Game 11: Fresno State (3-7) at CSU Bakersfield (4-6)
Dec. 20, 2022 • 7 p.m. PT • Bakersfield, Calif. • Icardo Center
TV/ONLINE: ESPN+
RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)
SERIES HISTORY: Fresno State leads 10-5 (overall); trails 3-2 (in Bakersfield, CA)
LAST MEETING: Fresno State 70, CSU Bakersfield 55 (12/5/17 • Fresno, CA)
UP NEXT: vs. Wyoming (Dec. 28); at Utah State (Dec. 31)
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) along with forward Isaih Moore (Southern Miss) and centers Chuks Isitua (IUPUI) and Eduardo Andre (Nebraska).
Two Bulldogs - Moore (12.9 PPG) and Baker (10.2 PPG) - are averaging double-digits in scoring this season.
OPENING TIP
Fresno State will visit the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT at the Icardo Center.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (TV/stream) and the Bulldog Sports Network (radio).
This is Fresno State's fourth true road game and seventh away from the Save Mart Center this season.
This is Fresno State's final game before opening Mountain West play at home versus Wyoming on Dec. 28.
Through games played on Dec. 18, Fresno State was one of five MW schools currently with a Quad 1 victory.
Fresno State's first six Division I nonconference opponents were all in the Top 125 KenPom teams.
SERIES HISTORY: FRESNO STATE VS. CSU Bakersfield
Fresno State leads its all-time series with CSU Bakersfield 10-5 (overall), but the Bulldogs are just 2-3 when playing the Roadrunners on the road.
This is the 16th all-time meeting between the programs separated by 116.6 miles and first since 2017.
Fresno State has won eight of the last nine meetings in the series with the lone loss coming in the Bulldogs' last road game played at the Icardo Center when CSUB defeated the 'Dogs 71-63.
VALLEY ROOTS RUN DEEP
This will be the first time that Fresno State head coach and Bakersfield native Justin Hutson has returned to his hometown to play against alma mater.
Fresno State assistant coach Keith Brown spent 14 seasons at CSUB (1997-2011), including the final six seasons (2005-11) as the Roadrunners' head coach during the program's transition to Division I.
Fresno State senior guard Isaiah Hill - like Hutson - is originally from Bakersfield, Calif. Hill prepped at Liberty High School where he starred in both basketball and football as Liberty's starting quarterback.
BULLDOGS EARN BACK-TO-BACK WINS TO OPEN DECEMBER
Opening the month of December with a 2-0 record, Fresno State earned an 80-66 win at UC Irvine on Dec. 3 and then backed it up with a gritty 65-56 victory over CSUN at the Save Mart Center on Dec. 7.
Isaih Moore led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine rebounds in the Quad 1 road win over the Anteaters.
Donavan Yap had a career-high 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting (5-for-7 3FGA) to headline the win over CSUN.
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.