Game 8: CSUN (2-5) at Fresno State (2-5)
Dec. 7, 2022 • 7 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. • Save Mart Center
ONLINE: Mountain West Network (Matt Norville & Taylor Martinez)
RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)
SERIES HISTORY: Fresno State leads 29-6 (overall) & 19-3 (games in Fresno)
LAST MEETING: Fresno State 61, CSUN 43 (12/4/21 • Fresno, Calif.)
UP NEXT: Fresno State at Pacific (12/10/22 • Stockton, Calif.)
THE BREAKDOWN
Fresno State entered the 2022-23 season bringing back eight returners, which includes four seniors in Jemarl Baker, Jordan Campbell, Anthony Holland and Isaiah Hill along with juniors Destin Whitaker, Donavan Yap and Leo Colimerio and sophomore Steven Vasquez.
Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson is in his fifth season back home in the Central Valley.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 23-win campaign in 2021-22 and a postseason title after winning The Basketball Classic, presented by ERACISM, in April - two 23-win seasons (2018-19 and 2021-22).
Seven new players have joined the program: guards Jordan Brinson (Salt Lake CC), Alexander Gorton (Palm Beach Atlantic), Joseph Hunter (San Joaquin Memorial HS) and Jeff Sims (Santa Rosa Academy) joining forward Isaih Moore (Southern Miss) and centers Chuks Isitua (IUPUI) and Eduardo Andre (Nebraska).
Fresno State is playing its 20th season at the Save Mart Center (first game was back on Dec. 5, 2003).
OPENING TIP
Fresno State will host the CSUN Matadors on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center. The game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network (web/digital) and the Bulldog Sports Network (radio).
This is Fresno State's first home game in three weeks. Tickets start at $10 (FREE for Fresno State faculty and staff, and home games are always FREE for Fresno State students plus one student guest).
Through games played on Dec. 5, Fresno State is one of four MW schools currently with a Quad 1 victory.
Fresno State has outrebounded its opponent in each of its last three games (122-94).
SERIES HISTORY: FRESNO STATE VS. CSUN
Fresno State leads the all-time series 29-6 (overall), which includes a 19-3 record in games played in Fresno.
Fresno State has won five of its last six meetings with CSUN (4-0 home record at the Save Mart Center).
Last season, Fresno State defeated CSUN 61-43 on Dec. 4, 2021 at the Save Mart Center.
BULLDOGS DOMINATE UC IRVINE, 80-66
Opening the month of December with a victory, Fresno State rallied together for an 80-66 win at UC Irvine on Dec. 3.
Isaih Moore led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine rebounds in the Quad 1 road win over the Anteaters.
MOORE EARNS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS AT 2022 PAYCOM WOODEN LEGACY
Fresno State senior forward Isaih Moore, who is from Columbia, S.C., produced two double-doubles for the Bulldogs in the 2022 Paycom Wooden Legacy at Anaheim Arena during Feast Week (Nov. 23-24, 2022).
Moore averaged 12.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while battling the Pac-12's Washington Huskies and the SEC's Vanderbilt Commodores.
This season, Moore has recorded a total of three double-doubles in his first season playing at Fresno State.
Moore is leading the Bulldogs in scoring (12.7 PPG), rebounding (8.7 RPG) and blocked shots (1.0 BPG).
BAKER GOES FOR 22 ON THANKSGIVING DAY IN BATTLE WITH VANDERBILT
With Fresno State playing its first SEC opponent in more than five years, Fresno State senior guard Jemarl Baker, Jr., delivered 22 points on 8-for-20 shooting with seven assists against Vanderbilt on Thanksgiving.
Baker has started all six games this season after being limited to just five games a year ago due to injury.
Baker returned home to the Golden State after playing at Kentucky and Arizona earlier in his college career.
DIALING UP THE HEAT ON D
Fresno State has limited 19 straight opponents in regular season games, including every game this season, to fewer than 70 points.
Fresno State has limited 11 straight nonconference opponents in regular season games, including every game this season, to fewer than 70 points.
Fresno State has limited its opponents to fewer than 70 points in 37 of its last 43 games, including every game this season.
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 10 seasons in the Mountain West, which includes six first round byes in the MW Tournament. In the last seven MW campaigns, the 'Dogs won an average of 10.3 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 (9.7) in Hutson's first four seasons as the Bulldogs' head coach.