Fresno State Basketball Alumni will be honored during the game, including special recognition for the 1981-83 teams.
Game 26: Colorado State (11-15, 3-10 MW) at Fresno State (9-16, 5-9 MW)
Feb. 18, 2023 • 2 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. • Save Mart Center
TV/ONLINE: CW59 & Mountain West Network (Ralph Wood & Jack Fertig)
RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)
SERIES HISTORY: Colorado State leads 25-17 (overall) • FS leads 13-3 (in Fresno)
LAST MEETING: Colorado State 79, Fresno State 57 (1/7/23 • Fort Collins, Colo.)
UP NEXT: at Air Force (Feb. 21); vs. Nevada (Feb. 24)
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).
Fresno State guard Jemarl Baker leads the Bulldogs in scoring with an average of 11.9 points per game.
OPENING TIP
Fresno State hosts the Colorado State Rams on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.
The game will be broadcast on CW59/MWN (television/stream) and the Bulldog Sports Network (radio).
Fresno State is second in the MW in scoring defense (64.56 points allowed per game) for the 2022-23 season.
SEASON NOTABLES
Fresno State's first six Division I nonconference opponents were all Top 125 KenPom teams.
Fresno State earned its first win over an Associated Press Top 25 opponent since 2002 when the Bulldogs handed then-No. 21/22 New Mexico 71-67 its first loss of the season on Jan. 3 at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State is now 9-1 against UNM in Hutson's five seasons coaching the Bulldogs.
Fresno State completed its first regular season sweep of UNLV since 2018 by securing two victories over the Runnin' Rebels in a 14-day span. Fresno State is now 5-4 against UNLV in Hutson's five seasons.
Fresno State enters having made 75.4 percent of its free throws (255-338), which currently would eclipse the school record for single-season free throw percentage (74.2 percent, 484-652, 1991-92).
Through games played on Feb. 13, 10 of 11 Mountain West programs were rated in the Top 100 nationally in KenPom's strength of schedule. SDSU led the MW at 26th nationally, while Fresno State is fifth (62nd).
Through the first 25 games of the season, Fresno State has had 11 of its 13 scholarship players miss at least one game for a non-coaches decision and have combined to miss 82 games throughout the 2022-23 season.
Fresno State leads Northern and Central California in attendance during the 2022-23 season (4,862/game).
SERIES HISTORY: FRESNO STATE VS. COLORADO STATE
While Fresno State trails its all-time series with Colorado State 17-25, the Bulldogs own a 13-3 home record when played the Rams in Fresno (6-3 all-time at the Save Mart Center).
Fresno State is seeking to snap an eight-game losing streak to Colorado State (last win: 78-67 on 1/5/19 at the Save Mart Center).
This is the first meeting in Fresno between the 'Dogs and the Rams since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be just the third time the programs have met at the Save Mart Center in Hutson's five seasons (1-1 in previous two games).