2017–18 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team

American college basketball season

2017–18 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record21–11 (11–7 MW)
Head coach
  • Rodney Terry (7th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Jerry Wainwright
  • Byron Jones
  • Nick Matson
Home arenaSave Mart Center
(Capacity: 15,596)
Seasons
2017–18 Mountain West Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 24 Nevada 15 – 3   .833 29 – 8   .784
Boise State 13 – 5   .722 23 – 9   .719
New Mexico 12 – 6   .667 19 – 15   .559
Fresno State 11 – 7   .611 21 – 11   .656
San Diego State † 11 – 7   .611 22 – 11   .667
Wyoming 10 – 8   .556 20 – 13   .606
UNLV 8 – 10   .444 20 – 13   .606
Utah State 8 – 10   .444 17 – 17   .500
Air Force 6 – 12   .333 12 – 19   .387
Colorado State 4 – 14   .222 11 – 21   .344
San Jose State 1 – 17   .056 4 – 26   .133
† Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2017–18 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team represented California State University, Fresno in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by seventh-year head coach Rodney Terry and played their home games at the Save Mart Center as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 11–7 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament to San Diego State. Despite having 21 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

On March 12, 2018, head coach Rodney Terry left Fresno State to become head coach at UTEP.[1] He finished at Fresno State with a seven-year record of 126–108. On April 5, it was announced that the school had hired San Diego State assistant coach Justin Hutson as head coach.[2][3]

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the season 20–13 overall; and 11–7 in the conference. During the season, Fresno State was invited and participated in the Mountain West–Missouri Valley Challenge, where they defeated Drake in Des Moines, Iowa. In the postseason, Fresno State won against New Mexico but lost to Nevada in the semifinals of the 2017 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament in Paradise, Nevada. The Bulldogs were invited and participated in the 2017 National Invitation Tournament, where they lost to TCU in the first round in Fort Worth, Texas.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Darryl McDowell-White 0 G 6'1" 175 Freshman Brisbane, Australia Dismissed due to academic probation
William McDowell-White 2 G 6'5" 185 Freshman Brisbane, Australia Dismissed due to academic probation
Paul Watson 3 G/F 6'7" 210 Senior Phoenix, AZ Graduated
Karachi Edo 4 F 6'6" 230 Senior Richardson, TX Dismissed due to domestic violence
Cullen Russo 13 F 6'9" 225 Senior Bloomington, Minnesota Graduated|
Ryan Beddeo 14 G 6'2" 185 Freshman Valencia, CA Transferred Canyons CC
Grant Shell 15 G 6'3" 175 Sophomore Burlington, KS Transferred to Emporia State
Ountae Campbell 22 G 6'4" 195 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA Transferred to Casper CC
Jacob Holland 24 G 6'4" 195 Junior Los Lunas, NM Transferred to New Mexico Highlands

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
New Williams 0 G 6'2" 170 Sophomore Inglewood, CA Transferred from Auburn. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Braxton Huggins 4 G 6'3" 184 Senior Bakersfield, CA Transferred from New Mexico State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Eric Vila 10 F 6'11" 206 Sophomore Girona, Spain Transferred from Texas A&M. Under NCAA transfer rules, Vila will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Ray Bowles Jr. 22 G/F 6'5" 215 RS Senior Modesto, CA Transferred from Pacific. Will be eligible to play immediately since Bowles Jr. graduated from Pacific.
Noah Blackwell 55 G 6'2" 190 Junior Roseville, CA Transferred from Long Beach State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Blackwell will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Myles Fitzgerald-Warren
PG 		Portland, OR Madison High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 176 lb (80 kg) Mar 20, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: –   Rivals: –
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Fresno State Commit List for 2017". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  • "ESPN – Fresno State Bulldogs Basketball Recruiting 2017". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Isaac Likekele
PG 		Arlington, TX Timberview High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sep 10, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Efe Odigie
PF 		Houston, TX Pro-Vision Academy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sep 25, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: –   Rivals: –
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Fresno State Commit List for 2018". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  • "ESPN – Fresno State Bulldogs Basketball Recruiting 2018". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.

