’Dogs Start Road Trip in Stockton

Game 11: Fresno State (7-3) at Pacific (4-6)
December 17, 2016 -- 7 p.m. PT -- Stockton, Calif. (Alex G. Spanos Center)
TV/Online: TheW.tv (Zack Bayrouty/Bob Thomason)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN Radio (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: Pacific leads 81-75 (overall) and 50-26 (games played in Stockton)
Last Meeting: Fresno State 71, Pacific 52 (Dec. 12, 2015 • Fresno, Calif.)
Next Up: at No. 22 Oregon (Dec. 20 • 8 p.m. PT), at New Mexico (Dec. 28 • 6 p.m. PT)
Next Home Game: vs. Nevada (Dec. 31 • 4 p.m. PT)

Opening Tip
• This is the second straight season Fresno State has started the season, 7-3.
• Fresno State has won its last seven games played on a Saturday.
• Fresno State has won five of its last six games.
• Fresno State has won six of its last eight true road games.
• Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is tied for third in the nation in 3-point shooting (33-for-55, 60.0 percent).
• Fresno State is 14th in the nation in steals per game (9.4 spg).
• Fresno State redshirt junior guard Jaron Hopkins is tied for 19th in the nation in steals per game (2.4 spg).

Bulldog Bones
• By winning the 2016 Mountain West Basketball Championship, Fresno State earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001.
• Fresno State has improved its conference win total in each of the last four seasons since head coach Rodney Terry arrived in 2011, rising from 3-11 (11-12) to 5-11 (12-13) to 9-9 (13-14) to 10-8 (14-15) to 13-5 (15-16).
• Fresno State is one of eight teams in the nation to have improved its conference win total in each of the last four seasons.
• This season, Fresno State was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West by the league's media in a preseason poll in mid-October.
• Before the 2015-16 season, Fresno State was picked to finish fifth in a preseason poll. The Bulldogs went on to win the 2016 MW Championship and earn the MW's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

'Dogs Start Road Trip in Stockton
Fresno State (7-3) begins a three-game road trip when the Bulldogs visit the Pacific Tigers (4-6) on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT inside the Alex G. Spanos Center. The game will air live on TheW.tv and 940 AM ESPN Radio. Fresno State will also play at No. 22 Oregon (Dec. 20) and New Mexico (Dec. 28) before returning home for a New Year's Eve showdown with Nevada.

About the Pacific Tigers
The Pacific Tigers (West Coast Conference) is 4-6 on the season, which includes a 1-1 record against Mountain West teams. The Tigers beat Wyoming (73-65) and lost at Nevada (77-67) in November. Pacifc is coached by Damon Stoudamire, who is in his first season with the Tigers. Stoudamire played collegiately at Arizona (1991-95) and a 13-season NBA career. The Tigers are led in scoring by Ray Bowles (14.0 ppg). Fresno State trails in the all-time series with Pacific, 81-75. This is 158th all-time contest between the schools and the 10th straight season the teams have played each other. The longstanding series has featured at least one meeting every season since 1964, except the 2006-07 season.

Taylor is one of nation's best 3-point shooters
Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is tied for third in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (33-for-55, 60.0 percent). Taylor enters Saturday's game having made 11 of its last 13 3-point field goal attempts. He made 11 consecutive 3-pointers over the course of three games from Dec. 6-14, 2016, which was four shy of tying the national record. The national record is 15 consecutive 3-pointers made, which is held by Northwestern's Todd Leslie over the course of four games from Dec. 15-28, 1990. Taylor is also tied for 21st in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (3.3).

Hopkins finding role in Bulldogs' Backcourt
Fresno State redshirt junior guard Jaron Hopkins has been a key addition in the Bulldogs' backcourt. Hopkins transferred to Fresno State last season from Colorado, where he played significant minutes for the Buffaloes. Hopkins can facilitate the offense, score and defend at a high level. He has averaged 11.0 points, 5.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in the last four games. He is also tied for 19th nationally in steals per game.

• REFERENCE: "Fresno State" (never: FSU, CSUF, Fresno State University, or just simply "Fresno"); ABBREVIATION: Fresno St. or FS

’Dogs Start Road Trip in Stockton

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaron Hopkins

Jahmel Taylor

Fresno State Athletics