FRESNO STATE (8-10, 1-4 MW) vs. RV/RV BOISE STATE (13-5, 4-1 MW)
Jan. 23, 2024 | 7:30 p.m. PT | FS1 | Save Mart Center | Fresno, Calif.
MEDIA COVERAGE
TV: FS1
Play-by-Play: Dan Hellie • Analyst: Casey Jacobsen
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (BSN)
Play-by-Play: Paul Loeffler • Analyst: Marc Q. Jones • Sideline: Taylor Martinez
Live Stats: Bulldogslive.com
X (Twitter): @FresnoStateMBB
Tickets: Bulldog Ticket Office
FRESNO, Calif. — After splitting its first few weeks of Mountain West play between home and road games, Fresno State will be home for back-to-back games this week. The Bulldogs will begin the week with Boise State on Tuesday night.
Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. PT and will air on FS1.
QUICK LOOK
Assistant Coach Keith Brown had served as Fresno State's acting head coach during the previous two games while Head Coach Justin had been out with an illness.
Isaiah Pope has led the Bulldogs offensively, averaging 15.3 points per game during the last four contests. The senior has recorded double figures in each game.
Isaiah Hill continues to lead Fresno State in scoring (12.4 ppg) and assists (5.9 apg) on the year. The point guard ranks No. 26 nationally in assists per game, sixth in the MW.
Hill last committed a turnover at the 7:21 mark in the second half at Wyoming (Jan. 13). He has recorded 20 assists since that turnover (2+ games).
Transfer Xavier DuSell is second on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game. The senior leads the 'Dogs in 3-point percentage, connecting at 40.0 percent clip (44-of-110). He sits third in the MW in 3-pointers made per game (2.44).
Enoch Boakye (8.2) ranks No. 3 in the MW in rebounding per game and is No. 2 in defensive boards (5.7).
With seven newcomers to the squad, that group has stepped in quickly to help complement the returners in the scoring column. Newcomers have accounted for 50.5 percent of the scoring thus far.
Fresno State ranks fifth in the Mountain West in field goal percentage (47.1%) and fourth in fast break points (11.1).
Depth has come in handy thus far as the Bulldogs' bench is averaging 22.3 points per game, tops in the MW. The bench has accounted for 30 or more points in four contests.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Fresno State is 22-27 all-time against Boise State.
The Bulldogs are 2-3 in their last five home contests versus the Broncos with their last win coming on Feb. 13, 2019 (65-63).
Fresno State's last two wins in the series were by three points or less (Feb. 13, 2019 - 65-63; March 2, 2021 - 67-64).
THEY WEREN'T CLOSE TO START
Whether at home or on the road, Fresno State games for the most part haven't been close. Eleven of the Bulldogs' 18 games have been separated by double digits. That trend has begun to change in the last month.
Fresno State is 4-3 in games separated by five points or less. Five of those have come in the last nine games.
Five games have been separated by more than 20 points (2-4).
STEPPING IN
Assistant Coach Keith Brown stepped in as Fresno State's acting head coach for the past two games after Head Coach Justin Hutson was unable to be on the bench due to illness. It was the second time in the past two seasons that Brown has stepped into the role for Hutson.
Brown is 2-1 as the Bulldogs' acting head coach, 1-1 this season.
GAINING STEAM
With 31 points through the first 10 games of the season, Isaiah Pope has begun to find his footing after being hampered by injury early in the season. The fifth-year senior has scored 102 points in his last eight games (12.8 ppg).
Pope has led the Bulldogs in scoring in five of the last eight games.
All six of Pope's double-digit scoring games this season have come in the last eight games.
FLOOR GENERAL
In 17 games, Isaiah Hill has dished out 100 assists. He has dished out at least eight assists in six games this season, including a season-high 10 at Utah State.
In his last 20 games, Hill has recorded 122 assists.
Hill has 22 games at Fresno State with at least six assists.
In 105 games as a Bulldog, Hill ranks sixth in career assists, moving up five spots this season.
Hill sits No. 6 in the Mountain West, and No. 26 in the NCAA, this season with 5.9 assists per game.
Without a turnover in his last 2+ games, Isaiah Hill has a 5.60 assist-turnover ratio (28-5) in five Mountain West games, second-best in the league.