#9 seed FRESNO STATE (11-20, 4-14 MW) vs. #8 seed WYOMING (15-16, 8-10 MW)
March 13, 2024 | 11 a.m. PT | MWN | Thomas & Mack Center | Las Vegas, Nev.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Stream: Mountain West Network
Play-by-Play: Nate Kreckman • Analyst: Terrence Ogelsby
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (BSN)
Play-by-Play: Paul Loeffler • Analyst: Marc Q. Jones • Sideline: Taylor Martinez
Stream: Mountain West Network
Listen: Bulldog Sports Network
Live Stats: Bulldogslive.com
X (Twitter): @FresnoStateMBB
FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno State will open up the Mountain West Championships in Game 1 on Wednesday morning in a rematch with eighth-seeded Wyoming. The two ended the regular season in Fresno on Saturday.
Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m. PT at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The game will stream on the Mountain West Network with Nate Kreckman and Terrence Ogelsby on the call
QUICK LOOK
Fresno State will open up the Mountain West Championships in Game 1 on Wednesday morning in a rematch with eighth-seeded Wyoming. The two ended the regular season in Fresno on Saturday.
For the second consecutive season, Fresno State will enter the tournament as the No. 9 seed. The Bulldogs dropped last season's first round matchup in the final seconds, 67-65, to Colorado State.
Fresno State is 8-10 all-time at the MW Championships.
Prior to the defeat on Senior Day, Fresno State had dropped six straight games against the Top 6 teams in the conference.
Isaiah Hill continues to lead Fresno State in scoring (12.1 ppg) and assists (6.1 apg) on the year. The point guard ranks No. 18 nationally in assists per game, third in the MW.
Hill enters Wednesday averaging 13.2 points per game in his career in MW tournament games. His 66 points ranks fifth-most in program history in career points in MW tournament games (5 games).
Transfer Xavier DuSell is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game. The senior leads the 'Dogs in 3-point percentage, connecting at 39.7 percent clip (85-of-214), 41st nationally. He sits second in the MW in 3-pointers made per game (2.74).
DuSell played in five MW tournament games for Wyoming, averaging 12.3 points per game while going 17-of-33 from 3.
Fresno State features three players in its lineup who have 1,000 points. Hill accomplished the feat last season while DuSell (Feb. 17) and Isaiah Pope (Dec. 18) hit the milestone this year.
A key interior presence when healthy, Enoch Boakye was named All-Mountain West honorable mention by a panel of media members from around the conference. In his first year at Fresno State, the junior averaged 7.9 points and 7.9 rebounds.
With seven newcomers to the squad this year, that group has stepped in quickly to help complement the returners in the scoring column. Newcomers have accounted for 54.9 percent of the scoring thus far.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Fresno State is 22-17 all-time against Wyoming.
The two programs have met just once on a neutral court, a 91-82 win for Fresno State on March 7, 1996 in the WAC tournament.
The Bulldogs are 2-6 in the last eight meetings with the Cowboys. Prior to that, the 'Dogs won four straight (2019-20).
70 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
70 points. Through 31 games, 70 has been the number that the Bulldogs' offense is looking for. All but one of Fresno State's wins have come when scoring more than 70 points. When they don't hit that mark, it has only twice resulted in a loss for the 'Dogs, with one of those coming in overtime.
The Bulldogs are 8-2 when reaching 70 points.
Fresno State was held below 70 points in the seven games prior to going to overtime against No. 22 Utah State (2-5).
MY TEAM IS ON THE FLOOR
Depleted by injuries in February, Fresno State had gone from relying on its bench for production to having five players average over 33 minutes per game during a five-game stretch from Feb. 14-March 1.
At Nevada, the Bulldogs played just six players.
Xavier DuSell averaged a team-high 39.7 minutes per game.
1,000-POINT TRANSFERS
With 14 points at Boise State (Feb. 17), Xavier DuSell surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career. He is the second Bulldog transfer to do that this year, joining Isaiah Pope who scored his 1,000th point on Dec. 18, 2023.
DuSell came to Fresno State from Wyoming where he had scored 714 points in 86 games.
He has 1,074 points in his career in 116 games.
Pope is playing in his fifth collegiate season, and first at Fresno State. He has 1,206 points in 133 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.
THE FLOOR GENERAL
In 30 games, Isaiah Hill has dished out 182 assists. He has dished out at least eight assists in eight games this season, including a season-high 10 three times.
10 of Hill's seven-plus assist performances have come in his last 17 games.
In his last 32 games, Hill has recorded 204 assists.
Hill has 31 games at Fresno State with at least six assists.
In 118 games as a Bulldog, Hill ranks third in career assists, moving up eight spots this season.
Hill sits No. 3 in the Mountain West, and No. 18 in the NCAA, this season with 6.1 assists per game.
In conference play, Hill is second, averaging 6.1 per outing and in assist-turnover ratio at 3.14.
CONNECTING FROM DEEP
Shoot from outside. That's what was expected and what Wyoming transfer Xavier DuSell has brought to Fresno State. With a team-high 85 made 3-pointers through 31 games, DuSell is above the 2.0 per game he made in his 86 games at Wyoming.
DuSell is shooting a team-high 39.7 percent, 41st in the NCAA while ranking No. 2 in the MW in made 3's per game (2.74).
DuSell has made at least five 3-pointers in four games, including a career high seven (7-of-8) at Air Force.
DuSell has shot at least 50 percent from beyond the arc in 11 games.