'Dogs host No. 7 Aztecs on Tuesday

Game 17: No. 7/6 San Diego State (17-0, 6-0 MW) at Fresno State (5-11, 1-4 MW)
Jan. 14, 2020 • 8 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV/Online: ESPN2 (Eric Rothman/Richie Schueler)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: San Diego State leads 63-56 (overall) • Fresno State leads 33-11 (in Fresno)
Last Meeting: San Diego State 61, Fresno State 52 (1/1/20 • San Diego, Calif. • Viejas Arena)
Next Up: at Wyoming (Jan. 18); at Colorado State (Jan. 22); vs. Boise State (Jan. 25)
Fresno State's 2019-20 NCAA NET & Ken Pom Rankings: No. 166 & No. 133

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.
Justin Hutson is 25-4 all-time as a Division I head coach (5-2) 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).

Fresno State host No. 7/6 San Diego State on Tuesday night
The Fresno State men's basketball team will host the No. 7-ranked San Diego State Aztecs on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT at Save Mart Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and 940 AM ESPN Radio. Tickets for Tuesday night's game ("Pride of the Valley Night") start as low as $6 through an exclusive "Two for Tuesday" ticket offer (online only, minimum 2 tickets) here: GoBulldogs.com/2forTuesday. Admission for all Fresno State home men's basketball games is free for Fresno State students, who can also get one free student guest ticket for Tuesday's game.

Fresno State & San Diego State: All-Time Series History
Fresno State has won five of the last six regular season meetings with San Diego State, including four of the last five at Save Mart Center. SDSU leads the all-time series 63-56, but the Bulldogs have won seven of the last 10 games in the series, including two of the three contests with Justin Hutson as the head coach at Fresno State (since the start of the 2018-19 season).

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'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 is seeking its first win over an AP Top 10 team since 1996.
Fresno State's last victory over an Associated Press Top 10 team was back on Feb. 22, 1996 when the Bulldogs defeated then-No. 8 Utah 71-68 at Selland Arena. Fresno State is 5-31 all-time versus AP Top 10 teams.
This is Fresno State's seventh game against an Associated Press Top 25 opponent during Hutson's tenure (since the start of the 2018-19 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

Youth Movement
Through the first nine weeks of the season, 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 97.4 minutes per game, which is nearly half of the Bulldogs' minutes per game average (47.2 percent). Fresno State's freshmen have accounted for 1,558 of the team's 3,300 total minutes played (47.2 percent) this season. Fresno State freshmen Orlando Robinson (12.9 ppg) and Jarred Hyder (11.4 ppg) lead the way for Fresno State's now six freshmen, who have scored 501 of the Bulldogs' 1113 points for an average of 31.3 points of the team's 69.6 points per gam (45.0 percent).

Fresno State's consistency leads to success
Fresno State is one of two Mountain West programs (San Diego State) to have a .500 record or better with at least nine wins in league play in each of the past six seasons. Fresno State has averaged 11.2 conference wins per season over the last six seasons, with at least 10 MW wins in now five straight seasons, including a 13-5 mark twice (2015-16 & 2018-19).

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).

Protecting the Yard

Fresno State is 185-81 (69.6 percent) all-time at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State is 81-26 overall at home since the start of the 2013-14 season, including a 17-7 home record in head coach Justin Hutson's tenure.
Fresno State has won 31 of its last 43 home games.
Fresno State has won 41 of its last 54 home games.
Fresno State has won 50 of its last 64 home games.

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State senior forward Nate Grimes leads the Mountain West in blocked shots (1.9 bpg) and ranks fourth in rebounding (9.5 rpg), which is tied for 33rd in the nation, 15th in the MW in scoring (12.4) and tied for 40th nationally with six double-doubles this season (20 in his Bulldog career).
In the last 5 games, Fresno State freshman forward Orlando Robinson has averaged 20.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 blocks & 1.6 assists per game.
Justin Hutson is 25-4 all-time as a Division I head coach (5-2) or assistant coach (20-2) when coaching against one of his former teams.
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 10 starting line-ups in its first 16 games.

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 (6-4) and SDSU (7-4) for a league-leading 69.0 winning percentage against those three MW programs in the past four-plus seasons, including a 5-3 record when playing those teams in Justin Hutson's tenure as head coach.

Note: Fresno State is the only MW program with a winning record versus SDSU in the past four-plus 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.

'Dogs host No. 7 Aztecs on Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Nate Grimes

Jarred Hyder

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'Dogs host No. 7 Aztecs on Tuesday

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