Despite the fact that the Fresno State men’s basketball team lost its home finale to San Diego State, it has a lot to be proud of.

Especially compared with how things were on Jan. 25.

On that date, the Bulldogs had finished a grueling overtime contest against UNLV. They had lost their fifth-straight game and second in a row that went beyond regulation.

At 8-13 (1-7 in the Mountain West), it seemed like Fresno State’s 2013-14 season was coming to an ugly end. The first-place San Diego State Aztecs were undefeated in conference play, and the Bulldogs were second to last and about to host the fourth-place Wyoming Cowboys.

And that’s when the turning point came.

The Cowboys visited Fresno Jan. 29, and the Bulldogs found themselves with a seven-point lead after the first half. Although Wyoming outscored Fresno State in the second stanza (by * two points), the home team found itself breaking a losing streak.

From there, Fresno State’s fortunes flourished.

Eight games later, the Bulldogs have gone 7-2 and moved three spots up the Mountain West standings. They are down to their final game of the season — at San Jose — and will try to break even in conference play.

Going from 1-7 to 8-9, is a vast improvement. So what caused the 180 in Fresno State’s season?

1. Fouls were minimized

Through the UNLV contest, the Bulldogs had committed an average of 19.7 personal fouls per game. Over the nine-game stretch afterward, Fresno State improved that number to 18.8.

The important number, however, is how many points opponents scored from those fouls through free throws. That is 15.2 per game.

And those numbers have been different in wins and losses. In the two losses Fresno State had since Jan. 25, it allowed more points off fouls than it did in the seven victories.

In Feb. 18’s loss at Wyoming, the ‘Dogs committed their highest number of fouls over the nine-game stretch (31). Those were costly, as 31 points were scored from the free-throw line — and the Bulldogs only lost by six.

Last Saturday, the ‘Dogs were closer to their average foul count (17) and allowed 19 points from the line. Whether or not it was costly is a matter of debate: the ‘Dogs lost to the Aztecs by 15 points, and San Diego State shot 20 percent above its season average in the game from the lane.

Either way, the fact that Fresno State fouled the most in losses shows that keeping the number of penalties low helps it win games. It prevents opponents from getting free points and helps the ‘Dogs focus on other aspects of defense, such as:

2. Rebounds

In the first four wins after the UNLV match, the Bulldogs outrebounded their opponents 140-127. Since then, they have fallen short in boards, but the disparity is not much.

In two consecutive games — at Wyoming and Utah State — the Bulldogs fell short one rebound to their opponents (35 to 34). The first matchup was a loss (again, foul trouble), while the second was a 3-point victory.

On Feb. 26 against Boise State, the ‘Dogs tallied fewer than 30 rebounds for the first time since Jan. 11’s 76-57 loss at Colorado State. Fresno State ended the game with 28 boards but scored aggressively (sophomore guard Marvelle Harris was 9 for 11 in shooting) to compensate. That is an anomaly.

Then against San Diego State, Fresno State faced a team that is 23rd in the nation in rebound margin (5.6). In their first matchup last Jan. 15, the Bulldogs out-rebounded the Aztecs 38 to 37. Last Saturday, they fell short — 34 to 21.

Although the total rebound margin in the nine-game stretch for the Bulldogs is negative (-1.7), it is actually higher than it was on Jan. 25 (-3.1).

3. Turnovers

Fresno State’s national ranking in turnover ratio skyrocketed over the nine-game stretch.

On Jan. 25, the Bulldogs were 52nd in the nation in turnovers, with 10.9 committed per game. Since then, they have been able to shave a turnover off the average (9.8) and now rank 11th in the nation.

Their best performance was at Utah State, when they turned over the ball three times.

The last time the Bulldogs ended the season in the top 25 in that category was after the 2011-12 season, when they finished 14th (10.7 per game).

4. Don’t forget the offense

While the Bulldogs have radically changed their numbers on defense, the offensive numbers have remained the same.

On both Jan. 25 and today, the Bulldogs are averaging nearly 74 points per game. Field-goal percentage has also remained in the same neighborhood, from 43.1 to 43.9.

That shows that the cruxes of Fresno State’s first 70 percent of the season were its defense and presence in the paint. Once it was able to get those under control, it began a win streak big enough to turn around the year.

And it’s not over yet. The season’s final game is on Saturday, and the Bulldogs have a chance to finish over .500 overall for the first time in seven years.

Compare that with last year, and the Bulldogs are having a very productive season.