'Dogs off to coast to face Mustangs

Saturday, December 14

San Luis Obispo, CA

7:00 PM PT

Fresno State

Cal Poly

New Williams staged action shot in navy uniform

Photo by: Keith Kountz

'Dogs off to coast to face Mustangs

12/13/2019 1:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes: Fresno State at Cal Poly (PDF)

Saturday's game will be broadcast on BigWest.TV and 940 AM ESPN Radio. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. PT.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

Game 10: Fresno State (2-7) at Cal Poly (2-7)
Dec. 14, 2019 • 7 p.m. PT • San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Mott Gym)
Online: BigWest.TV (Chris Sylvester/Alex Lambertson - Cal Poly radio)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: Fresno State leads 34-8 (overall) & 13-6 (games played at Cal Poly)
Last Meeting: Fresno State 76, Cal Poly 67 (Dec. 1, 2018 • Fresno, Calif.)
Next Up: vs. IUPUI (Dec. 20); vs. San Francisco (Dec. 23); vs. UC Riverside (Dec. 28)
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 heads to coast to face Mustangs
Fresno State visits the Cal Poly Mustangs on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT at Mott Gym. The game will be streamed on BigWest.TV and also broadcast on 940 AM ESPN Radio. This will be the final game of a three-game road swing for the Bulldogs, who will start a three-game homestand on Dec. 20 against IUPUI. Fresno State and Cal Poly are playing a nonconference contest against each other for the ninth straight season, and the teams will also meet again at the Save Mart Center during the 2020-21 season.

Fresno State & Cal Poly: All-Time Series History
This will be the 43rd all-time meeting (20th in San Luis Obispo, Calif.) between the programs separated by 137 miles. Fresno State leads the all-time series 34-8 overall, which includes a 13-6 record in road games at Cal Poly. The Bulldogs have won 19 of the last 21 contests against the Mustangs, including seven of the last eight match-ups over on the California coast in San Luis Obispo. Fresno State is 3-1 against Big West opponents during Hutson's tenure, including a 76-67 victory over Cal Poly last season on Dec. 1, 2018 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).

Between the Baselines

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 (4.3 bpg).
Fresno State is second in the MW in 3-pointers made per game (9.6/gm).
Fresno State senior forward Nate Grimes leads the Mountain West in blocked shots (1.9 bpg) and ranks second in rebounding (10.3 rpg).
Grimes is one of three MW players averaging a double-double this season (12.3 ppg/10.3 rpg). Grimes also ranks 20th in the MW in scoring (12.3).
Fresno State is 19-4 when leading at halftime during Hutson's tenure.
Fresno State's scoring margin against Division I opponents is minus-5.3.

Bulldog Bones

This is the second of seven straight games Fresno State is playing in the state of California, including four home games at the Save Mart Center.
Justin Hutson is 24-3 all-time as a Division I head coach (4-1) or assistant coach (20-2) when coaching against one of his former teams. Hutson was an assistant coach at Cal Poly for two seasons (2004-06).
During the Justin Hutson era, Fresno State has outscored autonomy-five conference schools – TCU, Northwestern, Miami, Cal (twice) and Oregon – by a combined score of 438-427 (+11).
To open MW play, Fresno State played back-to-back overtime games for the second time since 2013 (first time in Hutson's tenure). Fresno State had 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).

Youth Movement
Through the first five weeks of the season, Fresno State fields five of the 21 freshmen who have appeared in games so far for Mountain West teams. Fresno State leads the league with freshmen averaging 98.5 minutes per game, which is nearly half of the Bulldogs' minutes per game average (46.7 percent). Fresno State's freshmen have accounted for 856 of the team's 1,900 total minutes played (45.1 percent) this season. Fresno State freshmen Jarred Hyder (12.0 ppg) and Orlando Robinson (9.6 ppg) have combined to produce an average of 21.6 points per game for the Bulldogs to lead the way for Fresno State's five freshmen, who are averaging a combined 28.9 points of the team's 70.6 points per game (40.9 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.