Fresno State Athletics
Men's Basketball Schedule Announced
9/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FRESNO, Calif. - Home games against USC and Creighton, the grand opening of the new Save Mart Center and a road trip to Oregon highlight Fresno State's 2003-04 men's basketball schedule, announced today by head coach Ray Lopes.
The Bulldogs will play eight games against teams that reached the postseason last year, two in the non-conference season against Oregon and Creighton and two WAC contests each with Nevada, Hawaii and Tulsa.
"I am very pleased with how competitive our schedule is this year," said Lopes. "This will definitely prepare us for our conference season. We have many tough road games, and we have some difficult games at home. It's going to be very challenging."
The 2003-04 campaign kicks off on Nov. 5 with the Bulldog Basketball Extravaganza, the first ever event in the Save Mart Center, Fresno State's new on-campus arena. That night, fans will be entertained by the Bulldog men's and women's teams, who will each play intrasquad games and compete in slam-dunk and three-point contests.
Two exhibition games, on Nov. 13 and 17, follow before the opening to the regular season, scheduled for Nov. 21 at Oregon, an NCAA participant a year ago. It marks Fresno State's first trip to venerable McArthur Court since 1997 .
The Bulldogs' first regular season home game comes in the McCaffrey Classic on Dec. 5. Also playing in Fresno State's annual tournament are UC Irvine, Princeton and Arkansas-Monticello.
The team continues its rivalry with Pacific on Dec. 10. It will be the 144th meeting between the two schools, making the Tigers the most played opponent in program history.
Another NCAA team in 2003, Creighton, visits the Save Mart Center on Dec. 13. The Trojans will make just their third trip to Fresno on Dec. 19.
Fresno State will also host Washington State and San Francisco, both Bulldog opponents in 2002-03, during the non-conference portion of the schedule.
The WAC season kicks off Jan. 3 with a game at Hawaii, where Fresno State hasn't won since the 1999-00 year. After playing at San Jose State on Jan. 5, the Bulldogs host SMU in the conference opener on Jan. 8.
The schedule makers gave Fresno State a break at the end of the year. The Bulldogs make their last road trip ? aside from any postseason play ? on Feb. 23 when they play at Rice. Following that, the team closes out the regular season by hosting Nevada, San Jose State and Hawaii.
The Save Mart Center will also be the home of the 2004 WAC Tournament, which takes play March 9-13. Fresno State last hosted the conference tourney in 2000 at Selland Arena.
