Coach Steve Cleveland and his Fresno State Bulldogs return home Saturday night for a matchup with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. Fresno State is coming off of a difficult road loss against Boise State 65-61, a game in which they were in position to come out with a victory.
Their shooting woes continued and they have now reached five straight games in which they have shot less than 40% from the field. They also committed 15 turnovers and shot 7-14 from the line, the type of numbers that will not win many games.
La Tech coming in:
Louisiana Tech is coming into this game after an 83-67 defeat at the hands of Nevada. The Bulldogs played very well in the early going and led by as many as 8 points halfway through the first. Nevada was then able to make a nice run to close the half and the score was 37-37 at the intermission.
As soon as the second half had begun, Louisiana Tech ceased being a formidable opponent and the Wolfpack jumped out to a double digit lead. It was all but over early in that second half. The Bulldogs were led by Senior forward Chad McKenzie who scored 19 points and Senior guard Trey McDowell who had 17 pts and 4 assists.
McDowell has been one of the best players in the WAC since conference play has started, he is pouring in 19 ppg in his 7 outings which is up from his season average of 12.6. Tech also has the second, third, and forth ranked players in steals in WAC play.
What to look for:
Look for La. Tech to be very physical with the Fresno State. They have improved their overall play since conference games have started. They play 10 players and will have plenty of fouls to give on FSUs penetrating forwards McGuire and Hosley. Fresno State will have to keep a watchful eye on McDowell since he has been on a tear.
Fresno State questions:
-Will they be able to reach the elusive 40% from the field?
-Will they get to the line and will they convert?
-Can they finally convert layups from point blank range?
-Is there a potential for this team to find a midrange game?
-Can they play above the level of the competition on both sides of the ball?
-Will they avoid long scoring droughts exacerbated by quick shots?
Lets hope there are more than a few resounding yes’ to these critical questions.
MBs Take:
The Bulldogs of Fresno State will bounce back in this one, look for Hector Hernandez and Eddie Miller improve on their horrible outside shooting dislplay in Boise. If a few more threes drop in and the team as a whole can make 60-70% of their layups then they will win this game. They also need to get to that 40% field goal level very badly.
Hosley, McGuire, and Co. win this one by 8.
Is he coming or going? Factor/Non-factor
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