'Dogs, Lobos to square off Tuesday

Tuesday, January 7

Albuquerque, NM

8:00 PM PT

Fresno State

New Mexico

Photo by: Keith Kountz

'Dogs, Lobos to square off Tuesday

1/6/2020 11:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes: Fresno State at New Mexico (PDF)

Fresno State is back on the road for three of its next four games, starting at New Mexico on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. PT on ESPNU and 940 AM ESPN Radio.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

Game 16: Fresno State (5-10, 1-3 MW) at New Mexico (13-3, 2-1 MW)
Jan. 7, 2020 • 8 p.m. PT • Albuquerque, N.M. (Dreamstyle Arena - The Pit)
TV/Online: ESPNU (Dave Feldman/Corey Williams)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: New Mexico leads 16-14 (overall) & 10-2 (games played at The Pit)
Last Meeting: Fresno State 81, New Mexico 73 (2/16/19 • Albuquerque, N.M. • The Pit)
Next Up: vs. San Diego State (Jan. 14); at Wyoming (Jan. 18); at Colorado State (Jan. 22)
Fresno State's 2019-20 Ken Pom Ranking: No. 125

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 to visit New Mexico on Tuesday night
Fresno State returns to the road for three of its next four games, starting when the Bulldogs visit the New Mexico Lobos on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and 940 AM ESPN Radio. The Bulldogs' next home game is with No. 7/7 San Diego State on Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. PT.

Fresno State & New Mexico: All-Time Series History
Fresno State has won five of its last six meetings with New Mexico and the Bulldogs are 2-2 in their last four trips to Albuquerque, N.M., after losing the first eight true road games in the all-time series with the Lobos. UNM has a 16-14 edge overall in the series. Last season, Fresno State swept New Mexico, which included an 82-70 home victory on Feb. 2, 2019 and an 81-73 road win two weeks later on Feb. 16, 2019. During the previous four seasons, Fresno State owns the best winning percentage (6-3, 66.7 percent) against UNM of any MW program.

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 (36), 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.

Bulldogs thriving in the Mountain West
When the Bulldogs joined the MW in 2012, the conference had three teams – New Mexico (No. 21), San Diego State (No. 22) and UNLV (No. 23) – ranked in the final 2011-12 Associated Press poll on March 12, 2012. It appeared to be – and was – a daunting task to find a way to compete and thrive in such a challenging conference, which sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and five in 2013.

Yet, after a lot of hard work and a relentless commitment to excellence, Fresno State is a combined 20-8 against UNLV (7-1), UNM (6-3) and SDSU (7-4) for a league-leading 71.4 winning percentage against those three MW programs in the past four-plus seasons, including a 5-2 record when playing those teams in Justin Hutson's tenure as head coach.

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 (4.1 bpg).
Fresno State is second in the MW in 3-pointers made per game (9.6/gm).
Fresno State is 21-5 when leading at halftime during Hutson's tenure.
Fresno State's scoring margin against Division I opponents is even (+1.1).

Williams ties records in Bulldogs' 79-64 win over San Jose State
Fresno State fifth-year senior guard New Williams scored a career-high 32 points while tying a program and Mountain West record with 10 made 3-point field goals to lead the Bulldogs to a 79-64 win over San Jose State on Jan. 4. Williams is now one of four players in MW history with 10 made 3-point field goals in a single game, joining a group that includes Jeff Elorriga (Boise State), Braxton Huggins (Fresno State) and Kendall Williams (New Mexico), who each made 10 3-pointers in a game during their MW careers. Williams also had four assists (no turnovers), three rebounds and two steals in the 15-point win against SJSU.

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

'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).

Youth Movement
Through the first nine 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 105.4 minutes per game, which is nearly half of the Bulldogs' minutes per game average (51.0 percent). Fresno State's freshmen have accounted for 1,420 of the team's 3,100 total minutes played (45.8 percent) this season. Fresno State freshmen Orlando Robinson (12.7 ppg) and Jarred Hyder (11.2 ppg) combined to produce an average of 23.9 points per game for the Bulldogs to lead the way for Fresno State's five freshmen, who are averaging a combined 34.1 points of the team's 69.9 points per game (49.0 percent).

Three Bulldogs now represent Fresno State in NBA
Former Fresno State basketball players Paul George (2008-10) and Tyler Johnson (2010-14) are two of the 30 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.

• Paul George won a gold medal with Team USA during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, is a six-time NBA All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, including the 2018-19 All-NBA First Team, and four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team. George was named the NBA Most Improved Player in 2013 and finished third in the 2018-19 NBA's Most Valuable Player voting.

• Tyler Johnson scored 1,346 points during his four-year Fresno State career and ranks No. 17 all-time on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list. Johnson was undrafted, but earned a roster spot with Miami after a strong showing during the NBA Summer League in 2014.

Paul Watson (2013-17), the 2013-14 Mountain West Freshman of the Year and a 2013-14 Freshman All-American, is the 31st Bulldog to make a NBA roster, after signing a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 6.

"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.