Bulldogs open season with Sunbirds

Tuesday, November 9

Fresno, Calif.

7 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Fresno Pacific

Orlando Robinson, jump shot, vs. Stanislaus State

Photo by: Cary Edmondson

Bulldogs open season with Sunbirds

11/8/2021 3:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Notes: Fresno Pacific at Fresno State (PDF)

Tickets for Tuesday night's season opener start at $5.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of Strategic Communications

Game 1: Fresno Pacific at Fresno State
Nov. 9, 2021 • 7 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV/WEB: Mountain West Network (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)
RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)
SERIES HISTORY: Fresno State leads 1-0 (overall) [8-0 in Exhibitions]
LAST MEETING: Fresno State 78, Fresno Pacific 65 [12/19/20 - Fresno, Calif. - Save Mart Center]
NEXT UP: vs. LIU (Nov. 12), vs. Idaho (Nov. 15)

THE BREAKDOWN

Fresno State Athletics is celebrating its centennial year and the 2021-22 men's basketball season is the 100th season of competition in program history.
Fresno State forward Orlando Robinson (14.6 ppg/9.2 rpg) is one of six returning Mountain West players who earned NABC All-District 17 honors in 2020-21 (Ranked No. 19 nationally in double-doubles)
Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson is entering his fourth season back home in the San Joaquin Valley.

BULLDOG BONES

Fresno State returns all three of its double figure scorers from last season: Orlando Robinson (14.6 ppg), Deon Stroud (12.2 ppg) and Isaiah Hill (10.3 ppg). Junior Ballard (7.2 ppg/2.6 rpg) and Anthony Holland (5.5 ppg/4.7 rpg) also averaged over five points and 25 minutes per game last season for the Bulldogs.
Jemarl Baker (Kentucky/Arizona) is one of four newcomers to the Bulldogs' 14-man 2021-22 roster.
Fresno State returns 90.2 percent of its scoring and 89.3 percent of its minutes played from last season.
Fresno State is one of 18 schools nationally to return at least 90 percent of its scoring from last season.
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).
In 2020-21, Fresno State was one of three MW schools to play a full 20-game conference schedule.
A record eight Bulldogs earned 2020-21 Academic All-MW honors – which is the most men's basketball student-athletes to earn the designation in a single season in program history (2020-21: 3:09 team GPA).

OPENING TIP

The Fresno State men's basketball team opens the 2021-22 regular season by hosting the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center on the Mountain West Network (video) and Bulldog Sports Network (radio). Tickets for the game start at $5.
This is a game that counts towards Fresno State's official record and an exhibition contest for Fresno Pacific.
Fresno State leads the all-time series 1-0 with the Bulldogs defeating the Sunbirds 78-65 last season at the Save Mart Center on Dec. 19, 2020. Prior to last season, Fresno State and FPU met eight times in exhibition games (all eight were Fresno State victories).
Fresno State enters Tuesday night's opener having won 30 consecutive contests against non-Division I opponents. The Bulldogs' last loss to a non-D-1 opponent was a 62-60 home loss to Sonoma State at Selland Arena on Dec. 8, 1989.
Fresno State is 9-0 in home openers since joining the Mountain West (21 straight wins in home openers).
Fresno State is 80-19 all-time in home openers and 73-26 all-time in season openers.
This is the first time Fresno State has opened the season with a three-game homestand since 2016.

ON THIS DAY IN BULLDOG HISTORY (NOVEMBER 9)

11/9/12: Fresno State freshman guard Marvelle Harris made his collegiate debut and scored the first 11 of his program-record 2,031 career points in the Bulldogs' 55-53 loss at No. 24 Texas.
11/9/08: Fresno State freshman Paul George (15 points/10 rebounds) and junior Sylvester Seay (22 points/11 rebounds) both had double-doubles in the Bulldogs' 80-66 exhibition win over Stanislaus State.
11/9/05: Fresno State then-junior Ja'Vance Coleman scored 27 points in the Bulldogs' 77-66 exhibition win over The Master's College, which also was the first exhibition game with Steve Cleveland back in his hometown of Fresno as the Bulldogs' head coach.

Fresno State contending in the Mountain West
Since joining the Mountain West in 2012, Fresno State has won the 2016 conference tournament championship and finished as high as second in the regular season. The Bulldogs have finished no lower than seventh in league play in its first nine seasons in the Mountain West, which includes four top four finishes in the past six seasons. In those last six MW campaigns, the 'Dogs won an average of 10.8 MW contests per year -- twice going 13-5 against MW opponents, including Hutson's first season at Fresno State during the 2018-19 season. Fresno State averaged nearly 10 conference victories per season in Hutson's first three seasons as the Bulldogs' head coach.

"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.