Ready or not, Bulldogs offense running into tough test in Boise State

It was defense that carried Fresno State home its last time out, an 82-79 overtime victory at Colorado State.

In the second half of that game the Bulldogs hit only 34.6 percent of their shots, were just 4 of 12 on layups.

They did get to the foul line 17 times, though they made only eight of those free throws; not even half, but just enough as it turned out.

But clearly they still are putting the pieces back together with point guard Jaron Hopkins having played four games since returning from a back injury, and that could be their biggest challenge on Tuesday against Boise State

The Broncos, who come into the Save Mart Center off an overtime loss at Wyoming, are one of the more efficient teams in the Mountain West at the offensive end. But they also are second in the conference in scoring defense (66.2 ppg), second in field goal percentage defense (40.2), first in 3-point defense (28.4) and first in defensive rebounding percentage (82.1) – and they are leading there by a substantial margin.

San Diego State is second in defensive rebounding, 76.5 percent.

“Jaron is getting better each time out, whether it’s practices or games,” coach Rodney Terry said. “When you miss four games, you miss almost four weeks – that’s a long stretch. But he’s getting better. He’s getting back into form. Don’t forget it took him about five games to get into form to start the year.

“He’s going to be fine. He’s an older player and he understands what we’re doing, understands our system. I thought in the second half up at Colorado State, I thought he played really well and played aggressive and played with the kind of swag we think he’s capable of playing with.”

The Broncos also have allowed only three of 16 opponents to hit 1.000 point per possession, the fewest in the conference. Here are the MW top five teams in that defensive category:

▪ Boise State 3 of 16, 18.8 percent.

▪ San Diego State 4 of 14, 28.6.

▪ Wyoming 5 of 16, 31.3.

▪ Fresno State 6 of 17, 35.3.

▪ UNLV 7 of 16, 43.8.

The Bulldogs then have some things to work on to get ready for Boise State.

In four conference games they have averaged 75.3 points per game, down from 80.8 in nonconference play. Most perplexing have been some prolonged scoring droughts for a team that can get to the rim, get to the foul line and knock down shots.

At Utah State, they were 28 of 49 (57.1 percent) with 4:12 remaining in the game and hit just 4 of their final 13 shots in an overtime loss.

Against Nevada they were down nine with a little more than five minutes to go, still in it with a chance, but hit just 2 of their last 7 shots.

“I think we haven’t played our best basketball offensively this year, where we’ve done it for 40 minutes,” Terry said.

“But for me, that bodes well for us moving forward because I think as the season goes along we’re going to keep getting better whether it’s with the pace, whether it’s ball movement. This team will. They have a high ceiling to continue to grow and get better.”

The numbers

Boise State 13-3, 3-1 in the MW.

Fresno State 12-5, 2-2.

The line: Bulldogs -4.

There’s a right way and a ...

The Bulldogs had no money in the budget for charter flights this season – the past three seasons they took four a year, either round trip or to get to or home from a game – and were not able to get out of Colorado after playing the Rams until Sunday.

That obviously cost them some valuable prep time and puts them at a competitive disadvantage, which wouldn’t be as much of an issue if Boise State were on the same schedule.

It isn’t, even though the Broncos also played on the road Saturday.

How did Boise State handle its travel?

The Broncos lost in overtime at Wyoming and jumped on a charter flight that delivered them directly to Fresno. They have been in town since Saturday night and are on a typical schedule, as if playing a Saturday game after a Wednesday game.

When the Bulldogs got back on Sunday, some players who didn’t get many minutes on the road trip got in some work that afternoon. But they didn’t get into detailed prep for the Broncos until Monday.

Hutchison challenge

The Broncos’ Chandler Hutchison was voted the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Wear back in October and through 15 games is averaging 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds, ranking fifth and fourth in the conference.

He also is tied for sixth in assists per game and tied for seventh in steals per game and scored 27 points on Saturday in the Broncos’ overtime loss at Wyoming.

Fresno State has, however, defended the 6-foot-7 guard well.

Hutchison last season averaged 17.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. In two games against the Bulldogs he did this:

At Fresno State: 26 minutes, 14 points, 10 rebounds, 0 turnovers, 1 assist, 1 steal. At Boise State: 33 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 turnovers, 3 assists, 0 steals.

The Bulldogs won both games – and Hutchison, in foul trouble in that first game, was a combined 6 of 16 (37.5 percent) shooting the basketball.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Ready or not, Bulldogs offense running into tough test in Boise State."