Bulldogs, Gaels meet in Sacramento

Wednesday, November 20

Sacramento, CA (Golden 1 Center)

8:00 PM PT

Fresno State

Saint Mary's College

Tickets

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Bulldogs, Gaels meet in Sacramento

11/19/2019 11:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes: Saint Mary's vs. Fresno State (PDF)

Fresno State will take on Saint Mary's College in Sacramento at the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night. The game will start at 8 p.m. PT on ESPNU and 940 AM ESPN Radio.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

Game 5: Saint Mary's (3-1) vs. Fresno State (2-2)
Nov. 20, 2019 • 8 p.m. PT • Sacramento, Calif. (Golden 1 Center)
TV: ESPNU (Sam Farber/Adrian Branch)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: Saint Mary's College leads 19-18 (first neutral site meeting)
Last Meeting: Saint Mary's College 99, Fresno State 85 (Nov. 17, 2008 • Moraga, Calif.)
Next Up: at CSUN (Nov. 30); vs. UNLV (Dec. 4); at Utah State (Dec. 7); at California (Dec. 10)
Fresno State's 2018-19 Final NCAA NET Ranking: No. 82

Opening Tip

Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson is in his second season after winning 23 games in his first season back home in the San Joaquin Valley.
Hutson was named the 2018-19 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year.
Hutson, a Bakersfield native, had spent 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 four seasons (five of the past six seasons) and joined the Mountain West in 2012.
Fresno State is 3-2 all-time in neutral site games (2-1 nonconference) since Hutson's return home to the Valley in April 2018.

Bulldogs, Gaels set for Sacramento Showdown
Fresno State, who is 25-11 since head coach Justin Hutson's arrival in 2018, will face the Saint Mary's College Gaels in a Wednesday night showdown in Sacramento, Calif. at the Golden 1 Center, which is the home of the NBA's Sacramento Kings. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. PT on ESPNU and 940 AM ESPN Radio. This neutral site contest will likely be a Quadrant 1 or 2 game for both teams in the NCAA's NET rankings.

Fresno State & Saint Mary's College: All-Time Series History
When the Bulldogs and Gaels tip off on Wednesday night, it will be the 38th all-time meeting (first neutral site contest) between the programs separated by 179 miles. Saint Mary's owns a slight 19-18 advantage over Fresno State in the all-time series with the last meeting coming in 2008 when Paul George rocketed onto the radar of NBA teams with a life-changing one-handed dunk on a pair of Gael defenders (Mickey McConnell and all-time Saint Mary's block leader Diamon Simpson). George finished that late night affair around 1 a.m. with his first career double-double (25 points/10 rebounds) and became Fresno State's highest draft pick as the No. 10 overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in 2010. George is now a six-time NBA All-Star and 2016 Olympic gold medalist, and had his No. 24 jersey retired by Fresno State during the Bulldogs' 77-74 buzzer-beating home-opening win over the Winthrop Eagles on Nov. 10. George is now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers with Kawhi Leonard, who Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson recruited and coached during his time at San Diego State as an assistant coach.

Hyder ranks in Top 25 in NCAA freshman scorers
Through the first two weeks of the season, Fresno State freshman point guard Jarred Hyder (San Bernardino, Calif.) is tied for 16th in the nation in scoring (17.0 ppg) for all NCAA Division I freshmen scorers. Hyder scored 49 points in two games in three days having scored 26 points and 23 points, respectively, in his last two outings. For the season, Hyder has played a team-high 102 minutes (34.0 mpg) in averaging 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He has also made seven 3-pointers and sports a 83.3 percent free throw percentage (10-for-12).

Agau soaring off the bench
In the first four games of the 2019-20 season, Fresno State sophomore guard/forward Aguir Agau has averaged 17.8 minutes per game - all as a reserve off the bench. Agau (10.3 ppg/4.5 rpg/1.3 bpg) is one of four Bulldogs to average over 10 points per game so far this season. In the last two games entering Wednesday's game, Agau averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists while going 9-for-14 from the field (64.3 percent), including a 7-for-9 mark (77.8 percent) from beyond the 3-point line, in 32 minutes of action as a reserve (average of 16.0 minutes per game). He scored a career-high 20 points, with a career-best seven rebounds and five 3-pointers (5-for-6 3FGA) in the Bulldogs' 92-47 win against CSUSB. He also had two assists and a block in 18 minutes off the bench in the 45-point home win over the Coyotes. Last season, Agau was one of three Bulldogs to play in all 32 games (no starts), with a breakout performance in Fresno State's 76-50 MW quarterfinal win over Air Force. He had a season-high 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting (4-for-6 3FG). All 36 games of his Fresno State career have been as a reserve.

