Mountain West unbeatens to meet on Saturday afternoon

Game 16: Fresno State (11-4, 4-0 MW) vs. Boise State (13-2, 4-0 MW)
Jan. 19, 2019 – 1 p.m. PT – Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
Live Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: Sidearmstats
Radio: 790 AM ESPN2
Series History: Fresno State leads 24-14
Last Meeting: Boise State won 75-66 on Jan. 10, 2018 in Boise, Idaho
Up Next: at San Diego State (Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. PT)

Promotions:

Community Heroes Day
Saturday Student giveaway
Chance to win a free entrée courtesy of The Old Spaghetti Factory for being in the Lucky Row of the Game
Lookout for a balloon drop giveaway
Sophomore poster autograph session
Watch Mutts in Motion perform at halftime

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State enters Saturday's game in a tie atop the Mountain West at 4-0 with Boise State. The Bulldogs will be seeking a 5-0 start for the third time in their seven years in the league.
The 'Dogs are 8-0 at the Save Mart Center this season, the eighth-longest home winning streak in program history.
The Bulldogs are averaging 72.9 points per game, the first time they have averaged over 70 points since the 2013-14 season.
Like a season ago, Fresno State's top scorers have remained the same: Aly Gamez (10.3 ppg), Maddi Utti (11.0 ppg) and Candice White (18.8 ppg).
Reaching double figures in scoring in all but one game this season, Candice White leads the MW in scoring by 2.4 points per game. The senior is averaging 26.0 points during her last three games and 23.3 in MW games.
White currently sits at No. 8 on Fresno State's scoring list with 1,389 points.
The 'Dogs rank fourth in the NCAA in free-throw percentage, knocking them down at a clip of 78.7 percent. Hitting 26-of-28 on the season, Utti's 92.9 percent leads the team.
With its up-tempo, pressing style, Fresno State has created havoc on opposing offenses to rank No. 9 in the NCAA and first in the conference in steals per game, averaging 12.0 per outing. The 'Dogs also sit at No. 54 in the country and second in the conference in turnovers forced with 19.60 per game.
Shooting 53.0 percent from the field (3rd in MW) while averaging 10.6 points per game and leading the team in rebounding (6.7 rbg), Utti also ranks fourth in the conference in steals per game, averaging 2.0 per game.

Scouting Boise State

Boise State enters Saturday's matchup with a 13-2 record and 4-0 in league play, giving the team the 20th best win-loss ratio in the country.
The only losses for the Broncos this season have come against Power Five conference schools Washington State and No. 4/4 Louisville, as they faced the Cardinals at home and the Cougars on the road.
Boise State has won its last eight games, including three conference matchups and a win on the road over Washington.
The Broncos have maintained a scoring margin of +13.0 on the season, averaging 77.1 ppg while giving up just 64.1 ppg, which also gives them the No. 34 scoring offense in the country and best in the conference.
Boise state is also shooting 45 percent from the field and 38 percent from deep while holding opponents to 39 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three-point land. That success from downtown has led to being ranked No. 26 in the NCAA and second in conference in 3's per game.
Those percentages make the Broncos No. 25 in the NCAA and second in the conference in overall field goal percentage, along with No. 18 in the nation and second in the Mountain West from beyond the arc.
Boise State averages more than six assists than its opponents each outing at 17.1 per game, a mark that ranks No. 24 in the nation and at the top of the conference.
The Broncos are second in the conference and No. 28 in the country in turnover margin with a +4.73 average this season.
Junior guard Riley Lupfer leads the squad in scoring at 12.7 ppg, doing most of her damage from deep, averaging 2.7 3's per game, which ranks second in the conference and No. 57 in the nation.
Redshirt junior guard Jayde Christopher makes the offense go, averaging 5.5 assists per game, a total that ranks second in the Mountain West and No. 26 in the NCAA.

History with Boise State

Fresno State leads the overall series 24-14.
The Broncos gained the series lead in their sole matchup last season, defeating Fresno State in Boise, Idaho, 75-66.
Boise State has won four consecutive contests dating back to the 2016-17 season.
Fresno State's last win over the Broncos was on Jan. 9, 2016, when the 'Dogs took down Boise State at home in the Save Mart Center, 62-57.

Coming alive in league play
Since Mountain West play began, Fresno State ranks in the top three in 15 of 21 statistical categories distributed by the league office. The Bulldogs are one of only two teams in the conference with at least 10 top-three rankings (Wyoming - 10).

