Golden State stretch starts at Cal

Wednesday, December 11

Berkeley, CA

7:00 PM PT

Fresno State

California

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Golden State stretch starts at Cal

12/10/2019 11:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes: Fresno State at Cal (PDF)

Fresno State will play its next seven games in the state of California, starting Wednesday night at Cal.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

Game 9: Fresno State (2-6) at California (5-4)
Dec. 11, 2019 • 7 p.m. PT • Berkeley, Calif. (Haas Pavilion)
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Guy Haberman/Mike Montgomery)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: California leads 6-2 (overall) & 3-0 (games played in Berkeley, Calif.)
Last Meeting: Fresno State 95, California 73 (Dec. 19, 2018 • Fresno, Calif.)
Next Up: at Cal Poly (Dec. 14); vs. IUPUI (Dec. 20); vs. San Francisco (Dec. 23)
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 returns to the Bay Area to take on Cal
Fresno State visits the California Golden Bears on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks and 940 AM ESPN Radio. This will be the Bulldogs' fourth-ever road game at Cal and second contest this season against a Pac-12 opponent. Fresno State is in the middle of a three-game road swing, which will finish on Saturday evening at Cal Poly.

Fresno State & California: All-Time Series History
Fresno State has defeated the California Golden Bears twice, including a 95-73 victory last season at the Save Mart Center on Dec. 19, 2018. In last year's game, Fresno State's New Williams scored a game-high 19 points, with Nate Grimes adding 17 points and Noah Blackwell posting 13 points, a career-high nine assists and seven rebounds. Blackwell was named the Mountain West's Player of the Week for his combined effort in the win over Cal, and a victory over UT-Martin later in the week. The Bulldogs' previous win over the Golden Bears was a 82-70 win in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament, with the game played in Memphis, Tenn., on March 16, 2001. California leads the all-time series 6-2, including a 3-0 record against Fresno State in Berkeley, Calif. Fresno State is seeking its first road win over a Pac-12 team since winning 63-58 at Oregon State on Nov. 25, 2016. This is Fresno State's first road game at Cal since a 67-56 loss on Dec. 14, 2013.

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State is opening the season by playing seven of its first 10 games away from the Save Mart Center (six road games + one neutral site game).
Fresno State leads the MW in blocked shots per game (4.5 bpg).
Fresno State senior guard Noah Blackwell is second in the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0 A-TO ratio, 24-8).
Fresno State senior forward Nate Grimes leads the Mountain West in blocked shots (1.9 blocks/game).
Fresno State is 19-4 when leading at halftime during Hutson's tenure.
During the Justin Hutson era, Fresno State has outscored autonomy-five conference schools (TCU, Northwestern, Miami, Cal and Oregon) by a combined score of 375-358 (+17).
Fresno State is coming off playing back-to-back overtime games for the second time since 2013 (first time in Hutson's tenure. Fresno State last played back-to-back overtime games during the 2017-18 season.
Fresno State's overtime game against then-No. 25 Utah State was the Bulldogs' first overtime contest when playing an Associated Press Top 25 opponent since 2015 (then-No. 25 Wyoming).
Fresno State will play its next seven games in the state of California, which includes four home games at the Save Mart Center.

'Dogs played three preseason AP Top 25 teams early

Fresno State was one of two teams (Michigan State) in the nation that had three teams ranked in the Preseason AP Top 25 poll on 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 played Saint Mary's (No. 20) in Sacramento at Golden 1 Center on Nov. 20 and visited 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-plus seasons (35), which is since the start of the 2016-17 season.
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.

Youth Movement
Through the first four-plus weeks of the season, Fresno State has five of the 21 freshmen who have appeared in games so far for Mountain West teams. Fresno State leads the league with freshmen averaging 99.9 minutes per game, which is nearly half of the Bulldogs' minutes per game average (47.0 percent). Fresno State's freshmen have accounted for 764 of the team's 1,700 total minutes played (44.9 percent) this season. Fresno State freshmen Jarred Hyder (12.7 ppg) and Orlando Robinson (9.9 ppg) have combined to produce an average of 22.6 points per game for the Bulldogs to lead the way for Fresno State's five freshmen, who are averaging a combined 30.3 points of the team's 71.5 points per game (42.4 percent).

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.