'Dogs close homestand with Falcons

Wednesday, February 19

Fresno, CA

7:00 PM PT

Fresno State

Air Force

Tickets

Photo by: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

'Dogs close homestand with Falcons

2/18/2020 12:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes: Air Force at Fresno State (PDF)

The Fresno State men's basketball team has a chance to complete its fourth regular season sweep of the Air Force Falcons since 2014. Tickets for Wednesday's game start at $15.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

Game 27: Air Force (10-16, 4-10 MW) at Fresno State (9-17, 5-10 MW)
Feb. 19, 2020 • 7 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV/Online: ESPN3 (Shawn Kenney/Sed Bonner)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones)
Series History: Fresno State leads 21-7 (overall) & 11-3 (games played in Fresno)
Last Meeting: Fresno State 79, Air Force 68 (1/28/20 • USAFA, Colo. • Clune Arena)
Next Up: at Nevada (Feb. 22); vs. Wyoming (Feb. 29); 2020 MW Championships (March 4-7)
Fresno State's 2019-20 NCAA NET & Ken Pom Rankings: No. 167 & No. 159

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, a Bakersfield native, was named the 2018-19 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year presented annually to the top first-year D-I head coach.

Fresno State hosts Air Force on Wednesday night
Fresno State will host the Air Force Falcons on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and 940 AM ESPN Radio. Tickets for Wednesday's game start at $15 (free admission for active duty military and veterans, along with Fresno State students).

Fresno State & Air Force: All-Time Series History
Fresno State has won 12 of its last 14 meetings with Air Force, including nine of its last 10 home games against the Falcons and the Bulldogs are 6-1 all-time in games played against AFA at the Save Mart Center. Fresno State is 2-1 against Air Force in Justin Hutson's tenure as head coach, which included a 76-50 win in the MW Quarterfinals last March and a 79-68 road win at Air Force earlier this season on Jan. 28. Fresno State is seeking its fourth regular season sweep of the Falcons since the Bulldogs joined the MW in 2012 (Fresno State also won the only meeting in 2015).

Between the Baselines

Fresno State is second in the MW in blocked shots per game (3.7 bpg).
Fresno State is second in the MW in 3-pointers made per game (9.1/gm).
Fresno State is second in the MW in offensive rebounding (11.1/game).
Fresno State is 346th out of 353 Division I teams in "luck" by Ken Pom.
Fresno State has played four overtime games this season (1-3 record).
Fresno State's scoring margin is essentially even as the Bulldogs have scored 1,795 points (69.0 ppg), while giving up 1,796 points (69.1 ppg).
Fresno State senior forward Nate Grimes ranks ninth in program history in rebounds (693). He is 11 rebounds away from Lee Mayberry (704) for eighth and 13 shy of Len Brown (706) for seventh.
Grimes is seventh in program history in blocked shots (122) - three blocks from Lee Mayberry (125) and five shy of Rashaan Smith (127) for fifth.

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 100.8 minutes per game, which is nearly half of the Bulldogs' minutes per game average (49.3 percent). Fresno State's freshmen have accounted for 2,621 of the team's 5,325 total minutes played (49.3 percent) this season. Fresno State freshmen Orlando Robinson (12.8 ppg) and Jarred Hyder (9.0 ppg) lead the way for Fresno State's now six freshmen, who have scored 861 of the Bulldogs' 1,795 points for an average of 33.4 points of the team's 69.4 points per game (48.0 percent). Robinson is the only Bulldog to play in all 26 games this season. Three different freshmen have scored at least 25 points in a game this season: Niven Hart (30 points: 2/12 at SJSU & 29 points: 2/4 vs. Colorado State), Hyder (26 points: 11/10 vs. Winthrop) and Robinson (27 points: 12/28 vs. UC Riverside).

Hart surging down the stretch
In the last four games, Fresno State freshman reserve guard Niven Hart has averaged 20.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field (31-for-64). So in total, Hart has scored 83 points in those four games, including a career-high 30 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 84-78 overtime road win at San Jose State on Feb. 12, and 29 points against Colorado State on Feb. 5. Hart, who is originally from Orlando, Fla., is the first Bulldog freshman in program history to score 30 points in a game since Randy Holcomb did so against Sacramento State on Dec. 1, 1998. Paul George (2009) and Kevin Olekaibe (2011) are the only other two Fresno State freshmen to even score 29 points in a game in the last 15 seasons.

20-Point Games by Fresno State freshmen (Last 15 seasons)
6 - Paul George, 2008-09
5 - Orlando Robinson, 2019-20
4 - Jarred Hyder, 2019-20
4 - Kevin Olekaibe, 2010-11
3 - Greg Smith, 2009-10
2 - Niven Hart, 2019-20

Grimes, Williams on 3X3U Midseason Watch List
Fresno State seniors Nate Grimes and New Williams were named to the 2020 Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship Midseason Watch List, Intersport announced on Feb. 4. Grimes and Williams are two of the 10 MW student-athletes currently under consideration to play for the four-man Team Mountain West, who will compete against the other 31 conferences during the NCAA's Final Four weekend in Atlanta. Fresno State and Colorado State have each had a representative on the team in the first two years of the now annual competition, with former Bulldog guards Deshon Taylor (2019) and Jahmel Taylor (2018) playing in Minneapolis and San Antonio, respectively.

"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.