Fresno State Athletics
Photo by: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
2017-18 Season Review: Fresno State Men’s Basketball
4/3/2018 2:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Fresno State (21-11) led the Mountain West in field goal percentage and 3-point shooting efficiency, while also being one of the league’s best defensive teams throughout the 2017-18 season.
FRESNO, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team has established itself as a consistent and regular Mountain West contender, with another strong effort during the 2017-18 season, which saw the Bulldogs win 21 games and once again earn a Top 4 seed for the MW Tournament.
With the 2017-18 season officially over, the 'Dogs can draw on the foundation that has been built for the future with the offseason work already under way to prepare for the upcoming 2018-19 season.
Fresno State's consistency leads to success
Fresno State is one of three MW teams to have finished .500 or better in league play in each of the past five seasons, including this past season. Fresno State, Boise State and San Diego State have won at least nine conference games in each of the last five seasons. During the past half-decade, Fresno State has averaged 10.8 conference wins per season, with at least 10 MW wins for four straight seasons, including a 13-5 mark in 2015-16.
Fresno State (21-11, 11-7 MW) finished in fourth place in the 2017-18 MW standings and earned its third straight Top 4 seed for the MW Tournament. Fresno State is one of two MW teams (Boise State) to have earned a first round bye in each of the past four seasons (including this season).
Taylor, Williams earn All-MW honors
Fresno State junior guard Deshon Taylor earned first-team All-MW and All-Defense Team honors and Bulldogs' sophomore forward Bryson Williams was named third-team All-MW by the conference's head coaches for the 2017-18 season.
This was the fourth straight season Fresno State has had a student-athlete recognized as an All-Defense team honoree (Marvelle Harris – 2014-15 & 2015-16, Jaron Hopkins – 2016-17 and Deshon Taylor – 2017-18).
During conference play this season, Taylor led the MW with 111 free throws made and ranked fifth in steals (24 steals, 1.4 spg) and seventh in scoring (17.5 ppg). He scored a career-high 32 points in a road game at Nevada on Jan. 31 and made at least one 3-pointer in all 18 league contests. For the season, Taylor averaged 18.0 points per game and has set a new school record with 197 made free throws so far this season. Taylor was named third-team All-MW by the league's head coaches as a sophomore in 2016-17.
Williams also ranked in the Top 20 in scoring during league play by averaging 13.9 points per game and ranking second in field goal percentage (107-for-188 FG, 56.9 percent) in MW games. This was Williams' first ever all-conference selection from the MW head coaches.
Taylor was also named first-team All-MW (MW Wire staff) and second-team All-MW (select nine-member MW media panel of newspaper beat reporters), while Williams was an honorable mention All-MW designee by both the MW Wire staff and select MW media group.
Bittner named CoSIDA Academic All-District 8
Fresno State junior forward Sam Bittner was named a 2017-18 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District 8 honoree. Bittner is also a two-time MW scholar athlete and a two-time Academic All-MW selection. He ranked 11th in the nation in 3-point shooting (39-for-81, 48.1 percent) for players with at least one made 3-pointer per team game at the end of the regular season. Bittner (business administration major, 3.94 GPA) is the second Bulldog ever to be honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection – joining three-time Academic All-District honoree Nedeljko Golubovic, who was recognized from 2009-11.
Grimes emerged in key match-ups in MW play
Fresno State sophomore forward Nate Grimes, who redshirted the 2015-16 season, had two double-doubles in MW play. He scored a career-high 20 points with 12 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 80-62 road win at Wyoming on Feb. 3. Grimes, who is from Las Vegas, also had 15 points (7-7 FG), 10 rebounds and four blocks, including one with 21 seconds left to play, to help power Fresno State to a 77-73 road win at San Diego State on Jan. 17.
