult at times just to get through that grind. Obviously it's paying off for me in big ways now. I'm really glad I stuck with it, just kept going.

Northwestern is a great team. I'm excited to get to battle with them tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen. Good luck tomorrow.

We have Coach Leon Rice with us. Coach, welcome to Sacramento. I'll ask you the same question that I've asked a few of the coaches up here. Was there any particular time during the season that you felt you were significantly improved over the beginning of the year?

LEON RICE: I think it happened in stages for us. There were some milestone victories along the way that you're like, Okay, this is pretty special. We went to St. Louis and won in a hostile environment against a really, really good team, really well-coached team. Then we went down to Texas and made Texas A&M in Dickies Arena and won that game.

You started to see a unique ability in the team as far as being able to win games against good teams. There was a lot of growth through the month of November. But I think those games in December really showed that if you can compete in those environments and against that quality of opponent, you got something.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Rice.

Q. Second year in a row you're in the tournament. You've got all five starters that played significant minutes last year. This week leading up to it, anything you see in the demeanor that feels different about this year's squad than last year's?

LEON RICE: Yeah, because this is such an event and such a destination for teams to want to get to that maybe some of the first-time -- I've seen this over the year -- first-time players get there, it's like getting to the Super Bowl for the first time. You can get blasted out of there because you're looking around a lot. There's a lot to look at. It's a great event, so well done.

But when you get there multiple times, when players get experience of it, they understand that you strip all this other stuff away, that your process is the same, and what you need to do to control that is the same, then playing the game of basketball is the same.

That stuff, external stuff, gets stripped away the more times you get to it, then it becomes playing basketball more. I thought our guys did a good job last year of dealing with it, but it does help to have guys that have been there before.

Q. I asked the guys this same question. When people tune in on Thursday, regardless of what happens, what do you want them to remember about Boise State?

LEON RICE: That's a good question.

This team has been special. Their accomplishments have been worthy of being remembered for a long, long time. We put some moments like that San Diego State game in Boise, you can list a whole bunch of 'em, but their accomplishments and the way they played together and the way they just had such a steely resolve. They were so tough. They always responded the right way. They just battled every second they were out there.

Like I said, they were a team that was a true team, that was better than the sum of their parts. Good talent, great team.

Q. You have gotten some contributions from a couple super seniors. What impact have they had on you?

LEON RICE: I mean, it's huge. Being able to have guys that have been through a lot, been together a long time, they just know what they're doing.

That's a big motivator in why we want to keep playing. These guys have been in my life for a long time. Naje has been in my life since he was a little kid. Tyson has been around forever. Shave, I've known him for six or seven years, got to coach him for a long time. Lukas has been with us for a while.

We don't want to say good-bye to those guys. It's a motivator. It's a motivator for this team because they want to keep playing together. This team's really connected. It's connected because of those veterans and because of those super seniors and because of the high-character guys we have in this program.

Q. You have prided yourselves on playing great defense this entire season. Do you like the challenge of playing a team in the first round that has similarities? Without giving anything away, how do you feel you match up with them?

LEON RICE: There's a lot of similarities, I think. When you look at Northwestern, I think you looked at them early in the year and you saw what they lost from last year's team. I think it's similar to our situation. We lost three of the best players in the history of our school and conference, those kind of things.

I think a lot of people didn't have much expectations for us and this group. We just got better and better. They're a team with a similar story I think, where Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, No. 2 seed in the Big Ten. I mean, it's impressive what they've done.

I think there is a lot of similarities that way, no doubt.

Q. You talked about knowing Naje for a long time. Max and he were up here talking about their friendship. How have you seen that relationship develop now that maybe their playing days are numbered?

LEON RICE: Because it's always been beyond their playing, too, so that's what has been really neat. Naje is a special, special person. He and Max have had a great bond over the years. They've played a lot of games together, a lot of basketball together. They're two players that just keep getting better.

Naj is just coming into his own. I wish I could have him another year. But he's just such a great personality for this team because of the person he is. He's authentic, he's genuine. What you see is Naj. He comes with such a positive attitude.

