Fresno State is off to a 6-1 start entering Saturday's game, which tips off at 4 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.
Game 8: CSUN (3-3) at Fresno State (6-1)
Dec. 4, 2021 • 4 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. • Save Mart Center
TV/ONLINE: Mountain West Network (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)
RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network (BSN) Fox Sports Radio 1340 (Fresno-Visalia) Fox Sports Radio 970 AM (Bakersfield) and the iHeartRadio App (Paul Loeffler & Marc Q. Jones)
SERIES HISTORY: Fresno State leads 28-6 (overall) and 18-3 (in Fresno)
LAST MEETING: CSUN 73, Fresno State 72 [11/30/19 • Northridge, CA]
NEXT UP: at San Francisco (12/8); vs. UC Irvine (12/11); vs. Cal Poly (12/17)
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 has 12 games on its schedule against teams currently in KenPom's Top 100 national rankings.
Fresno State (6-1) and CSUN (3-3) meet on Saturday afternoon at the Save Mart Center.
OPENING TIP
The Fresno State men's basketball team hosts the CSUN Matadors on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center on the Mountain West Network (online) and the Bulldog Sports Network (radio).
Fresno State leads the all-time series 28-6 (overall), which includes an 18-3 record in home games played in Fresno (3-0 at the Save Mart Center). The Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings with CSUN.
This is the first return game of a two-for-one series, and was originally scheduled for 2020, but was postponed to 2021. The Matadors edged the 'Dogs 73-72 in the last meeting back on Nov. 30, 2019.
With 853 career points, Orlando Robinson (19.7 ppg/8.7 rpg) is 17 points from joining the Bulldogs' Top 50 all-time scoring list [50. Damon Jackson: 870; 49. Dwight O'Neil: 876; 48. Chris Jefferies: 877].
Fresno State leads the MW and ranks 15th in the nation in scoring defense (57.0 ppg allowed).
The top four MW teams (CSU, WYO, AFA and FS) are a combined 27-2 entering Saturday's slate of games.
ROBINSON PRODUCING ON AND OFF THE HARDWOOD
Fresno State junior forward Orlando 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 offensive games 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.
Fresno State's Orlando Robinson has scored at least 15 points in eight straight games, which dates back to the final game of the 2020-21 season.
Fresno State's Orlando Robinson has scored in double figures in a career-best 16 consecutive games.
Fresno State's Orlando Robinson is one of three Division I players in the nation averaging at least 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game (through games played on Dec. 2).
Fresno State's Orlando Robinson is one of 12 Division I players in the nation averaging at least 19 points and eight rebounds per game (through games played on Dec. 2).
Fresno State's Orlando Robinson is one of six Division I players in the nation averaging at least eight rebounds and two blocks per game (through games played on Nov. 30).
Fresno State's Orlando Robinson leads the Bulldogs with 23 assists this season. Robinson has made at least one assist in 34 of his last 35 games (12 consecutive contests).
Fresno State's Orlando Robinson has recorded 11 blocks in his last three games (at least three in each).
TRENDING
Fresno State is 6-1 to start the season for the first time since the 2015-16 season when the Bulldogs opened 6-1, later won the 2016 MW Tournament and played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Fresno State is 11-0 when Anthony Holland has scored at least nine points in that game.
Fresno State has held two opponents this season to 20 points in the first half (FPU, USD).
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.