'Dogs open 2020 at No. 13/12 Aztecs

Wednesday, January 1

San Diego, CA

12:00 PM PT

Fresno State

No. 13/12 San Diego State

New Williams staged action shot in red uniform

'Dogs open 2020 at No. 13/12 Aztecs

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

Game Notes: Fresno State at San Diego State (PDF)

Fresno State is back on the road to play at No. 13/12 San Diego State on New Year's Day at noon. The game will be broadcast on Facebook (by Stadium) and 940 AM ESPN Radio.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

Game 14: Fresno State (4-9, 0-2 MW) at No. 13/12 San Diego State (13-0, 1-0 MW)
Jan. 1, 2020 • 12 p.m. PT • San Diego, Calif. (Viejas Arena)
Online: Facebook/Stadium (Doug Gottlieb/Jeff Goodman/Kristen Balboni)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: San Diego State leads 62-56 (overall) & 39-20 (games played in San Diego)
Last Meeting: Fresno State 76, San Diego State 74 (3/6/19 • Viejas Arena • San Diego)
Next Up: vs. San Jose State (Jan. 4); at New Mexico (Jan. 7); vs. San Diego State (Jan. 14)
Fresno State's 2019-20 Ken Pom Ranking: No. 130

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.
Hutson is 25-3 all-time as a Division I head coach (5-1) or assistant coach (20-2) when coaching against one of his former teams.

Fresno State opens 2020 at No. 13/12 San Diego State
Fresno State returns to Mountain West play with a high noon showdown with the No. 13/12-ranked San Diego State Aztecs on New Year's Day. The game will be broadcast on Facebook by Stadium and 940 AM ESPN Radio.

Fresno State & San Diego State: All-Time Series History
Fresno State has won its last five regular season meetings with San Diego State, including the last three games played at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs lead the all-time series 62-56, but the Bulldogs have won seven of the last nine games in the series (series tied 8-8 since the 'Dogs joined the MW in 2012).

Robinson delivers big week
Fresno State freshman forward Orlando Robinson averaged 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, 2.0 steals and 1.5 assists per game last week, while shooting 18-for-32 (56.3 percent) from the field, including a 6-for-12 mark (50.0 percent) from beyond the 3-point line, in home games against San Francisco (Dec. 23) and UC Riverside (Dec. 28).

Youth Movement
Through the first eight weeks of the season, Fresno State has fielded five of the 21 freshmen who have appeared in games so far for Mountain West teams. Fresno State leads the league with freshmen averaging 101 minutes per game, which is nearly half of the Bulldogs' minutes per game average (48.6 percent). Fresno State's freshmen have accounted for 1,188 of the team's 2,700 total minutes played (44.0 percent) this season. Fresno State freshmen Orlando Robinson (12.0 ppg) and Jarred Hyder (10.9 ppg) have combined to produce an average of 22.9 points per game for the Bulldogs to lead the way for Fresno State's five freshmen, who are averaging a combined 32.5 points of the team's 70.6 points per game (46.0 percent).

Between the Baselines

Fresno State opened 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 3-pointers made per game (9.6/gm).
Fresno State leads the MW in blocked shots per game (4.3 bpg).
Fresno State senior forward Nate Grimes leads the Mountain West in blocked shots (2.0 bpg) and ranks fourth in rebounding (9.6 rpg), which ranks 39th in the nation, 16th in the MW in scoring (12.8) and 18th in the country with six double-doubles this season (20 in his Bulldog career).
Fresno State is 21-5 when leading at halftime during Hutson's tenure.
Fresno State's scoring margin against Division I opponents is plus-0.8.

Bulldogs 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).

Fresno State All-Time Against AP Top 25 Teams

Fresno State is seeking its first win over an AP Top 25 team since 2002.
Fresno State is seeking the program's fourth-ever road win over an Associated Press Top 25 opponent.
All three of Fresno State's road wins over Associated Press Top 25 opponents have been one-point victories.
- W, 73-72 at No. 12 Tulsa (Feb. 24, 2000)
- W, 65-64 at No. 13 Utah (Feb. 8, 1996)
- W, 43-42 at No. 19 Oregon State (Dec. 4, 1982)
Fresno State's last victory over an Associated Press Top 25 team was back on Feb. 20, 2002 when the Bulldogs defeated then-No. 14 Oklahoma State 58-52 at Selland Arena in Fresno.
Fresno State's last road victory over an Associated Press Top 25 team was back on Feb. 24, 2000 when the Bulldogs defeated then-No. 12 Tulsa 73-72 with Courtney Alexander scoring 25 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 30 seconds remaining, for Fresno State.
This is Fresno State's sixth contest against an Associated Press Top 25 opponent during Hutson's tenure (since the start of the 2018-19 season).

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 four programs (Boise State, 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 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.