Preseason

In a vote by conference media at the Mountain West media day, the Brulldogs were picked to finish in fourth place in the Mountain West.[4]

Roster

2017–18 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 New Williams Current redshirt 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Auburn Inglewood, California
G 1 Jaron Hopkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Colorado Mesa, Arizona
G 3 Johnny McWilliams 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So San Marcos HS San Marcos, California
G 4 Braxton Huggins Current redshirt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Sr New Mexico State Bakersfield, California
G 5 Jahmel Taylor 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Washington Los Angeles, California
F 10 Eric Vila Current redshirt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Texas A&M Girona, Spain
F 11 Bryson Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Roosevelt HS Fresno, California
F 12 Myles Fitzgerald-Warren 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Madison HS Portland, Oregon
F 15 Gilles Dekoninck 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Huntington Prep Diest, Belgium
G 20 Sam Bittner (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Trinity International HS Las Vegas, Nevada
G 21 Deshon Taylor 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr UMKC Riverside, California
G 22 Ray Bowles Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Pacific Modesto, California
F 32 Nate Grimes 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Quality Education HS Las Vegas, Nevada
C 34 Terrell Carter II 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Sr Redondo Union HS Los Angeles, California
F/C 35 Lázaro Rojas 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Fr Score Academy HS São José dos Campos, Brazil
G 55 Noah Blackwell Current redshirt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Long Beach State Roseville, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Source[5]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 25, 2017*
8:00 pm 		at Saint Mary's
Charity Exhibition benefiting
North Bay Fire relief 		L 76–85 
 22 – D. Taylor   7 – Hopkins   3 – Tied  McKeon Pavilion 
Moraga, CA
October 30, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Pacific Union W 99–56 
 19 – Williams   11 – Williams   6 – J. Taylor  Save Mart Center (4,523)
Fresno, CA
November 3, 2017*
7:00 pm 		UC Merced W 79–39 
 20 – J. Taylor   7 – Willams   5 – Bowles  Save Mart Center (4,645)
Fresno, CA
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2017*
5:00 pm 		UC Santa Cruz W 86–65  1–0
  16 – D. Taylor   8 – Grimes   6 – Tied  Save Mart Center (5,169)
Fresno, CA
November 13, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Cal State Northridge
Cancún Challenge 		W 89–73  2–0
  18 – Tied   10 – Hopkins   5 – Bowles Jr.  Save Mart Center (4,864)
Fresno, CA
November 17, 2017*
5:00 pm 		at Arkansas L 75–83  2–1
  22 – Williams   10 – Hopkins   10 – Hopkins  Bud Walton Arena (15,051)
Fayetteville, AR
November 21, 2017*
5:30 pm, CBSSN 		vs. Evansville
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division semifinals 		L 57–59  2–2
  12 – D. Taylor   11 – Williams   5 – D. Taylor  Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (982)
Cancún, Mexico
November 22, 2017*
3:00 pm, CBSSN 		vs. George Mason
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division third place game 		W 79–73  3–2
  23 – D. Taylor   10 – Williams   3 – Tied  Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (982)
Cancún, Mexico
November 26, 2017*
12:00 pm 		Montana State
Cancún Challenge 		W 80–67  4–2
  31 – D. Taylor   7 – Tied   3 – Bowles  Save Mart Center (5,097)
Fresno, CA
November 30, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Weber State W 83–71  5–2
  29 – Hopkins   8 – Williams   4 – Tied  Save Mart Center (5,105)
Fresno, CA
December 2, 2017*
4:00 pm 		at Long Beach State W 106–70  6–2
  26 – Hopkins   7 – Bowles   6 – J. Taylor  Walter Pyramid (3,706)
Long Beach, CA
December 5, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Cal State Bakersfield W 70–55  7–2
  19 – D. Taylor   13 – Williams   5 – J. Taylor  Save Mart Center (5,040)
Fresno, CA
December 9, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Cal Poly W 83–63  8–2
  21 – D. Taylor   7 – Tied   3 – 3 tied  Mott Athletic Center (1,994)
San Luis Obispo, CA
December 13, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 78–52  9–2
  19 – Carter II   6 – Tied   7 – J. Taylor  Save Mart Center (4,530)
