Fresno State Athletics
2006-07 Fresno State Men's Basketball Schedule Announced
6/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 8, 2006
FRESNO, Calif. -
2006-07 Fresno State Men's Basketball Schedule
Playing in the friendly confines of the Save Mart Center has just become sweeter as the 2006-07 Fresno State men's basketball schedule was released today.
Eighteen home games in addition to a pair of exhibition games will give fans 20 opportunities to watch the Bulldogs make their arena one of the hardest to compete at on the West Coast.
After the team set a new Save Mart Center record for wins (12-2) last season as well as ranking in the nation's Top 50 for average attendance for the 11th consecutive year, the `Dogs will look to build upon second-year head coach Steve Cleveland's reputation for building a true home court atmosphere.
Five postseason teams are on Fresno State's schedule, highlighting the 2006-07 home slate will be non-conference contests against Stanford and Creighton, both of which advanced to the NIT, as well as a BracketBusters game.
"I believe that we have developed a schedule that will prepare our team for a very competitive conference season," said Cleveland, who recorded the fifth-most wins by a Bulldog first-year head coach while giving the program a winning season for the ninth time by a first-year Bulldog skipper. "It is so important to have a balanced schedule in the preseason. We will have some big tests at home and on the road."
Fresno State opens the season playing five of its first six games at home before boasting a six-game home stretch that will feature Creighton (Dec. 16), Stanford (Dec. 19), Cal Poly (Dec. 23), San Diego (Dec. 30), Idaho (Jan. 4, 2007) and Utah State (Jan. 6, 2007). This home stretch is the longest since 2001 when the `Dogs played six straight in 18 home contests.
The Cardinal, which was the only west coast team in the 40-team NIT field, is making its first modern era appearance and second overall in Fresno. The two programs first met during the 1926-27 season with the Bulldogs defeating Stanford, 23-21, at home. The Bluejays will be making their second showing at the Save Mart Center as Creighton notched a thrilling 70-62 overtime win on Dec. 13, 2003. The BracketBusters, which will be held Feb. 17, 2007, will showcase Fresno State for the fifth consecutive year and the Bulldogs will be at home this time around.
The schedule, which features 14 non-conference games, gets underway with a home exempt tournament (Nov. 10-12) that will showcase three contests for the Bulldogs. Fresno State then goes on the road with a visit to San Francisco (Nov. 17). The Dons, who were a shot away from beating No. 5 Gonzaga in their final regular-season game, return their top two scorers as they ended their season with a second round loss to San Diego at the West Coast Conference Tournament.
After its trip to USF, the `Dogs return home for two with Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Nov. 20) and Montana State (Nov. 29). The Golden Lions return their top five scorers after advancing to the SWAC Tournament championship game. UAPB surprised No. 2 seed and regular-season champion Alabama A&M before bowing out to Southern in the tourney finale. The Bobcats went 12-4 at home and hosted the first round of the Big Sky Tournament last season.
With a three-game road swing underway, Fresno State will face its first Pacific-10 opponent of the season in Oregon State (Dec. 2). The `Dogs will then travel to UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 6) before meeting up with Montana State (Dec. 9) for a second go around.
Oregon State was riddled with injuries last season and ended its season with a quarterfinal-round Pac-10 match up against regular-season champion and Final Four participant UCLA. Hoping to have All-Big West guard Cecil Brown receive another season of eligibility (13.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg) after missing the previous year with an injury, UC Santa Barbara returns three starters after finishing out the year strong by winning eight of its last 11 games.
Cal Poly and San Diego nearly wrap up the non-conference slate before Fresno State opens Western Athletic Conference action against Idaho (Jan. 4) and Utah State (Jan. 6).
The Mustangs, which knocked out UC Santa Barbara in the 2006 Big West Conference Tournament before losing to NCAA Tournament-bound Pacific in the semifinals, have 15 players returning. With its freshmen backcourt and All-Big West forward Derek Stockalper back, Cal Poly is projected to be among the top teams in the Big West.
The Toreros, whose past history had them earmarked for a NIT berth, were passed over for postseason play despite going 20-9 and advancing to the West Coast Championship game against Gonzaga, pushing the Zags to overtime in order to secure a win. USD freshman point guard Brandon Johnson (9.3 ppg, 4.0 apg) was named to the national All-Freshman team by CollegeInsider.com while senior forward Corey Belser was named National Defensive Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.
