Matt Weir / The Collegian

MEN̢۪S BASKETBALL

Fresno State Bulldogs (9-14, 1-7 WAC) vs. Boise State Broncos (16-6, 6-3 WAC)

Breakdown: Bulldogs

Last week, the Bulldogs struggled through their most embarrassing half of the season – a 10-point showing in the first half at Hawaii. Fresno State lost the game 69-43 and sunk to a low point of the season on the island, dropping to 1-7 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Now the Bulldogs must regroup and fight to get out of last place in the WAC and to block out the off the court distractions.

The first issue that head coach Steve Cleveland will focus on is the play of the point guard.

With senior guard Dwight O̢۪Neil suspended indefinitely following off the court issues, freshman point guard Bryce Cartwright has filled the role but still has plenty to improve on.

In tonight̢۪s game against Boise State, Cartwright will be a key to any success for the Bulldogs and strong play from him; a strong assist to turnover ratio will help the Bulldogs keep this one close.

Unfortunately for Fresno State, even if Cartwright is able to feed scorers like Paul Geroge and Sylvester Seay, the Bulldogs will have a tough time keeping up with the Broncos̢۪ fire power.

This Bulldog team has plenty of things to improve on and not enough time to prepare for the Boise State Broncos.

But the Bulldogs will come out and score more than 10 points in the first half.

Breakdown: Broncos

Boise State has won four of its last five games and is most recently coming off of a win and season sweep over the San Jose State Spartans.

The Broncos are currently in sole possession of second place in the WAC. While Boise State is undefeated at home, the Broncos have struggled mildly on the road in conference play with only two wins in five games.

The unique difference with the Broncos, and with most teams that have success, is that there is not an offensive or defensive statistic that it dominates over its opponents.

The Broncos don̢۪t do anything great, but everything good. They simply just find a way to win.

Boise State doesn’t have a superstar type of player on its team, but they are just that – a team. The Broncos have eight players who score five points or better, and all starting five players average more than eight points a game.

The two players to keep an eye on are guard Anthony Thomas and forward Ike Okoye. They are the only two players for Boise State who average double figures, and create a good inside-outside offensive set.

If Boise State plays good team-ball and gets balanced scoring like they have all season, they should walk away from the Save Mart Center with a win.

Keys to Victory

The Bulldogs win if …
Point Guard Bryce Cartwright can limit turnovers and the ̢۪Dogs can forget about an embarrassing loss at Hawaii.

The Broncos win if …
shooters convert at least 40 percent of their shots from the field.

Player to watch:
Bryce Cartwright, point guard

By Logan Hopkins and George Stepanoff Jr. / The Collegian