'Dogs travel to play at Air Force

Game 21: Fresno State (6-14, 2-7 MW) at Air Force (9-12, 3-6 MW)
Jan. 28, 2020 • 6 p.m. PT • USAFA, Colo. (Clune Arena)
TV/Online: AT&T Sports Net (Jenny Cavnar/Joe Cravens/Taylor McGregor)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: Fresno State leads 20-7 (overall) & 7-4 (games played at Air Force)
Last Meeting: Fresno State 76, Air Force 50 (3/14/19 • Las Vegas • Thomas & Mack Center)
Next Up: vs. New Mexico (Feb. 1); vs. Colorado State (Feb. 4); at UNLV (Feb. 8)
Fresno State's 2019-20 NCAA NET & Ken Pom Rankings: No. 179 & No. 165

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 the country.

Fresno State returns to the road to face Falcons
Fresno State visits the Air Force Falcons on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT at Clune Arena on AT&T Sports Net and 940 AM ESPN Radio. This is the first of two regular season meetings between the programs this season.

Fresno State & Air Force: All-Time Series History
Fresno State has won 11 of its last 13 meetings with Air Force, including three of its last four true road games against the Falcons. Fresno State went 1-1 against AFA last year in Justin Hutson's first season as the Bulldogs' head coach, which included a 76-50 win in the MW Quarterfinals.

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 blocked shots per game (3.9 bpg).
Fresno State is second in the MW in 3-pointers made per game (8.8/gm).
Fresno State is 22-5 when leading at halftime during Hutson's tenure.
Fresno State has lost 14 straight games when trailing at halftime (0-11 this season). Last win: at UNM (2/16/19 - W, 81-73; trailed 38-35 at half)
Fresno State is 353rd out of 353 Division I teams in "luck" by Ken Pom.

Youth Movement
Fresno State has fielded six of the 22 freshmen who have appeared in games so far for Mountain West teams. Fresno State leads the league with freshmen averaging 100.2 minutes per game, which is nearly half of the Bulldogs' minutes per game average (48.9 percent). Fresno State's freshmen have accounted for 2,003 of the team's 4100 total minutes played (48.9 percent) this season. Fresno State freshmen Orlando Robinson (12.9 ppg) and Jarred Hyder (9.8 ppg) lead the way for Fresno State's now six freshmen, who have scored 621 of the Bulldogs' 1,354 points for an average of 31.1 points of the team's 67.7 points per game (45.9 percent). Robinson is the only Bulldog to play in all 20 games this season.

20-point games by Fresno State freshmen (Last 15 Seasons)
6 - Paul George, 2008-09
4 - Jarred Hyder, 2019-20
4 - Kevin Olekaibe, 2010-11
3 - Orlando Robinson, 2019-20
3 - Greg Smith, 2009-10

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).

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State senior forward Nate Grimes leads the Mountain West in blocked shots (1.8 bpg) and ranks third in rebounding (9.5 rpg), with six double-doubles this season (20 in his Bulldog career).
Justin Hutson is 25-5 all-time as a Division I head coach (5-3) or assistant coach (20-2) when coaching against one of his former teams.
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).
Fresno State has used 11 starting line-ups in its first 20 games.

Three Bulldogs represent Fresno State in NBA
Former Fresno State basketball players Paul George (2008-10), Tyler Johnson (2010-14) and Paul Watson (2013-17) are three of the 31 former Bulldogs to have played in the NBA.

George is in his tenth NBA season and first with the Los Angeles Clippers after being drafted 10th overall in 2010 by the Indiana Pacers, who he played for from 2010-17, and then two seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2017-19. Meanwhile, Johnson just concluded his fifth season in the NBA, and plays for the Phoenix Suns after starting his career by playing over four and a half seasons for the Miami Heat. Watson signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks in 2020, and appeared in two games and then signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors later in January.

"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.

'Dogs travel to play at Air Force

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Players Mentioned

Nate Grimes

Jarred Hyder

Orlando Robinson

Fresno State Athletics

'Dogs travel to play at Air Force

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nate Grimes

Jarred Hyder

Orlando Robinson

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