’Dogs host Air Force, Salute to Services Night

Game 22: Air Force (10-11, 3-5 MW) at Fresno State (13-8, 5-4 MW)
February 1, 2017 -- 7 p.m. PT -- Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV/Online: ROOT Sports RM/MW Network (select areas) • (Marc Stout/Dave Bollwinkel)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN Radio (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones) & 1600 AM ESPN Deportes (Jesse Beltran/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Jr.)
Series History: Fresno State leads 16-6 (overall) and 9-2 (games played in Fresno)
Record vs. Utah State in Terry Era: 7-2 (overall) and 4-0 (games played in Fresno)
Last Meeting: Air Force 81, Fresno State 72 (Jan. 11, 2017 • USAFA, Colo.)
Next Up: vs. San Diego State (2/4/17 • 4 p.m. PT); at Wyoming (2/8/17 • 6 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 junior guard Jahmel Taylor is fifth in the nation in 3-point shooting (56-for-119, 47.1 percent).
• Fresno State redshirt junior guard Jaron Hopkins is 25th in the nation in steals per game (2.14 spg).
• Fresno State is tied for 13th in the nation in steals per game (8.6 spg).
• Fresno State has won 13 of its last 15 games in its next game after a loss.

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.

Protecting the Yard
• Fresno State is 9-1 overall at home this season (4-0 vs. MW opponents).
• Fresno State has won 12 consecutive Mountain West home games.
• Fresno State has won eight straight home games.
• Fresno State is 25-3 overall at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Fresno State has won 17 of its last 18, and 27 of its last 30 home games.
• Fresno State has won seven straight home games played on a Saturday.

'Dogs host Air Force, Salute to Services Night
Fresno State (13-8, 5-4 MW) begins the second half of Mountain West play when the Bulldogs host the Air Force (10-11, 3-5 MW) on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. PT inside the Save Mart Center. The game will be broadcast on ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain and select areas on the Mountain West Network. The game will also be featured live on 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes. Fresno State is currently alone in fifth place in the conference standings - just two games back of first place. Tickets for Wednesday's game start at $10 with all active duty military and veterans getting free admission by showing ID at the Save Mart Center Box Office (northwest corner) on gameday for Salute to Services Night.

About the Air Force Falcons
The Air Force Falcons are 10-11 this season, with a 3-5 record in conference play. The Falcons are led by Hayden Graham (12.3 ppg/5.5 rpg). Fresno State lost 81-72 at Air Force earlier this season on Jan. 11, but the Bulldogs are 4-0 all-time when playing the Falcons at the Save Mart Center with the last two home wins over AFA coming by a combined three points. Fresno State has won seven of the last eight overall meetings between the schools.

Taylor is one of nation's best 3-point shooters
Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is fifth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (56-for-119, 47.1 percent). He has made at least one 3-pointer in 19 of 21 games this season and at least one 3-pointer in 28 of his last 32 games played. Taylor has 14 games this season with multiple 3-pointers and made 11 consecutive 3-pointers in a three-game span in December, which was four shy of tying the national record of 15. Taylor is also tied for 71st in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (2.71).

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

Trending in Terry's Tenure
• Fresno State has won 13 of its last 15 games in its next game after a loss.
• Fresno State is 37-7 since the start of the 2014-15 season when limiting an opponent to under 70 points.
• Fresno State is 26-3 since the start of the 2013-14 season when limiting an opponent to under 60 points.
• Fresno State is 43-11 in head coach Rodney Terry's now six seasons at Fresno State when limiting an opponent to under 60 points.
• During Terry's tenure, Fresno State is 12-1 when exactly five 'Dogs score in double digits and 18-2 when at least five Bulldogs score in double digits.
• Fresno State won at least 21 games twice in Terry's first five seasons.
• Fresno State has not committed more turnovers than its opponents in 142 of the 190 games (74.7 percent) in Terry's tenure (since 2011).

Terry Climbing Bulldogs' All-Time Wins List
In his sixth season at Fresno State, head coach Rodney Terry has 98 wins, which ranks fourth on the Bulldogs' all-time head coaching wins list. He is six 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 (190 career 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.

Key Situations to Watch
• Fresno State has won 14 of its last 18 games when playing a MW team.
• Fresno State has won 13 of its last 14 single possession games.
• Fresno State has won a nation-best 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 10 of its last 12 games decided by five points or less.
• Fresno State has won 18 of its last 22 games decided by five points or less.
• Fresno State has won 42 of its last 45 games when leading at halftime.
• Fresno State has won 36 of its last 37 games when leading with five minutes remaining in the second half.
• Fresno State has won 25 of its last 26 games when converting at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts.
• Fresno State is 2-0 this season in overtime games.

’Dogs host Air Force, Salute to Services Night

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Players Mentioned

Jaron Hopkins

Jahmel Taylor

Fresno State Athletics