’Dogs off to Logan for showdown with Aggies

Wednesday, January 9

Logan, Utah

6 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Utah State

Photo by: Kohjiro Kinno / ESPN Images

’Dogs off to Logan for showdown with Aggies

1/8/2019 2:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes: Fresno State at Utah State (PDF)

The game between Fresno State (11-3, 2-0 Mountain West) and Utah State (11-4, 1-1 MW) will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and 940 AM ESPN Radio.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

Game 15: Fresno State (11-3, 2-0 MW) at Utah State (11-4, 1-1 MW)
Jan. 9, 2019 • 6 p.m. PT • Logan, Utah (Dee Glen Smith Spectrum)
TV/Online: Mountain West Network (Scott Garrard/Lance Beckert • Utah State Radio)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: Utah State leads 35-24 (overall) & 25-7 (games played in Logan)
Last Meeting: Utah State 65, Fresno State 62 (1/27/18 • Fresno, Calif.)
Next Up: vs. No. 10/11 Nevada (Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. PT); at Boise State (Jan. 19 at 2:30 p.m. PT)
Fresno State's NCAA NET Ranking: No. 71 (through games played on Jan. 7, 2019)

Opening Tip

First-year Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson is back home in the Valley. Hutson, a Bakersfield native, spent the last 12 seasons (San Diego State and UNLV) as one of the most respected assistant coaches in country.
Fresno State has won at least 20 games in each of the past three seasons (four of the past five seasons).
Last season, Fresno State (21-11, 11-7 MW) finished fourth in the 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.
Fresno State's 2018-19 roster includes two Division I transfers who redshirted last season: Braxton Huggins (New Mexico State) and Noah Blackwell (Long Beach State). Deshon Taylor (UMKC) and New Williams (Auburn) are also D-1 transfers, as is Chris Seeley (Utah - redshirting).

Bulldog Bones - By the numbers

Fresno State has outscored four autonomy five conference schools (TCU, Northwestern, Miami & Cal) by a combined score of 318-287 (+31) this season.
Fresno State is 43-3 in its last 46 games when shooting at least 50 percent from the field (5-0 this season).
Fresno State has made at least six 3-pointers in every game this season. The Bulldogs are 23-3 in their last 26 games making at least 10 3pt-FGs.
Fresno State just finished a 12-game stretch of playing exclusively in the state of California (10-2 record during the Golden State run).
Fresno State leads the MW in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.3). The Bulldogs are also second in the MW in scoring offense (79.4 points per game), scoring defense (65.6 points allowed per game), assists (16.0 per game), steals (7.5 per game), turnover margin (+2.2 per game), 3-point field goal percentage (37.4) and 3-pointers made (9.8 per game).
Fresno State is the only MW team to rank in the top two in both scoring offense (79.4) and scoring defense (65.6).
Fresno State's three losses have all been to Top 150 NET teams and have been by a total of 14 points (average of 4.7 points; no double-digit losses).
Fresno State is 9-0 this season when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent. (Last Loss: at New Mexico 95, Fresno State 86 [OT] • 3/3/18)
Fresno State has led at halftime in 13 of its 14 games this season (UVU).

'Dogs off to Logan for showdown with Aggies
The Fresno State men's basketball team will host the Colorado State Rams on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game between Fresno State (11-3, 2-0 Mountain West) and Utah State (11-4, 1-1 MW) will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and 940 AM ESPN Radio. After the trip to Logan, the 'Dogs will host the No. 10/11-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday at 5 p.m PT. Tickets for all remaining home games start at $15. Mini-plans start at $65 by calling 559-278-DOGS.

About the Utah State Aggies
Utah State is 11-4 on the season, including a 1-1 record in MW play after opening with a 72-49 loss at then-No. 6/5 Nevada and then earning a 79-62 home win over Air Force. Utah State is led in scoring by Sam Merrill (19.3 ppg/3.7 rpg/4.1 apg/1.1 spg). USU leads the all-time series 35-24 and the Aggies have won the last three meetings in the series, including both last season that were each decided by a single possession. Five of Fresno State's seven wins in Logan have been by five or fewer points. This will be the just the ninth meeting between the programs as members of the MW.

Taylor shining in return home to Golden State
Fresno State senior guard Deshon Taylor (Riverside, Calif.) is the home stretch of his collegiate career, which started at UMKC in 2014 before Taylor decided to return to his home state after his freshman season. He was key player in practice pushing the Bulldogs every day en route to the a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 courtesy of winning the 2016 MW tournament championship. During his three seasons playing at Fresno State, Taylor currently ranks 25th in program history in scoring (1,154 points) -- 10 points away from Kevin Bell (2004-08: 1,164 points) in 24th and 15 back of Kevin Olekaibe (2011-13: 1,169 points) in 23rd. Taylor also set a new program record with 200 made free throws last season as a junior and had a school record 17 made free throws in a game at Wyoming as a sophomore. This season, Taylor missed four games in December with an elbow injury and returned for the Bulldogs' MW opener on Jan. 2 at SJSU.

Fresno State's consistency leads to success
Fresno State is one of three Mountain West programs to have finished .500 or better in league play in each of the past five seasons. Fresno State, Boise State and San Diego State have won at least nine conference games in each of the last five seasons. Fresno State has averaged 10.8 conference wins per season (last five seasons), with at least 10 MW wins for four straight seasons, including a 13-5 mark in 2015-16.

George, Johnson represent Fresno State in NBA
Former Fresno State basketball players Paul George (2008-10) and Tyler Johnson (2010-14) are two of the 30 former Bulldogs to have played in the NBA. George is currently in his ninth NBA season and second with the Oklahoma City Thunder after being drafted 10th overall in 2010 by the Indiana Pacers, who he played for from 2010-17. Johnson is in his fifth season with the Miami Heat.