Defending Fresno
The Bulldogs have lived up to defending their home court this season, going 8-0 at the Save Mart Center. The eight-game home winning streak is the eighth-longest in a single season in program history. The longest streak sits at 12 set during the 2005-06 season.

Built around offense
Unlike the first four seasons under head coach Jaime White, this year's Bulldogs have been built on offense. The 'Dogs are currently averaging 72.9 points per game, their highest scoring output since the 2011-12 season (74.9 ppg).

Fresno State has not averaged over 70 points per game in a season since the year prior to White's arrival when the team scored 70.1 points per game.
The increase in scoring on offense has had its effect on the defense as the Bulldogs gave up the fifth-most points per game in program history last year (67.8 ppg). It was the most since 2001-02 season. That has since dropped to 60.7 points per game this year, closer the 59.8 they allowed on average during the previous three seasons.

Offensive distribution
Fresno State has seen three players score double figures in 11 of 15 games this season. The 'Dogs have seen three games with four players in double digits and five Bulldogs have scored in double figures twice.

The Bulldogs are 4-1 when at least four players reach double figures while posting a 2-1 record when only two players are in double digits. Both wins with only two players in double figures have come on the road during conference play.
Five Bulldogs are averaging more than 8.5 points.
Fresno State won its only game this season with only one player in doubles figures (White - 26) but four others scored eight or nine points.

Taking the easy ones
The 'Dogs are ranked No. 4 in the country in free-throw percentage, knocking down 137-of-174 to shoot 78.7 percent on the season. This comes a year after setting the program's single-season record at 75.2 percent (369-491).

Fresno State's best percentage of the season came at USC when the team shot 10-of-10 from the line in a one-point defeat.
The Bulldogs have not missed a free throw in four different games.
Three Bulldogs to have attempted at least 25 free throws are shooting at least 88 percent. Maddi Utti (26-of-28) is converting at a team-high 92.9 percent clip.

We'll take that
A key to Fresno State's success thus far has been through an aggressive, havoc style mindset on the defensive end. The Bulldogs are forcing the second-most turnovers in the Mountain West at 19.60 per game, and sit ninth in the NCAA in steals with 12.0 per game.

Maddi Utti and Candice White rank fourth in the league, averaging 1.9 steals per game. Aly Gamez and Kristina Cavey are tied for sixth with 1.8 per game.
The Bulldogs are the only team in the conference to have four players rank in the top 10 in steals, let alone the top 15.
The 'Dogs have five players with 20+ steals through 14 games – Kristina Cavey (28), Bree Delaney (22), Aly Gamez (28), Maddi Utti (29) and Candice White (29).

Continuity on the court
Fresno State has started the same five players in all 15 of its games this season. The group of senior Candice White, junior Kristina Cavey and sophomores Aly Gamez, Genna Ogier and Maddi Utti account for 53.4 points per game.

Seven Bulldogs average more than 15 minutes per game with six over 20 minutes.

New year, same scorer
One of the top shooting guards in the country, Candice White has scored 282 points through 15 games this season, averaging a team-high 18.8 points per game to lead the Mountain West.

She currently sits at No. 8 on the all-time scoring list, moving up 12 spots during the first half of the season. White has made her mark on the list in essentially two-plus seasons after playing only 69 minutes during her freshman year, scoring just 13 points.
The senior is 21 points behind Haley Munro.
White also leads the squad with seven 20-plus point games, picking up three in her last two outings (28, 26 and 24).

Explosive scoring
During the last three games, Candice White has averaged 26.0 points per game. Fifty-five of her 78 points have come in three halves, the first at Colorado State and Nevada and the second versus Utah State. Each outburst (16/22/17) resulted in a 20-minute stretch dominated by the Bulldogs. With White on the floor in those three halves, Fresno State outscored their opponents by a combined 121-63 in her 54 minutes.

White has scored at last 15 points in a half seven times this season, scoring at least 20 points twice.

"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.

Mountain West unbeatens to meet on Saturday afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kristina Cavey

Bree Delaney

Aly Gamez

Genna Ogier

Maddi Utti

Candice White

Fresno State Athletics

Mountain West unbeatens to meet on Saturday afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kristina Cavey

Bree Delaney

Aly Gamez

Genna Ogier

Maddi Utti

Candice White

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