Bulldogs deliver multiple extended winning streaks
From Nov. 22-Dec. 13, 2017, Fresno State won seven straight games, which started when the Bulldogs defeated the Atlantic-10's George Mason 79-73 in Cancun. During the stretch, which was the second win streak of at least seven games with head coach Rodney Terry at the helm, Fresno State also scored two big road wins - at Long Beach State (106-70) and at Cal Poly (83-63) - and took care of business in its backyard with four home victories. Fresno State also won five straight conference games by double-digits (Feb. 3-21, 2018), which included three dominant road wins (at Wyoming: 80-62, at San Jose State: 77-57 and at UNLV 77-64) and two home wins (San Diego State: 79-61 and Colorado State: 86-65).
Terry closes Bulldog career 3rd on all-time wins list
In seven seasons at Fresno State, head coach Rodney Terry had 126 wins, which ranks him third on the Bulldogs' all-time head coaching wins list. Jerry Tarkanian (1995-2002) had 104 career wins (153* wins prior to having to vacate 49 wins). Terry was the 18th head coach in program history and the fourth Fresno State head coach to coach at least 200 career games. Boyd Grant (1977-86) is first with 194 career wins, while Ed Gregory (1965-77) is second with 172 career wins. After the season ended, Terry decided to return to his home state of Texas to take over as the head coach at UTEP.
Fresno State to play in 2018 Wooden Legacy
While Fresno State's full 2018-19 schedule has not been finalized, Fresno State will notably play in the 2018 Wooden Legacy (Nov. 22, 23 & 25), which also features Grand Canyon (Western Athletic), Hawai'i (Big West) LaSalle (Atlantic 10), Miami (Atlantic Coast), Northwestern (Big Ten), Utah (Pacific-12) and Seton Hall (Big East).
Fresno State (21-11), Grand Canyon (22-12), Miami (22-10), Seton Hall (21-12) and Utah (23-12) won 20 or more games in 2017-2018. Overall, the eight schools in the 2018 Wooden Legacy combined for a 155-106 record (59.4 percent).
The Wooden Legacy was formed in June 2013 when the John R. Wooden Classic was merged with the Anaheim Classic, which was an eight-school bracketed event played for six years (2007-2012) at the Anaheim Convention Center. Past Anaheim Classic/Wooden Legacy winners were USC (2007), Wake Forest (2008), West Virginia (2009), UNLV (2010), Saint Louis (2011), Cal (2012), San Diego State (2013), Washington (2014), Michigan State (2015), UCLA (2016) and Washington State (2017).
The Wooden Legacy is one of several in-season bracketed college basketball tournaments owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
With the 2017-18 season officially over, the 'Dogs can draw on the foundation that has been built for the future with the offseason work already under way to prepare for the upcoming 2018-19 season.
Fresno State's consistency leads to success
Fresno State is one of three MW teams to have finished .500 or better in league play in each of the past five seasons, including this past season. Fresno State, Boise State and San Diego State have won at least nine conference games in each of the last five seasons. During the past half-decade, Fresno State has averaged 10.8 conference wins per season, with at least 10 MW wins for four straight seasons, including a 13-5 mark in 2015-16.
Fresno State (21-11, 11-7 MW) finished in fourth place in the 2017-18 MW standings and earned its third straight Top 4 seed for the MW Tournament. Fresno State is one of two MW teams (Boise State) to have earned a first round bye in each of the past four seasons (including this season).
Taylor, Williams earn All-MW honors
Fresno State junior guard Deshon Taylor earned first-team All-MW and All-Defense Team honors and Bulldogs' sophomore forward Bryson Williams was named third-team All-MW by the conference's head coaches for the 2017-18 season.
This was the fourth straight season Fresno State has had a student-athlete recognized as an All-Defense team honoree (Marvelle Harris – 2014-15 & 2015-16, Jaron Hopkins – 2016-17 and Deshon Taylor – 2017-18).
During conference play this season, Taylor led the MW with 111 free throws made and ranked fifth in steals (24 steals, 1.4 spg) and seventh in scoring (17.5 ppg). He scored a career-high 32 points in a road game at Nevada on Jan. 31 and made at least one 3-pointer in all 18 league contests. For the season, Taylor averaged 18.0 points per game and has set a new school record with 197 made free throws so far this season. Taylor was named third-team All-MW by the league's head coaches as a sophomore in 2016-17.
