’Dogs look to bounce back at Air Force

Game 17: Fresno State (10-6, 2-2 MW) at Air Force (8-8, 1-2 MW)
January 11, 2017 -- 6 p.m. PT -- USAFA, Colo. (Clune Arena)
TV/Online: Mountain West Network/Twitter (Josh Howe/Keith Barnett)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN Radio (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: Fresno State leads 16-5 (overall) and 6-3 (games played at Air Force)
Record vs. Air Force in Terry Era: 7-1 (2-1 in games played at Air Force)
Last Meeting: Fresno State 64, Air Force 63 (1/23/16 • Fresno, Calif.)
Next Up: vs. Boise State (1/14/17 • 4 p.m. PT); vs. Colorado State (1/18/17 • 8 p.m. PT)

Opening Tip
• Fresno State has won a nation-best 11 straight games against conference opponents decided by a single possession (three points or fewer), which includes 5 home wins, 5 road wins and 1 neutral site win).
• Fresno State has won 12 of its last 13 games in its next game after a loss.
• Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is ninth in the nation in 3-point shooting (42-for-86, 48.8 percent).
• Fresno State redshirt junior guard Jaron Hopkins is tied for 17th in the nation in steals per game (2.25 spg).
• Fresno State is tied for 18th in the nation in steals per game (8.6 spg).
• Fresno State is tied for 43rd in the nation in field goal percentage (47.8%).

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 look to bounce back at Air Force
After a tough loss at SJSU in its last game, Fresno State (10-6, 2-2 MW) is tied for fourth in the Mountain West standings and two games back of conference leader Boise State. The 'Dogs will play at Air Force (8-8, 1-2 MW) at Clune Arena on Wednesday at 6 p.m. PT. The game will air live on the Mountain West Network and 940 AM ESPN Radio. Fresno State will host Boise State on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT with tickets starting at $15.

About the AIr Force Falcons
The Air Force Falcons are 8-8 on the season with a 1-2 record in Mountain West play. All eight of Air Force's wins this season have come at home, where the Falcons are 8-2 overall. Air Force is led in scoring by Jacob Van (11.8 ppg). Fresno State leads the all-time series 16-5 overall, including a 6-3 record in road games played at Air Force. The last four games in the series have each been decided by two points or fewer with the last two games each decided by a single point (all four were Fresno State wins). Fresno State has won seven straight games when playing Air Force.

Taylor is one of nation's best 3-point shooters
Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is ninth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (42-for-86, 48.8 percent). He has made at least one 3-pointer in 14 of 16 games this season and at least one 3-pointer in 23 of his last 27 games played. Taylor has 11 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 96th in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (2.63).

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 14.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season. He also made a 3-pointer in three of his five games this season after not having made a single 3-pointer in the first 103 games of his career.

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

Watson rises to 21st 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 42.1 percent (408-for-970) of his field goal attempts and 37.5 percent (163-for-435) of his 3-point field goal attempts. He has 1,202 career points to rank 21st on the program's all-time scoring list and currently sits 10 points away from tying Ja'Vance Coleman (2004-07) for 20th (1,212 career points).

Key Situations to Watch
• Fresno State has won 11 of its last 13 games when playing a MW team.
• Fresno State has won 13 of its last 14 single possession games.
• Fresno State has won 11 straight games against MW opponents in games decided by a single possession (three points or fewer).
(Last loss: UNLV 75, Fresno State 73 [OT] • Las Vegas, Nev. • 1/25/14)
• Fresno State has won nine of its last 11 games decided by five points or less.
• Fresno State has won 17 of its last 21 games decided by five points or less.
• Fresno State has won 39 of its last 42 games when leading at halftime.
• Fresno State has won 33 of its last 34 games when leading with five minutes remaining in the second half.
• 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.
• Fresno State has won seven of its last 12 true road games.

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.

’Dogs look to bounce back at Air Force

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Karachi Edo

Jaron Hopkins

Jahmel Taylor

Paul Watson

Fresno State Athletics