FRESNO STATE (6-5) VS. SAN FRANCISCO (9-4)
Dec. 22, 2023 | 5 p.m. PT | ESPN+ | War Memorial at the Sobrato Center | San Francisco, Calif.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Stream - ESPN+
Radio - Bulldog Sports Network (BSN)
Play-by-Play - Paul Loeffler
Analyst - Marc Q. Jones
Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: Bulldogslive.com
X (Twitter): @FresnoStateMBB
FRESNO, Calif. — After four games at the Save Mart Center, Fresno State heads back out on the road for the next three beginning with a trip on Friday to San Francisco. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT at the War Memorial at the Sobrato Center and will stream on ESPN+.
QUICK LOOK
The Bulldogs will be without a home game for 19 days before returning to the Save Mart Center on Jan. 6.
Friday will mark just the second true road of the season for the 'Dogs and the first since Nov. 11. Fresno State is 1-3 on the year away from home.
Fresno State ranks second in the Mountain West in effective field-goal percent (55.2%) and third in field goal percentage (48.8%), 3-point percentage (35.6) and fast break points (13.1).
Depth has come in handy thus far as the Bulldogs' bench is averaging 23.8 points per game, best in the MW.
Senior Isaiah Hill has done the heavy lifting for Fresno State thus far, leading the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and assists (6.3 apg). Whereas the point guard ranks No. 15 in the Mountain West in scoring, he ranks 14th nationally in assists per game, third in the MW.
Transfer Xavier DuSell is second on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game. The senior leads the 'Dogs in 3-point percentage, connecting at 43.3 percent clip (29-of-67). He sits third in the MW in 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made per game (2.6).
Enoch Boakye (7.6) and Eduardo Andre (6.9) rank No. 4 and No. 7, respectively in the MW in rebounding per game.
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 46.7 percent of the scoring thus far.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Fresno State and San Francisco will meet for just the 25th time in their history.
Fresno State has won just nine games in the series, the Bulldogs are 7-3 in the last 10 games against the Dons dating back to 2001.
NOT PLAYING CLOSE...UNTIL RECENTLY
Until Fresno State's last two games, only two of their first nine games were contested in single digits. Whether at home or on the road, Fresno State games for the most part haven't been close. Seven of the Bulldogs' 11 games have been separated by double digits.
Fresno State is 2-2 in the two games separated by five points or less.
Four games have been separated by more than 20 points (2-2).
SCORING FROM THE BENCH
Depth is big in a long season and Fresno State has been trying to develop that. Fresno State is getting 23.8 points per game from its bench, best in the Mountain West.
A bench player has scored in double figures in eight out of 11 games for the Bulldogs.
The 'Dogs are 2-0 this season when two bench players reach double figures.
FLOOR GENERAL
Through 11 games, Isaiah Hill has dished out 69 assists. He has dished out at least eight assists in four games this season, including a season-high nine against CSU Bakersfield.
In his last 14 games, Hill has recorded 91 assists.
Hill has 19 games at Fresno State with at least six assists.
In 99 games as a Bulldog, Hill ranks seventh in career assists, moving up four spots this season.
While Hill sits No. 3 in the Mountain West, and No. 14 in the NCAA, this season with 6.3 assists per game, he can also score, putting up 13.9 points per game, 15th-most in the MW.
ECLIPSING 1,000
With a season-high 14 points against Portland State, Isaiah Pope eclipsed 1,000 points for his career. Playing in his fifth collegiate season, and first at Fresno State he has 1,009 points in 115 games.
Pope began his career at D-II Humboldt State before transferring to Utah Tech where he totaled 711 points in three seasons, scoring 432 during the 2022-23 season.
EYES FROM THREE
Shoot from outside. That's what was expected and what Wyoming transfer Xavier DuSell has brought to Fresno State. With a team-high 29 made 3-pointers through 11 games, DuSell is above the 2.0 per game he made in his 86 games at Wyoming.
DuSell ranks No. 3 in the Mountain West 3-point percentage (43.3) and No. 3 in made 3's per game (2.6).
Against Pacific, he matched his career high with six made 3's, doing so on nine attempts. It was the fifth time he has made six 3-pointers in a game.