"Our four-game homestand prior to WAC play (Creighton, Stanford, Cal Poly, San Diego) will be great preparation for league action," Cleveland added. "We have 30 games on the docket and to position ourselves for the postseason requires us to play a very balanced schedule."
The WAC season will be tough once again. With Nevada and Utah State both advancing to the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs open their conference schedule with Idaho and Utah State at home before playing four of their next six on the road.
With seven games slated for February, the `Dogs will be home for four, including their final non-conference match up of the year with a BracketBusters contest. Fresno State will close out its regular-season home schedule with Boise State (March 1) before wrapping up regular-season and conference action at Utah State (March 3). The WAC Tournament, which will be contested March 6-10, will be hosted by New Mexico State the next two years.
In the WAC, Boise State ended its season with a loss to NIT participant Louisiana Tech in the WAC quarterfinals. The Broncos return Coby Karl, a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and United States Basketball Writers of America (USBWA) honoree. The senior-to-be led BSU in scoring (17.2 ppg) and assists (4.0 apg).
The Bulldogs led the WAC in scoring (73.8 ppg), steals (8.18 spg) and three-point field goals (9.46). Fresno State had a formidable duo in junior guard/forward Ja'Vance Coleman and junior forward Quinton Hosley. The duo scored 20 or more points in a game seven times this past season. Three points shy of 1,000 in his career, Coleman led the WAC in three-point field goals (3.39). Hosley led the WAC in steals (2.07 spg) while sophomore guard Kevin Bell was tops in assists per game (5.89 apg).
Hawai'i closed out its season by winning seven of its last 10 and collecting its seventh consecutive winning season. Leading the WAC in block shots per game (5.93), UH was spearheaded by junior forward Ahmet Gueye. Named to the WAC All-Newcomer team, he led the conference in rebounds (7.7 rpg) and blocks (2.5 bpg) per game.
Idaho endured a hard season. The Vandals lost their last nine and 18 of its final 19 games while going winless on the road. However, Idaho has not allowed an opponent to score 100 points in a game for 431 contests, the longest streak in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech posted its first 20-win season (20-13) since 2001-02. Leading the league in scoring defense (63.1 ppg), junior forward Paul Millsap averaged a league-record mark of 15.6 rebounds per game. Declaring for the NBA draft, he will be heavily missed as the Honorable Mention All-American takes with him three consecutive NCAA rebounding titles. This past season he averaged 13.3 boards per game to go along with an average of 19.6 points per game.
Ranked 20th in the final regular-season AP Poll, Nevada notched its third straight 20-win season as the Wolf Pack led the WAC in field goal percentage defense (.401) and scoring margin (+9.0). UN, which did receive votes in the final USA Today/ESPN Top 25 poll, won the league's regular-season title for the third straight year. It also captured the WAC Tournament crown for the second time in three years. Junior forward Nick Fazekas powered the Wolf Pack. The Third Team All-American by the Associated Press led the conference in scoring for the second straight year and was selected as the WAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive time.
New Mexico State finished the year with a 16-14 mark, 10 more wins than what the Aggies had the previous season. The 10-win improvement tied for the fourth-best turnaround in the nation. San Jose State concluded its season with a loss to Utah State in the WAC quarterfinals. The Spartans were the only conference team to win more road games than home.
Receiving votes in the final regular-season AP Poll, Utah Sate made its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh consecutive postseason showing. With seven straight 20-win campaigns, USU is one of five teams in the nation to win at least 23 games in each of the last seven years, joining Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois and Kansas. The Aggies finished the year ranked third nationally in field goal percentage (.498) while leading the nation in 2004-05 (.525). Utah State, which boasts a 112-11 home court record in the last eight seasons, led the WAC in all three shooting categories. The Aggies shot 49.8 percent from the field, 72.2 percent from the free throw line and 40.1 percent in 3-pointers.
"The WAC will be tough despite some personnel changes," Cleveland said. "Teams are going to improve. We're going to be better. The conference will be exciting to watch and to follow throughout the year."
