Fresno State Athletics

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Bulldogs, Spartans square off on Tuesday in Fresno

Game 23: San Jose State (14-9, 5-5 MW) at Fresno State (8-14, 4-7 MW)

Feb. 7, 2023 • 7 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. • Save Mart Center

TV/ONLINE:

FOX26.2/Mountain West Network (Ralph Wood & Jack Fertig)

RADIO:

Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)

SERIES HISTORY:

Fresno State leads 95-78 (overall) & 56-36 (games in Fresno)

LAST MEETING:

San Jose State 74, Fresno State 64 (2/7/23 • San Jose, Calif.)

UP NEXT:

at Nevada (Feb. 10) • vs. San Diego State (Feb. 15)

THE BREAKDOWN

Fresno State entered the 2022-23 season bringing back eight returners, which includes four seniors in Jemarl Baker, Jordan Campbell, Anthony Holland and Isaiah Hill along with juniors Destin Whitaker, Donavan Yap and Leo Colimerio and sophomore Steven Vasquez.

Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson is in his fifth season back home in the Central Valley.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 23-win campaign in 2021-22 and a postseason title after winning The Basketball Classic, presented by ERACISM, in April - two 23-win seasons (2018-19 and 2021-22).

Seven new players have joined the program: guards Jordan Brinson (Salt Lake CC), Alexander Gorton (Palm Beach Atlantic), Joseph Hunter (San Joaquin Memorial HS) and Jeff Sims (Santa Rosa Academy) along with forward Isaih Moore (Southern Miss) and centers Chuks Isitua (IUPUI) and Eduardo Andre (Nebraska).

Three Bulldogs - Moore (11.9 PPG), Baker (11.5 PPG) and Hill (11.0 PPG) - are averaging double-digits scoring.

OPENING TIP

Fresno State hosts the San Jose State Spartans on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.

The game will be broadcast on FOX26.2/MWN (television/stream) and the Bulldog Sports Network (radio).

Fresno State is second in the MW in scoring defense (65.00 points allowed per game) for the 2022-23 season.

Fresno State is currently tied for seventh with UNLV in the MW standings (Fresno State owns head-to-head tiebreaker over UNLV).

Fresno State is in a stretch of playing three games in eight days, including a home and a road game this week.

SEASON NOTABLES

Fresno State's first six Division I nonconference opponents were all Top 125 KenPom teams.

Fresno State earned its first win over an Associated Press Top 25 opponent since 2002 when the Bulldogs handed then-No. 21/22 New Mexico 71-67 its first loss of the season on Jan. 3 at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State completed its first regular season sweep of UNLV since 2018 by securing two victories over the Runnin' Rebels in a 14-day span. Fresno State is now 5-4 against UNLV in Hutson's five seasons.

Fresno State enters having made 74.2 percent of its free throws (239-322), which currently equals the school record for single-season free throw percentage (74.2 percent, 484-652, 1991-92).

Through games played on Feb. 5, 10 of 11 Mountain West programs were rated in the Top 100 nationally in KenPom's strength of schedule. SDSU leads the MW at 27th nationally, while Fresno State is third (58th).

Through the first 22 games of the season, Fresno State has had 11 of its 13 scholarship players miss at least one game due to injury or illness and have combined to miss 71 games throughout the 2022-23 season.

Fresno State leads Northern and Central California in attendance during the 2022-23 season (4,598/game).

SERIES HISTORY: FRESNO STATE VS. SAN JOSE STATE

Fresno State leads its all-time series with San Jose State, 95-78 (overall), which includes wins in 11 of the last 12 meetings (9-1 in Hutson's tenure) and victories in 16 of the last 19 meetings.

Fresno State's Jemarl Baker did not play (injury) and Isaiah Hill left the game (concussion) in the first game between the teams this season on Jan. 10 in San Jose, which saw the Bulldogs play a seven-man rotation.

Last season, Fresno State swept San Jose State in the regular season and then defeated the Spartans in the first round of the 2022 MW Basketball Championships in Las Vegas.

THIS-AND-THAT

Fresno State's Eduardo Andre leads the MW in blocked shots (16, 1.5/game) in conference play.

Fresno State's Leo Colimerio has made 18 consecutive free throws entering Tuesday's game vs. San Jose State.

Fresno State's stifling defense forced 19 turnovers (15 in the first half) on Jan. 24 at Boise State.

Fresno State has won 44 straight games when limiting its opponent to fewer than 50 points (11-0 in head coach Justin Hutson's tenure).

Fresno State has now won seven straight games when tied at halftime (6-0 in Hutson's tenure).

Fresno State has limited 29 of its last 35 opponents in regular season games, including 16 of 22 games this season, to fewer than 70 points.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

"I come from a family of educators. My father was a teacher. My aunt was a teacher. Academics are very important to me. It's in my DNA." - Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson

Last season, Fresno State was rewarded for a second straight season with the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award (team GPA 3.0 or higher) with Baker and former Bulldog Orlando Robinson being named to the 2021-22 NABC Honors Court (GPA 3.2 or higher).

Eight Bulldogs were named Academic All-Mountain West with Baker earning MW Scholar-Athlete honors.

FRESNO STATE CONTENDING IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST

Since joining the Mountain West in 2012, Fresno State has won the 2016 conference tournament championship and finished as high as second in the regular season. The Bulldogs have finished no lower than seventh in league play in its first 10 seasons in the Mountain West, which includes six first round byes in the MW Tournament. In the last seven MW campaigns, the 'Dogs won an average of 10.3 MW contests per year -- twice going 13-5 against MW opponents, including Hutson's first season at Fresno State during the 2018-19 season. Fresno State averaged nearly 10 conference victories per season (9.7) in Hutson's first four seasons as the Bulldogs' head coach.

"Fresno State Athletics - For The V: The Central Valley" –

Bulldog student-athletes, coaches, and staff proudly wear the "Green V" to show their pride in representing the Central Valley. Stories of why the Bulldogs play for the "Green V" will be shared throughout the next year with

#ForTheV

To become a Bulldog Foundation member or join "The Green V Society," please call 559-278-7160.


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