MILWAUKEE - Travis Diener scored 15, and Marquette held Boise State to a season low in scoring, beating the Broncos 66-53 in the second round of the NIT on Tuesday night.
Marquette (19-11), the first team since Minnesota in 1998 to fail to make the NCAA Tournament after advancing to the Final Four a year earlier, will play Iowa State (19-12) in the quarterfinals on Thursday or Friday, with the time and location to be determined.
Boise State (23-10) averages 74 points but missed 32-of-58 shots in failing to tie the school record of 24 victories set in 1987-88.
Boise State's previous season low was in a 55-44 victory over Fresno State on Feb. 14.
The Broncos used an 8-3 run to pull within 53-48 on Jermaine Blackburn's fast-break basket with 2:37 left. Diener, who missed 10 of 14 shots, then hit a 3-pointer and Dameon Mason made two free throws with 1:29 left for a 58-48 lead.
Boise State, which had won nine of 10, could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way as Marquette made all 10 of its free throws in the final 89 seconds.
Mason scored 14, and Scott Merritt added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Marquette.