'Dogs to play three preseason AP Top 25 teams early

Fresno State is one of two teams (Michigan State) in the nation that had three teams ranked in the Preseason AP Top 25 poll on the its schedule for the first eight games of the 2019-20 regular season.
Fresno State opened the season at Oregon (No. 15) on Nov. 5, and then plays Saint Mary's (No. 20) in Sacramento at Golden 1 Center on Nov. 20 and visits Utah State (No. 17) on Dec. 7 (AP Top 25 preseason rankings).

A proven winner and consistent contender in the Mountain West

Fresno State has won the second-most MW games in the last three seasons (35) and in the last four seasons (48).
Fresno State is one of three programs (Nevada and San Diego State) with 58 or more MW wins in the last five seasons.
Fresno State is the only program to earn a MW Tournament first-round bye in each of the past five seasons.
Fresno State is one of two programs, along with San Diego State, with a .500 record or better in MW play in each of the last six seasons.
Fresno State is the only team to win at least 10 MW games in each of the last five seasons.

Fresno State's consistency leads to success
Fresno State is one of two Mountain West programs (San Diego State) to have a .500 record or better with at least nine wins in league play in each of the past six seasons. Fresno State has averaged 11.2 conference wins per season over the last six seasons, with at least 10 MW wins in now five straight seasons, including a 13-5 mark twice (2015-16 & 2018-19).

Grimes' hard work has fifth-year senior rising
Fresno State fifth-year senior forward/center Nate Grimes is back for his final season at Fresno State and enters the 2019-20 season as a strong all-conference candidate in the Mountain West. Grimes is one of two MW players, along with Colorado State's Nico Carvacho, to average a double-double (11.8 points/10.2 rebounds) during league play in 2018-19. On the defensive end of the floor, the 225-pound Grimes is also a rim protector, who averaged a block and a half per game to post the second-best shot-blocking clip in the MW last season. Grimes ranks ninth on the program's all-time shot blocking list with 93 career blocks.

Williams focused on consistency, dialing up pressure
Fresno State fifth-year senior guard New Williams, who was a McDonald's All-America nominee out of Santa Monica High School and began his college career at Auburn, has spent countless hours in the gym to become a more consistent offensive threat and dial up the pressure on defense. Williams played in all 32 games (8.2 points/3.2 rebounds/1.0 assists per game in 2018-19) for the 'Dogs last season with some big efforts, especially an important 24-point output on Jan. 30 at Wyoming and the go-ahead steal and dunk in the final minute at San Diego State to lead to two of the Bulldogs' co-leading seven conference road wins.

Blackwell fiercely enhancing game
For Fresno State fifth-year senior guard Noah Blackwell, who is from Roseville, Calif., the 2019-20 season will be his last collegiate campaign. He played two seasons at Long Beach State with his first career start for the 49ers as a freshman in 2015 coming against then-No. 12 Duke when he scored 19 points against the Blue Devils. During his LBSU career, Blackwell was a solid contributor, primarily at shooting guard, before deciding to transfer to Fresno State in 2017. After redshirting the 2017-18 season, the 6-foot-3 play-making point guard averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game last season, especially thriving late in nonconference play when Hutson needed someone to fill the void with veteran All-Mountain West guard Deshon Taylor sidelined with an elbow injury. In his last game this season, Blackwell had a team-high eight assists (no turnovers) against CSUSB. He currently leads the team (No. 2 in the MW) with a 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio (12-3 A-TO).

Fresno State retired Paul George's jersey on Nov. 10
Paul George, a six-time NBA All-Star and 2016 Olympic gold medalist, had his No. 24 jersey retired during Fresno State's home opener on Nov. 10. George, a native of Palmdale, Calif., has become a bonafide NBA superstar after shining for two seasons at Fresno State before being drafted No. 10 overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. George spent his first seven seasons (2010-17) in the NBA with the Pacers, and then two seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2017-19) before becoming a member of the Los Angeles Clippers this summer. George is the second former Fresno State men's basketball student-athlete to be honored with a jersey retirement, joining former Bulldog coach and student-athlete Jerry Tarkanian, who had his #2 jersey retired on March 1, 2014.

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