Bulldogs got WAC’ed, but it shouldn’t lead to irreparable damage in MW play

Fresno State came into Saturday’s game against Utah Valley running at a high rate of speed, topping 90 points in three consecutive games, winning seven in a row.

Then, splat.

The skid marks stretched 94 feet and, boom, impact. But it was minimal, and it shouldn’t have a lasting effect with the Bulldogs headed into Mountain West Conference play at 9-3 and with guard Deshon Taylor closer to a return from a dislocated elbow.

Aside from Nevada, the Bulldogs won’t see many teams like Utah Valley in conference play, which is a sad statement, but that is where the Mountain West is at present. The WAC has six wins over Mountain West teams including some doozies – New Mexico lost to New Mexico State twice including a 100-65 rout in Las Cruces, N.M., Boise State lost at Grand Canyon, Colorado State lost on its home floor to New Mexico State by 20, San Jose State lost to Bakersfield and the Bulldogs lost to Utah Valley.

Before this season the Mountain West was 112-49 all-time against WAC schools, .696. This season it is just 3-6 against the WAC, .333, and New Mexico, Boise State and Fresno State, which were picked to finish third, fourth and fifth in the league in a preseason media poll, account for four of the six losses.

The Wolverines were just bigger and far more physical, and that impacted Fresno State at the offensive end of the floor where it was just bad.

The Bulldogs didn’t drive the ball, and didn’t finish when they did. Taylor, who will drive at anyone and try to finish through contact or draw a foul, was off the floor due to the injury suffered Dec. 7 during a three-on-three drill in a practice. Braxton Huggins, who has had games where he has attacked the rim, picked up a third foul with 1:51 remaining in the first half, and in the second it was almost all jumpers and threes.

They got little to nothing done in the paint, an area they had excelled through their first 11 games this season. Fresno State was averaging 36.5 points per game there and in that three-game run of 90-plus points had scored 114 of their 234 points within feet of the basket with another 46 coming on foul shots.

But they had only 14 paint points against Utah Valley.

They made just 6 of 15 layups, 40 percent.

Inside the 3-point line they were 12 of 31, 38.7 percent.

“We’ll watch the stuff that the stuff that we did that was self-inflicted,” coach Justin Hutson said, after the loss. “You know, when we get a steal and maybe throw the ball away. Or, we could have finished a shot that was an easy shot. Or, when we’re playing pick and roll … what were we supposed to do on that? We’ll watch both ends of the ball and we’ll come back and get better.”

Utah Valley got that done without blocking a single shot, but it had nine steals, forced 15 turnovers and dominated the paint at both ends of the floor.

The Wolverines outscored Fresno State 40-14 there and had the same number of layups and dunks as the Bulldogs had made baskets – 18.

If that happens in conference play, they have some problems.

This week in the Mountain West

Wednesday

• New Mexico at Air Force
  
  
• Boise State at Wyoming
  
  
• Fresno State at San Jose State
  
  
• Colorado State at UNLV
  
  
• Utah State at No. 6 Nevada
  
  

Saturday

• No. 6 Nevada at New Mexico
  
  
• Air Force at Utah State
  
  
• San Diego State at Boise State
  
  
• Colorado State at Fresno State
  
  
• Wyoming at UNLV
  
  

How low can you go?

The Mountain West is 73-65 in non-conference games and some of those programs have a lot more money to spend to schedule wins on the home floor than Fresno State.

The 73 wins are just one more than the fewest in conference history – the Mountain West had 72 non-conference wins in its first season in 1999-2000 and again in 2005-’06. But there were only eight and nine teams in the conference back then playing a total of 118 and 116 non-conference games. This season, it played 138.

The conference’s winning percentage of .526 is the lowest, by far …

• 2018-’19: .529, 73-65
  
  
• 1990-’00: .610, 72-46
  
  
• 2014-’15: .613, 87-55
  
  
• 2004-’05: .619, 73-45
  
  
• 2005-’06: .621, 72-44
  
  

The Mountain West is 0-1 this season against the Big South Conference – and it was 26-1 all-time. It is 0-2 against the Ivy League – and it was 16-3 going into the season. It is 0-1 against the Southern – and it was 21-4. It is 1-1 against the America East – it was 12-2. It is 6-4 against the Big Sky, but it had won 80 percent of its games against that conference going into the season.

To get that 73rd victory, San Diego State had to come from 19 down in the second half to beat Cal State Northridge and avoid what would have been the conference’s third loss this season to a Big West team.

The Bulldogs’ House of Horrors

Fresno State opens conference play at San Jose State, which might be more bad than good given its history at the Event Center.

The Bulldogs are only 3-8 at San Jose State since the 2005-’06 season, playing more poorly than some poor Spartans’ teams.

In 2011-’12, when both were still in the WAC, San Jose State was 1-13 in conference play and that one win came at the Event Center against the Bulldogs in overtime.

The Spartans this season are only 3-9 and one of those wins came against Life Pacific.

But the record hardly has mattered.

Layups

Nevada is up to No. 5 in the Coaches Poll, its highest ranking ever in that Top 25. The Wolf Pack stayed at No. 6 in the AP poll, but it would not be unexpected to see them roll through a conference that has struggled.

Some quick notes on the Pack and its prospects …

No Mountain West team has gone undefeated in conference play, with Utah coming the closest when 13-1 in 2004-’05. The Utes were 23-3, 11-0 in conference play and had won 18 games in a row when it went to New Mexico and lost 65-54.

• The most dominant regular-season Mountain West champion by scoring margin is BYU in 2010-’11, the Cougars a plus-12.4 in going 14-2. There have been only six teams that won or tied for the regular-season title with double-digit differentials – BYU in 2010-’11 (12.4), Utah in 2004-’05 (12.1), Boise State in 2014-’15 (11.0), San Diego State in 2010-’11 (10.9), New Mexico in 2011-’12 (10.8) and San Diego State in 2015-’16 (10.6).
  
  

Nevada, which has won the regular-season title the past two years, has been close at plus-9.8 last season and plus-9.9 in 2016-’17

• The Wolf Pack is the only team going into conference play on a winning streak – a perfect 13 in a row.
  
  

Five other teams go in off a win – only two came against Division I programs. Air Force beat a 5-10 UC Riverside team, and San Diego State beat Cal State Northridge. Utah State beat NAIA Eastern Oregon, New Mexico beat NAIA Southwest on the road, and Wyoming stole a 65-63 win from Division II Dixie State on a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining.

• All three of the Bulldogs’ losses – to No. 21 TCU, Miami and Utah Valley – are to teams in the Top 150 in the NET ratings and have come by a total of 14 points, by eight, two and four points.
  
  
• Utah State gets the first crack at Nevada, a matchup between the teams leading the Mountain West in defensive points per possession (0.874) and offensive points per possession (1.156).
  
  
• Fresno State is allowing only 0.918 points per defensive possession, second in the conference.
  
  
• How mixed up is the Mountain West this season? San Diego State is leading the conference in 3-point field goal percentage at 39.8 even after starting 1 of 12 in the victory over the Matadors and going 8 of 25.
  
  

The Aztecs were ninth (33.7 percent) last year, 11th and last in 2016-’17 (31.7), ninth in 2015-’16 (32.3), tied for seventh in 2014-’15 (32.0) and tied for third (35.8). They hit less than 40 percent of all of their shots (2-pointers and 3-pointers) a remarkable 62 times in 176 games over those five seasons – that’s more than 35 percent of their games.

More remarkable – San Diego State managed to win 32 of those 62 games.