LAS VEGAS -- Fresno State finished 11-19 and that is not the only bleak number forever attached to the 2012-13 men's basketball season, the second under coach Rodney Terry.

The Bulldogs also were one of the worst shooting teams in the country, hitting 39% of their shots, and ranked in the 300s in Division I in scoring offense, field-goal percentage and assists per game; and there are only 345 teams. That's low.

But add it all up -- including the move into one of the toughest conferences in the nation in the Mountain West from the more middling Western Athletic Conference -- and, oddly enough, call it progress.

"This team has grown," Terry insisted after the Bulldogs' season ended Wednesday with a 67-61 loss to Colorado State in a conference tournament quarterfinal, their eighth loss by seven or fewer points.

"We did not inherit a Cadillac -- and that's fine, we knew what we were up against in terms of a rebuilding process. But I do think we're rebuilding with a good engine, it's just going to be young, with young spark plugs, but they're going to continue to grow each and every day."

The record would seem to run contrary, but the improvement can be quantified by numbers other than that 11-19, and a 5-11 record in the Mountain West.

Fresno State a year ago was not a good team in the WAC, which ranked 12th in conference RPI. The Bulldogs finished seventh in the eight-team league, winning three games.

In the Mountain West, Fresno State still struggled to win. But in a conference ranked second in RPI, the Bulldogs competed much better than they did a year ago in a much softer league, particularly in areas key to the puzzle that Terry and his staff are trying to put together.

The Bulldogs last season had a minus-3.4 scoring margin in conference games and this year it was minus-4.0, a negligible difference. Nevada, which made the step up from the WAC with the Bulldogs, went from a plus-7.4 to a minus-9.4. Boise State, which moved from the WAC after the 2010-11 season, went from plus-2.0 to a minus-7.4 in its first Mountain West campaign.

Boise State had lost three starters and nine lettermen going into 2011-12, but this season Nevada and Fresno State had the same number of starters back. The Wolf Pack had 10 returning lettermen to just five for the Bulldogs.

Nevada had 11 junior or seniors on its roster this season, including point guard Deonte Burton and Malik Story, their top two scorers, and the Bulldogs had five.

The Bulldogs this season beat UNLV twice -- and the Rebels entered this week 22nd in RPI. Fresno State had one victory over a team in the top 100 a year ago -- Illinois State, which checked in at No. 97. The highest-rated team they beat in 2010-11 was New Mexico State at No. 146.

Fresno State last season also ranked sixth in the WAC in field-goal percentage defense in conference games, allowing opponents to hit 46.1% of their shots. This year, the Bulldogs' Mountain West opponents made 40.5%.

The Bulldogs last season were eighth in rebounding margin at minus-5.1 and this year that improved to minus-3.8. Still not good, but it did come in a league with four teams in the top 75 nationally in rebounding margin: Colorado State (first), UNLV (14th), Boise State (52nd) and San Diego State (66th).

That takes some doing, given the drastic difference in the level of competition. Nevada coach David Carter summed that up after Fresno State beat the Wolf Pack last month in Reno.

"These guys were recruited to come into the WAC and there's a big difference," a frustrated Carter said. "A year later, we're going to the Mountain West and we haven't had a recruiting class yet. I'm not saying they're not good enough. Don't get me wrong. But there's a different type of player you have to get because this is a different level."

There still is a long way to go for the Bulldogs' program -- i.e., offensive shooting percentage, for one. And Fresno State again will be young next season -- nine of the 13 scholarship players will be freshmen or sophomores. But Terry pointed to the team's growth, and an upgrade in talent is coming in with the additions of Oklahoma State transfer Cezar Guerrero, JC forward Alex Davis, and high school forwards Paul Watson and Soma Edo.

"We grew tremendously," Terry said. "All teams go through it at some point. We hit rock bottom and we had to build and get ourselves back up, but our guys accepted that challenge and answered that bell. We know we're playing in the best league in the country, and there weren't going to be any nights that we could not afford to bring our best game, and we started doing that.

"We started doing that at the offensive end and the defensive end and we gave ourselves a chance. In our last six, we had a chance to win every ballgame."