Sizzling rivalry takes center court on New Year's Eve

Game 14: Nevada (12-2, 1-0 MW) at Fresno State (8-5, 0-1 MW)
December 31, 2016 -- 4 p.m. PT -- Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV/Online: ESPN3/WatchESPN.com (Trey Bender/Richie Schueler)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN Radio (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones) & 1600 AM ESPN Deportes (Jesse Beltran/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Jr.)
Series History: Nevada leads 52-42 (overall) • Fresno State leads 26-20 (games played in Fresno)
Last Meeting: Nevada 77, Fresno State 72 [OT] • (Reno, Nev. • 2/13/16)
Next Up: vs. Nevada (Dec. 31 • 4 p.m. PT); vs. Wyoming (Jan. 4, 2016 • 7 p.m. PT)

Opening Tip
• Fresno State has won 11 of its last 12 games in its next game after a loss.
• Fresno State has won six of its last nine games.
• Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is sixth in the nation in 3-point shooting (38-for-72, 52.8 percent).
• Jahmel Taylor has also made 17 consecutive free throws - 11 shy of tying school record of 28, which is held by Rod Higgins (1980-81, 1981-82).
• Fresno State redshirt junior guard Jaron Hopkins is 15th in the nation in steals per game (2.4 spg).
• Fresno State is tied for 21st in the nation in steals per game (8.8 spg).
• Fresno State is tied for 30th in the nation in field goal percentage (48.6%).

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.

Sizzling rivalry takes center court on New Year's Eve
Fresno State (8-5, 0-1 MW), who won the 2016 Mountain West Championship after finishing second in conference play, will host the Nevada Wolf Pack (12-2, 1-0 MW) on New Year's Eve at 4 p.m. PT. The game will air live on ESPN3, WatchESPN, and 940 AM ESPN Radio. Tickets for the game start at $15 through the Save Mart Center Ticket Office or online through www.ticketmaster.com.

About the Nevada Wolf Pack
The Nevada Wolf Pack are 12-2 on the season and enter Saturday's game on a seven-game winning streak. Nevada defeated San Jose State 80-55 in its MW opener on Wednesday. The Wolf Pack are led by MW's leading scorer Marcus Marshall (20.6 ppg). Fresno State has won five of the last seven meetings, including four of the last five games, between the schools. Last season, Fresno State beat Nevada 85-63 in Fresno on Jan. 6, 2016 while the Wolf Pack edged the Bulldogs 77-72 in overtime in Reno on Feb. 13, 2016.

Taylor is one of nation's best 3-point shooters
Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is sixth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (38-for-72, 52.8 percent). He has made at least one 3-pointer in 12 of 13 games this season and at least one 3-pointer in 21 of his last 24 games played. Taylor has 10 games this season with multiple 3-pointers. 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 of 15. Taylor is also tied for 55th in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (2.9).

Watson rises to 24th on all-time scoring list
Bulldogs' senior guard/forward Paul Watson - the 2013-14 Mountain West Freshman of the Year - gives Fresno State a versatile option on the wing and the post. Watson has played both positions during his career, primarily on the wing. Now in his fourth season at Fresno State, he has converted 41.9 percent (392-for-935) of his field goal attempts and 37.7 percent (161-for-427) of his 3-point field goal attempts. He has 1,157 career points to rank 24th on the program's all-time scoring list and currently sits eight points away from tying Kevin Bell (2004-08) for 23rd (1,164 career points).

Terry climbing Bulldogs' all-time wins list
In his sixth season at Fresno State, head coach Rodney Terry has 93 wins and tied for fourth on the Bulldogs' all-time head coaching wins list with Harry Miller (1961-65). He is 11 wins away from tying Jerry Tarkanian (1995-2002), who officially had 104 career wins, for third on the all-time wins list. Terry is the 18th head coach in program history and the fifth Fresno State head coach to coach at least 180 games (182 career games).

Edo back in rotation for senior season
Fresno State senior forward Karachi Edo, who missed the first 11 games of the season for not meeting NCAA continuing eligibility standards, made his season debut on Dec. 20 at Oregon. Edo, the Bulldogs' leading returning scorer and rebounder from last season's NCAA Tournament team, has averaged a team-best 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in his two games this season. He has also made a 3-pointer in both games.

Key Situations to Watch
• Fresno State has won nine of its last 10 games when playing a MW team.
• Fresno State has won seven of its last 11 true road games.
• Fresno State has won 12 of its last 13 single possession games.
• Fresno State has won eight of its last 10 games decided by five points or less.
• Fresno State has won 16 of its last 20 games decided by five points or less.
• Fresno State has won 37 of its last 39 games when leading at halftime.
• Fresno State has won 32 straight games when leading with five minutes remaining in the second half.
(Last loss: No. 25 Wyoming 70, Fresno State 65 [3OT] • Fresno, Calif. • 1/17/15)
• Fresno State has won 23 of its last 24 games when converting at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts.
• Fresno State is 2-0 this season in overtime games.

Notable Tidbits
• Fresno State has scored at least 80 points in eight of its last 16 games.
• Fresno State has scored 80 or more points four times this season.
• Fresno State has won 20 of its last 21 games when scoring 80 or more points.
• Fresno State scored 80 or more points in 12 games last season and the 'Dogs scored 80 or more points three times during the 2014-15 season.
• Fresno State is 30-3 when scoring 80 or more points since Terry's arrival in 2011 and 24-2 in those games since the start of the 2013-14 season.

Protecting the Yard
• Fresno State is 32-6 overall at home since the start of the 2014-15 season.
• Fresno State has won 13 of its last 14 and 23 of its last 26 home games.
• Fresno State recorded a Mountain West-best 16 home wins and the best home winning percentage (16-2, 88.9 percent) by a MW team last season.
• Fresno State was 16-2 at home last season - a new single-season record for most home wins in Save Mart Center history (opened in 2003).
• This was the second time in the Save Mart Center's 13 seasons that Fresno State won at least 15 home games in a single season.
• Fresno State is 148-68 (68.5 percent) all-time at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State continuing to improve in MW Play
Fresno State is one of eight teams in the country to have won more conference games in each of the past four seasons. The Bulldogs won 13 league games during the 2015-16 season after winning 10 MW games in 2014-15, nine MW games in 2013-14, five MW games in 2012-13 and three conference games in 2011-12 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. Two of the other schools are Texas A&M and South Carolina.

Sizzling rivalry takes center court on New Year's Eve

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Players Mentioned

Karachi Edo

Jaron Hopkins

Jahmel Taylor

Paul Watson

Fresno State Athletics