Boise columnist wonder if Bronco bench will be Achilles heal?

Idaho Statesman columnist Brian Murphy has a column today where he raises the issue about the in-and-out contributions from the Boise State bench players. Is it inconsistency from the bunch or inconsistent court time?

Boise State is sitting pretty - except for its suspect bench
BRIAN MURPHY
Idaho Statesman
2/03/08

Perhaps if Sen. Barack Obama had hung around Taco Bell Arena for Saturday night's Boise State basketball game, the Broncos might have reached their stated goal of filling 10,000 seats.
And perhaps the 6-foot-2 presidential candidate, a noted basketball junkie, might have boosted the Broncos' bench scoring along with the attendance.

He couldn't have done much worse.

Boise State's bench combined for two points - on free throws by Mark Sanchez andJamar Greene - in 43 minutes Saturday night against rival Idaho before a dull 8,492 fans.

That the Broncos notched their 14th consecutive victory against the Vandals 78-64 - and it wasn't really that close - matters little. At this point in its breakout season, Boise State should be beating overmatched opponents by double digits.

What is of some import, however, is the Broncos' inability to entrust the end of such games to its bench and, consequently, driving up the minutes logged by their formidable starters.

Last week against Hawaii, Boise State led by 31 points with 6 minutes, 19 seconds remaining. The Broncos ended up as 15-point victors. Saturday night Boise State pushed its lead to 25 points at 65-40 with 10:11 on the clock.

Time to empty the bench or at least rotate the reserves through, right? Boise State coach Greg Graham tried.

But less than four minutes later, the Vandals had cut their deficit to 14 points and seized momentum.

Back came the starters, who remained in the game until the end. "We have a tendency to relax," Graham said...

Go here for the remainder.