FSU vs. UNLV (Yes, they are an actual D1 team!)

Yes, our leading scorer is under six foot, problem?

We must first thank the baseline official for not watching Tyson Parker jump from 6 inches out of bounds to save the ball to Bryan Harvey who thankfully forced overtime with the desperatation three. Without his lack of attention we would be face with writing to you about the most embarrasing loss in school history. As the old saying goes, Id rather be lucky....

FSU vs. UNLV Preview:

The Fresno State Bulldogs will hit the road to face their toughest opponent of the season thus far, UNLV, at the Orleans Arena Saturday night at 7pm. This is the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Runnin Rebels since 1998 when UNLV defeated the Dogs 77-67 in a WAC tournament semifinal game. This game will also be televised locally on CW59 pregame at 6:30.

UNLV Coming in:

The Rebels enter off a road victory in Flagstaff, Arizona over the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona 83-74. They had 4 players score in double figures, but the key to their victory was their ability to get to the free throw line 32 times and make 27 of the attempts. Junior guards Wink Adams (16 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stls) and Curtis Terry (16 pts, 8 rebs, 6 ast) led the way. Terry is the brother of Dallas Maverick guard and former Arizona standout Jason Terry.

On the season individually the Rebels have three double figure scorers (Terry 13.6, Adams 13.3, and Darger 12.5). Terry leads the team in assists at just under 4 per game, Darger leads the team in rebounds at 6.3 per game, while Terry and Adams share the team lead with 11 steals.

UNLV Team Stats (opponents):

-74.1 points per game (66.1)
-42.3% field goals (41.7%)
-31.9% 3 point field goals (28.1%)
-7.6 3 point field goals/game (5.4)
-72% free throws (65.8%)
-35.4 rebounds per game (39.5)
-13.5 assists per game (12.5)
-12.1 turnovers per game (16.5)
-8.9 steals per game (4.9)
-3.1 blocks per game (1.9)

Fresno State Coming in:

The Bulldogs come in to Saturdays matchup narrowly escaping what may have been one of the worst losses in program history against Cal-State Monterey Bay. It took a desperation 3 from Bryan Harvey to force overtime after a controversial save by Tyson Parker in which he was clearly out of bounds. The Bulldogs eventually prevailed 85-80 in overtime. They were led by Kevin Bell’s 24 points and 5 assists, Bell battled cramps in the second half and overtime.

Hector Hernandez had a much improved shooting touch going 4-7 from three on the way to an 18 point, 9 rebound effort. Bryan Harvey had a very nice game scoring 19, collecting 9 rebounds which was key, and added 4 blocks. Most importantly he forced overtime with the deep three. Not to be forgotten, guard Tyson Parker turned in an all around game scoring 4 point, had 5 rebounds, and led the team with 7 assists. He distributed very well after Coach Cleveland moved him to the free throw line area in the halfcourt offensive sets to allow him to be a facilitator.

What to expect:

The Bulldogs have what seems like everything going against them-a road game, a very good opponent, an embarrassing near loss prior at home, and a lack of confidence coming in. The only question is how will they respond to this tough test? How can the Bulldogs leave Vegas with a win? It will take the starters staying out of foul trouble and keeping the Rebels off the line, they must compete on the boards, and they will have to come up with 10+ made threes. Lastly, as always on the road against an opportunistic team, they must value the basketball and keep turnovers down.

MBs take:

Well, since I predicted a 23 point victory against the Otters and was not even close, I see the Dogs waltzing into Orleans Arena and losing to the Rebels by 12. Why or how, Im unsure but they had to escape a D2 team at home so how can I give them a chance against a top 40 D1 team?