FRESNO STATE (8-11, 1-5 MW) vs. AIR FORCE (8-10, 1-5 MW)
Jan. 27, 2024 | 4 p.m. PT | MWN | Save Mart Center | Fresno, Calif.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Stream: Mountain West Network / Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (BSN)
Play-by-Play: Paul Loeffler • Analyst: Marc Q. Jones • Sideline: Taylor Martinez
Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: Bulldogslive.com
X (Twitter): @FresnoStateMBB
Tickets: Bulldog Ticket Office
FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno State hosts its second straight game at the Save Mart Center on Saturday when the Bulldogs welcome Air Force. It is the first time the 'Dogs have played back-to-back home games since mid-December.
The contest is the second in a doubleheader with the women's team. The men are scheduled to tipoff at 4 p.m. PT and stream on the Mountain West Network.
QUICK LOOK
Head Coach Justin Hutson returned to the bench on Jan. 23 against Boise State after missing the previous two games due to illness.
Isaiah Pope has led the Bulldogs offensively, averaging 12.3 points per game during the last nine contests. All six of the senior's double-figure games this season have come since Dec. 18 (9 games).
Isaiah Hill continues to lead Fresno State in scoring (12.6 ppg) and assists (5.9 apg) on the year. The point guard ranks No. 25 nationally in assists per game, sixth in the MW.
Transfer Xavier DuSell is second on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game. The senior leads the 'Dogs in 3-point percentage, connecting at 39.1 percent clip (45-of-115). He sits sixth in the MW in 3-pointers made per game (2.37).
Enoch Boakye (8.1) ranks No. 4 in the MW in rebounding per game and is No. 2 in defensive boards (5.6).
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 50.0 percent of the scoring thus far.
Fresno State ranks fifth in the Mountain West in field goal percentage (47.4%) and fourth in fast break points (10.8).
Depth has come in handy thus far as the Bulldogs' bench is averaging 22.5 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 26-9 all-time against Air Force, winning four of the last five and seven of the last 10.
Dating back to 2017, Fresno State is 3-2 versus the Falcons at the Save Mart Center.
FLOOR GENERAL
In 18 games, Isaiah Hill has dished out 106 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 21 games, Hill has recorded 128 assists.
Hill has 23 games at Fresno State with at least six assists.
In 106 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. 25 in the NCAA, this season with 5.9 assists per game.
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 111 points in his last nine games (12.3 ppg).
Pope has led the Bulldogs in scoring in five of the last nine games.
All six of Pope's double-digit scoring games this season have come in the last nine games.
RETURN TO SENDER
Ranking No. 7 and No. 10 in the Mountain West in blocked shots, Eduardo Andre (1.11) and Enoch Boakye (1.05) make up one of three teams in the conference to have two players in the Top 10 in blocked shots.
Andre has four games with at least three blocks.
Boakye has six multi-block games.
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' 19 games have been separated by double digits. That trend begun to change in the last month.
Fresno State is 4-4 in games separated by five points or less. Six of those have come in the last 10 games.
Six games have been separated by more than 20 points (2-4).