Williams also ranked in the Top 20 in scoring during league play by averaging 13.9 points per game and ranking second in field goal percentage (107-for-188 FG, 56.9 percent) in MW games. This was Williams' first ever all-conference selection from the MW head coaches.
Taylor was also named first-team All-MW (MW Wire staff) and second-team All-MW (select nine-member MW media panel of newspaper beat reporters), while Williams was an honorable mention All-MW designee by both the MW Wire staff and select MW media group.
Bittner named CoSIDA Academic All-District 8
Fresno State junior forward Sam Bittner was named a 2017-18 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District 8 honoree. Bittner is also a two-time MW scholar athlete and a two-time Academic All-MW selection. He ranked 11th in the nation in 3-point shooting (39-for-81, 48.1 percent) for players with at least one made 3-pointer per team game at the end of the regular season. Bittner (business administration major, 3.94 GPA) is the second Bulldog ever to be honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection – joining three-time Academic All-District honoree Nedeljko Golubovic, who was recognized from 2009-11.
Grimes emerged in key match-ups in MW play
Fresno State sophomore forward Nate Grimes, who redshirted the 2015-16 season, had two double-doubles in MW play. He scored a career-high 20 points with 12 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 80-62 road win at Wyoming on Feb. 3. Grimes, who is from Las Vegas, also had 15 points (7-7 FG), 10 rebounds and four blocks, including one with 21 seconds left to play, to help power Fresno State to a 77-73 road win at San Diego State on Jan. 17.
Bulldogs deliver multiple extended winning streaks
From Nov. 22-Dec. 13, 2017, Fresno State won seven straight games, which started when the Bulldogs defeated the Atlantic-10's George Mason 79-73 in Cancun. During the stretch, which was the second win streak of at least seven games with head coach Rodney Terry at the helm, Fresno State also scored two big road wins - at Long Beach State (106-70) and at Cal Poly (83-63) - and took care of business in its backyard with four home victories. Fresno State also won five straight conference games by double-digits (Feb. 3-21, 2018), which included three dominant road wins (at Wyoming: 80-62, at San Jose State: 77-57 and at UNLV 77-64) and two home wins (San Diego State: 79-61 and Colorado State: 86-65).
Terry closes Bulldog career 3rd on all-time wins list
In seven seasons at Fresno State, head coach Rodney Terry had 126 wins, which ranks him third on the Bulldogs' all-time head coaching wins list. Jerry Tarkanian (1995-2002) had 104 career wins (153* wins prior to having to vacate 49 wins). Terry was the 18th head coach in program history and the fourth Fresno State head coach to coach at least 200 career games. Boyd Grant (1977-86) is first with 194 career wins, while Ed Gregory (1965-77) is second with 172 career wins. After the season ended, Terry decided to return to his home state of Texas to take over as the head coach at UTEP.
Fresno State to play in 2018 Wooden Legacy
While Fresno State's full 2018-19 schedule has not been finalized, Fresno State will notably play in the 2018 Wooden Legacy (Nov. 22, 23 & 25), which also features Grand Canyon (Western Athletic), Hawai'i (Big West) LaSalle (Atlantic 10), Miami (Atlantic Coast), Northwestern (Big Ten), Utah (Pacific-12) and Seton Hall (Big East).
Fresno State (21-11), Grand Canyon (22-12), Miami (22-10), Seton Hall (21-12) and Utah (23-12) won 20 or more games in 2017-2018. Overall, the eight schools in the 2018 Wooden Legacy combined for a 155-106 record (59.4 percent).
The Wooden Legacy was formed in June 2013 when the John R. Wooden Classic was merged with the Anaheim Classic, which was an eight-school bracketed event played for six years (2007-2012) at the Anaheim Convention Center. Past Anaheim Classic/Wooden Legacy winners were USC (2007), Wake Forest (2008), West Virginia (2009), UNLV (2010), Saint Louis (2011), Cal (2012), San Diego State (2013), Washington (2014), Michigan State (2015), UCLA (2016) and Washington State (2017).
The Wooden Legacy is one of several in-season bracketed college basketball tournaments owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
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