Fresno State Athletics

Fresno State Athletics

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Dogs, Pack to square off in Reno

Fresno State (13-4, 3-1 Mountain West) travels to play at Nevada on Friday night.

Game 18: Fresno State (13-4, 3-1 MW) at Nevada (8-7, 2-2 MW)

Jan. 21, 2022 • 8 p.m. PT • Reno, Nev. • Lawlor Events Center

TV/ONLINE: FS1 (Dan Hellie & Casey Jacobsen)

RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network (BSN) (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)

SERIES HISTORY: Nevada leads 60-44 (overall) & 34-17 (games in Reno)

LAST MEETING: Nevada 79, Fresno State 65 [1/17/21 • Reno, Nev.]

NEXT UP: at New Mexico (1/25); vs. Boise State (1/28)

THE BREAKDOWN

Fresno State Athletics is celebrating its centennial year and the 2021-22 men's basketball season is the 100th season of competition in program history.

Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson is now in his fourth season back home in the San Joaquin Valley.

Fresno State (13-4) and Nevada (8-7) will face off on Friday night at the Lawlor Events Center.

As of Jan. 19, the Bulldogs are ranked second nationally in scoring defense (56.5 PPG).

OPENING TIP

The Fresno State men's basketball team hosts the Utah State Aggies on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center on CBS Sports Network (television) and the Bulldog Sports Network (radio).

Fresno State leads the MW and ranks second in the nation in scoring defense (56.5 ppg allowed).

Fresno State also leads the MW in rebounding defense (28.9/avg) and turnover margin (+2.8).

As of Jan. 19, Fresno State ranked 28th in the nation in turnovers committed per game (10.9).

Fresno State has limited its opponents to fewer than 70 points in 16 of its 17 games this season.

ROBINSON'S PRODUCTION COMPARES TO THE BEST IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Through games played on Jan. 18, Fresno State junior forward Orlando Robinson was ranked fourth in KenPom's 2022 Player of the Year Standings with a 1.436 kPOY rating.

With 1,043 career points, Orlando Robinson (19.3 ppg/8.7 rpg) enters the game ranked 30th on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list - 24 points away from climbing into a tie for 29th all-time in program history.

Robinson was named to the Mid-Season Watch List for the 2021-22 Lute Olson National Player of the Year.

Robinson has never been shy about his ambitions and goals. And before the start of the 2021-22 season, Robinson shared that one of those is to earn Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors. While his offense continues to shine, Robinson has also elevated his defensive production. Robinson, a Las Vegas native, is a 2021-22 preseason All-MW selection and earned 2020-21 second-team All-MW and NABC All-District honors, along with 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District and MW Scholar Athlete honors.

NOTHING BUT NET

Through games played on Jan. 19, Fresno State was No. 54 in the NCAA's NET rankings.

Fresno State entered conference play as high as No. 50 in the NET (through games played on Dec. 27) and has been as high as No. 48 overall (through games played on Jan. 14).

Fresno State checked in at No. 93 in the NCAA's first NET rankings release of the 2021-22 season on Dec. 5.

Fresno State has three Quad 2 wins: vs. Santa Clara (59-52, neutral); at UNLV (73-68, away); vs. Utah State (61-54, home)

Six Mountain West teams are currently in the Top 75 of the NCAA's NET rankings (five in Top 55).

The NCAA's NET rankings assist the NCAA Tournament selection committee seed and select at-large bids.

BULLDOGS VISIT WOLF PACK UNDER THE FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Fresno State trails the all-time series with Nevada, 60-44 (overall) and 34-17 (in Fresno).

Fresno State has lost eight straight games played against Nevada.

Fresno State's last win over Nevada was an 81-76 road win in Reno back on Jan. 21, 2017.

This is the fifth straight game played in the series that has been played in Reno at the Lawlor Events Center.

This is the second of five straight Friday nights that the Bulldogs currently have MW games scheduled.

ROBINSON EARNS LUTE OLSON NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK & MW PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

Fresno State's Orlando Robinson was named the Lute Olson National Player of the Week and the MW Player of the Week on Jan. 17, 2022. In the previous week, Robinson averaged 27.5 points and 11.5 rebounds while leading the Bulldogs to a 2-0 record, which included a 79-59 win over San Jose State on Tuesday and a 73-68 road win at UNLV on Friday. In the 20-point win over SJSU, Robinson scored a season-high 31 points with 12 rebounds and followed up that dominant performance with another one – going for 24 points and 11 rebounds for a second straight double-double to power Fresno State past UNLV in his hometown of Las Vegas.

HOLLAND GROWING INTO EVEN BIGGER ROLE

Fresno State junior Anthony Holland scored a career-best 20 points with 11 rebounds and five assists for his second career double-double in the Bulldogs' 79-59 home win over San Jose State on Jan. 11, 2022.

In his first three games of MW play, Holland averaged 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Fresno State junior Anthony Holland leads the Bulldogs in 3-point field goal percentage (25-53, 47.2%).

Fresno State junior Anthony Holland leads the Bulldogs in assist-to-turnover ratio (22-9, 2.4 A-TO).

Fresno State is 11-1 when Holland scores 10 or more points (15-2 • 9 or more points / 16-3 • 8 or more points).

Holland was unavailable for the Bulldogs' Dec. 28 MW opener at Boise State (health & safety protocols).

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 nine seasons in the Mountain West, which includes four top four finishes in the past six seasons. In those last six MW campaigns, the 'Dogs won an average of 10.8 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 in Hutson's first three seasons as the Bulldogs' head coach.


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