You go through some ups and downs throughout the year, and Naj affects everybody in the room in a positive way when you're in your downs. He's the kind of kid that if you're having a bad day, you walk in the practice gym and you're like, Oh, great, I get to see Naj today. Those guys are priceless.

Q. Defense on both sides looks to be outstanding. Where are the points going to come from?

LEON RICE: That's a good question (smiling). Sometimes those games surprise you. You never know.

But they've got great players that are great offensive players, too. I think that might be an under-valued things. You watch these guys as individuals, the stuff they've been able to do. They got guys that can put up numbers. We got guys that can put up numbers.

It will be an interesting thing to watch. I can't tell you (smiling).

Q. The last couple years you got to check so many boxes in terms of the history of this program. There's one left, winning that first game. For this group, what do you think it would mean?

LEON RICE: I think for our fans, it would be huge. This is a hard tournament to win games in. We're playing, like I said, the No. 2 team in the Big Ten. They have the No. 1 team in the nation in that conference. They have great teams in that conference obviously. For them to accomplish what they accomplished obviously, proof is in the pudding, they're a great basketball team.

You get in here, it's tough sliding. It would mean so much for our fans. Like I said, I want it so bad for our players to keep 'em going. I want to keep this group together as long as I can keep this group together. You can't do that if the moment you lose it's done. There's a finality to it that I don't want to see and they don't want to see.

I think that's my biggest motivator. They had no control over the past. We don't have control over the past any more. Those are milestones. Those are great things to accomplish.

So we'd love to do it, no doubt.

Q. When it comes to Northwestern, 65 is a magic number for them. If opponents hit that and above, Northwestern is 1-10. If they hold them to below that, they're 20-1. What do you expect tomorrow in terms of defensive battle? How did you team lean into these types of games and somehow it brought out the best in them?

LEON RICE: This team that we have this year is different than last year's a little bit. Last year's, we won a game 42-37 on the road. Basketball history, you have to go back to when they had to stop the game and get the ball out of the peach bucket to see a game like that (laughter).

We didn't care. Those guys didn't care about that. This team is different in a way that we haven't had as many of those maybe, but they've had games where they just find ways. This may be that. The score, the magic number of 65, I've seen that, I hear that, I get that, but I just think it's a game that it's going to be a tough, hard-fought game, no doubt about it. Two teams that have a lot of similarities, like I said. My group has found ways to get that done. The ways haven't been as planned. Take the UNLV game, for example. They find ways. I think you just got to do that in a tournament like this, in a game like this.

Q. For those guys that never get to play much, in general, for all the time that Sam and Kade and a lot of those guys put in, how much do they still mean to the team?

LEON RICE: No doubt. The team, the guys that are playing, appreciate them. That's the cool thing about our culture. That was Naje three years ago. Now look at it.

They know there's a path and plan for their success. Though know their job is important. It's in our culture book that you become a star in your role, that's how you change your role.

Sometimes guys get put in those roles, that wasn't their dream when they wanted to become a college basketball player, best scout team player in the history... But they take that kind of pride in it.

Whatever it takes to do their job, we have guys that they're sick and they show up to do their job because it means so much to 'em to do it well. That's a big part of our culture, big part of our program because their jobs are so important, and there's no job that's too small for those kind of guys.

They take pride in that and make a huge difference for us, make a huge difference for us. The stories that I can tell you about the stuff they do throughout the year to make us better. We were playing somebody that was left-handed. I go in there and see some of the scout team guys working on being able to shoot the ball left-handed. C'mon, that's going above and beyond (smiling).

Like I said, it's pretty cool when you have a culture like that, when you have unselfish guys like that, and they know how much they're valued because those starters and those other guys appreciate 'em, and they've told them that.

Q. Buzo said before today's practice he's going to take a moment to soak it in. How do you walk that fine line of making sure your guys look around for a moment, realize what they've achieved, but also want to go win?

LEON RICE: Absolutely. We celebrate those things along the way. But these guys know what the process entails and they know how to do their job in that process. They get it. So nothing's different with this.

But, yeah, I always want team look around, I always want team enjoy it. Our program is about joy, passion, fun, togetherness. You put all those things together and that's what equals success for us.

So nothing's different.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach.

LEON RICE: Thanks.