Bulldogs open MW tournament on Tuesday with Colorado State

Game 30:#4 Fresno State (16-13, 11-7) vs. #5 Colorado State (19-10, 11-7)
March 6, 2018 – 2:30 p.m. PT – Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
Video: Mountain West Network
Radio: 790 AM ESPN2 (Randy Rosenbloom, Matt Norville)
Live Stats: S tatbroadcast
Series History: Rams lead 14-9
Last Meeting: Fresno State won 76-64 (OT) on Feb. 17, 2018 in Fort Collins, Colo.

Tournament Notes

Opening Tip
• Fresno State heads into the Mountain West tournament as the No. 4 seed for the first time in the team's six seasons in the conference.
• The Bulldogs will face fifth-seeded Colorado State for the third time this season, defeating the Rams by 11 points in each of their previous games. All-MW selection Candice White averaged 26.5 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game in the contests.
• Friday's game will stream live on the Mountain West Network. Randy Rosenbloom will be on the call for 790 AM ESPN2.

Bulldog Bones
• The Bulldogs are 12-3 all-time in the Mountain West tournament, earning four trips to the championship game in their five seasons in the league.
• With Monday's postseason honors announcement, Fresno State's Candice White earned her first All-Mountain West selection after being neamed honorable mention in 2017. Standout freshem Aly Gamez and Maddi Utti were named to the All-Freshmen Team.
• White enters the tournament leading the MW in scoring at 18.2 points per game. The junior is peaking at the right time as she is on her most explosive four-game stretch of the season, averaging 26 points per game, while also grabbing 7.0 rebounds and dishing 3.5 assists.
• Aiding White in Fresno State's production has been a young, balanced trio of Utti (9.5 ppg), Gamez (9.2 ppg) and sophomore Kristina Cavey (9.0 ppg).
• Fresno State ranks No. 5 in the NCAA in 3-point percentage at 26.5 percent (155-of-584).
• The Bulldogs are 15-5 this year when holding teams to below 30 percent shooting 3.
• Two indicators for success this season, in which the Bulldogs have not lost, are outrebounding opponents (9-0) and Fresno State's starters outscoring their counterparts (12-0).
• Fresno State has begun 23 games this season with three true freshmen in the starting lineup, the most in the NCAA this season.
Fresno State vs. Colorado State
• The Bulldogs are 9-14 all-time against the Rams.
• After dropping the five straight to Colorado State heading into the 2017-18 season, the longest losing streak to any Mountain West opponent since joining the league for the 2012-13 season, Fresno State swept the season series for the first time since the team's first season since 2013.
• The 'Dogs are 1-1 against the Rams in the tournament as the two met in the 2014 and 2016 championship games.

A look at Colorado State
• Colorado State sits at 19-10 overall and 11-7 in conference play.
• The Rams have lost three of their last four games heading into the tournament, a stretch that began with the Fresno State's overtime win in Fort Collins, Colorado on Feb. 17.
• Like their second matchup this season, CSU is coming off a bye and will have had seven days off.
• Once again, Colorado State boasts one of the top defenses in the country, ranking fifth in field-goal
percentage defense (34.2) and 10th in three-point percentage defense (26.9).
• While Grace Colaivalu was the lone Ram averaging double figures the first time around when the
Bulldogs and Rams met, the redshirt freshman has seen her time on the court significantly drop in confernce play. Senior Hannah Tvrdy has taken over the bulk of the scoring responsibilities, averaging 11.6 points per game, the only Ram in double figures this season.
• Stine Austgulen is shooting 44.9 percent from behind the arc (61-of-136) on the season which
ranks No. 3 in the MW and No. 12 in the NCAA.

Marching in Vegas
Since joining the Mountain West for the 2012-13 season, Fresno State has been one of the top contenders for the conference tournament championship. The Bulldogs have played in four tournament championships in their five seasons.
• Fresno State has earned a first-round bye in four of its five seasons, and claimed the championship in its first two seasons (2013 and 2014).
• In their one trip without a bye, Fresno State became the first seven-seed to reach the championship game in the current format.
• The 'Dogs are 12-3 overall in the tournament.

Honored
Frenso State earned three spots on Mountain West postseason teams with Candice Whited grabbing her first-career All-MW nod after being honorable mention in 2016-17. Freshmen standouts Aly Gamez and Maddi Utti were tabbed to the All-Freshmen Team.
• Each of the three rank first, second or third for the Bulldogs in points, rebounds, assists and steals this season.

A day of rest
After missing out on a bye in 2017, forcing the Bulldogs to play four games in five days, Fresno State assured itself a bye in the first round of the conference tournament.
• By way of Colorado State's loss to New Mexico on Feb. 27, Fresno State will be the No. 4 seed in the tournament and face the Rams at 2:30 p.m. PT in the quarterfinals on Feb. 6.
Exceeding expectations
Picked seventh in Mountain West preseason coaches' poll, Fresno State has proven that preseason polls don't matter. The Bulldogs will finish fourth, three spots higher than predicted during the preseason poll.
• At 11-7, the Bulldogs have increased its 2016-17 conference win total by three despite the loss of three seniors and two-time MW Defensive Player of the Year, Bego Faz Davalos.

Youth invasion
While expected to be a young team this year, Fresno State has gone all-in with its youth this season, putting three true freshmen into the starting lineup for more than 75 percent of its games. Fresno State has played a NCAA-high 23 games with three true freshmen in its starting lineup.
• The Bulldogs are 14-9 on the year with at least three freshmen in the starting five, and were 10-6 in Mountain West play.

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Bulldogs open MW tournament on Tuesday with Colorado State

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Players Mentioned

Kristina Cavey

Bego Faz Davalos

Aly Gamez

Maddi Utti

Candice White

Fresno State Athletics