Fresno, CA
December 16, 2017*
3:00 pm, CBSSN 		Oregon L 61–68  9–3
  19 – Tied   8 – Williams   3 – J. Taylor  Save Mart Center (9,225)
Fresno, CA
December 18, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Cal State Monterey Bay W 93–56  10–3
  30 – Williams   17 – Grimes   9 – D. Taylor  Save Mart Center (4,747)
Fresno, CA
Mountain West regular season
December 27, 2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Nevada L 65–80  10–4
(0–1) 		 16 – D. Taylor   8 – Hopkins   4 – J. Taylor  Save Mart Center (6,008)
Fresno, CA
December 30, 2017
4:00 pm 		Air Force W 71–59  11–4
(1–1) 		 18 – D. Taylor   6 – Tied   4 – Tied  Save Mart Center (6,188)
Fresno, CA
January 3, 2018
6:00 pm 		at Utah State L 79–81 OT 11–5
(1–2) 		 24 – D. Taylor   10 – Grimes   3 – Tied  Smith Spectrum (8,276)
Logan, UT
January 6, 2018
2:30 pm, CBSSN 		at Colorado State W 82–79 OT 12–5
(2–2) 		 22 – D. Taylor   7 – Williams   3 – 3 tied  Moby Arena (3,541)
Fort Collins, CO
January 9, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		Boise State L 64–70  12–6
(2–3) 		 15 – D. Taylor   6 – Tied   5 – Hopkins  Save Mart Center (4,980)
Fresno, CA
January 13, 2018
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		New Mexico W 89–80  13–6
(3–3) 		 22 – D. Taylor   9 – Hopkins   4 – Tied  Save Mart Center (6,244)
Fresno, CA
January 17, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		at San Diego State W 77–73  14–6
(4–3) 		 22 – D. Taylor   10 – Grimes   3 – Tied  Viejas Arena (11,358)
San Diego, CA
January 20, 2018
1:00 pm, ATTSNRM 		at Air Force
Postponed due to government shutdown
Make up date 2/26/18 		Clune Arena 
Colorado Springs, CO
January 23, 2018
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		UNLV W 69–63  15–6
(5–3) 		 20 – Williams   6 – Tied   4 – Williams  Save Mart Center (5,385)
Fresno, CA
January 27, 2018
4:00 pm 		Utah State L 62–65  15–7
(5–4) 		 15 – D. Taylor   11 – Hopkins   4 – Hopkins  Save Mart Center (7,317)
Fresno, CA
January 31, 2018
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Nevada L 92–102  15–8
(5–5) 		 30 – D. Taylor   8 – Hopkins   5 – Hopkins  Lawlor Events Center (8,521)
Reno, NV
February 3, 2018
11:00 am, ATTSNRM 		at Wyoming W 80–62  16–8
(6–5) 		 20 – Grimes   12 – Grimes   6 – Hopkins  Arena-Auditorium (5,690)
Laramie, WY
February 6, 2018
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		San Diego State W 79–61  17–8
(7–5) 		 20 – Hopkins   6 – Grimes   5 – Hopkins  Save Mart Center (6,128)
Fresno, CA
February 14, 2018
7:00 pm 		at San Jose State W 77–57  18–8
(8–5) 		 20 – Hopkins   7 – Tied   4 – Hopkins  Event Center Arena (1,682)
San Jose, CA
February 17, 2018
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		Colorado State W 86–65  19–8
(9–5) 		 19 – Williams   10 – Williams   6 – Hopkins  Save Mart Center (6,882)
Fresno, CA
February 21, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at UNLV W 77–64  20–8
(10–5) 		 22 – D. Taylor   9 – Hopkins   4 – Hopkins  Thomas & Mack Center (9,302)
Paradise, NV
February 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPNU 		Wyoming L 68–78  20–9
(10–6) 		 16 – Tied   10 – Grimes   4 – J. Taylor  Save Mart Center (9,645)
Fresno, CA
February 26, 2018
6:00 pm 		at Air Force W 54–48  21–9
(11–6) 		 15 – Williams   8 – Williams   4 – D. Taylor  Clune Arena (2,150)
Colorado Springs, CO
March 3, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		at New Mexico L 86–95 OT 21–10
(11–7) 		 23 – Tied   8 – Williams   2 – Tied  The Pit (13,069)
Albuquerque, NM
Mountain West tournament
March 8, 2018
2:30 pm, CBSSN 		(4) vs. (5) San Diego State
Quarterfinals 		L 52–64  21–11
  23 – Williams   9 – Williams   2 – Tied  Thomas & Mack Center (6,753)
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

References

  1. ^ Broaddus, Adrian (March 12, 2018). "UTEP hires Fresno State's Rodney Terry as their new basketball coach". theprospectordaily.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  2. ^ Zeigler, Mark. "Fresno State hires SDSU basketball assistant Justin Hutson as head coach". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  3. ^ "Fresno State hires San Diego State assistant as men's basketball coach". fresnobee. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  4. ^ "Nevada Predicted to Win 2017-18 Mountain West Men's Basketball Regular-Season Title". Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  5. ^ "2017-18 Schedule". Retrieved September 28, 2017.
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