Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Idaho Vandals
Breakdown: Bulldogs
The Fresno State men’s basketball team has a chance to redeem itself from a home loss to the Vandals in January.
But the ‘Dogs will not have the luxury of being at home this time, where they have an 11-5 record. The contest will be on the road where the ‘Dogs have stumbled to a 3-10 record. They have also beaten only one WAC team on the road this year, a Jan. 6 win at Louisiana Tech, 63-56.
Currently Fresno State sits at 5-9 in the Western Athletic Conference and sit eigth in the conference standings. The Bulldogs could move in to the seventh spot with a win against the Vandals, and if San Jose State loses to the Hawaii on Thursday.
This is the Bulldogs’ final road game of the year. They will face Hawaii on Saturday followed by the WAC Tournament, which begins Wednesday, March 9 in Las Vegas.
They will need big games out of Kevin Olekaibe, Greg Smith and Tim Steed. Each have taken their turn leading the team in scoring the previous three games.
Breakdown: Vandals
The Vandals have had an up-and-down season themselves, but still sit well ahead of the Bulldogs in the WAC standings at No. 4.
Idaho is not an overly-impressive offensive team, having just scored 78 or more one time in regulation this season, an 86-74 victory over Eastern Oregon in the season-opener.
They do, however, make up for their short-comings with a strong defense. Idaho has kept opponents to 67 or less 17 times this year with four of those teams failing to score more than 50 points.
In the first meeting between these two teams this season the Vandals held the Bulldogs to only 19 field goals and a .358 shooting percentage. The Vandals also forced the ‘Dog to shoot 6-of-19 on from three-point land.
Idaho ran away with the victory late, 67-57.
This is the last regular-season WAC game for the Vandals. They have one more home game against Seattle on Saturday before they too play in the WAC Tournament.
Keys to Victory
1. Take advantage of turnovers
The Bulldogs forced 16 turnovers in the last meeting.
2. Don’t waste possessions on 3s
The Bulldogs are shooting a WAC-worst .278 from beyond the arc.
3. Body up Barone
The Vandals’ big man had a game-high 18 points in the last meeting and was a force in the paint.
