Three takeaways from Fresno State loss at Nevada: Bulldogs’ inexperience shows on road

Fresno State had fit a few pieces together over its past three games, all home at the Save Mart Center, and all wins. But it unraveled quickly in a 73-57 loss to Nevada on Friday at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

The Bulldogs (5-4, 3-4 Mountain West) struggled at the offensive end, creating but missing open shots early and losing any semblance of rhythm or cohesion from there, the ball sticking more and more as the Wolf Pack (9-5, 4-3) started to pull away.

They hit just 21 of 56 shots (37.5%) including 7 of 25 from the 3-point line (28.0%) and had 11 turnovers, not including a number of shooting turnovers when forcing shots on ill-advised wayward drives.

“What you could obviously see out there is the ball was not moving,” coach Justin Hutson said. “It reminded me of the same thing on the road at Colorado State where you get down and it’s dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, and so we’ll go back and watch that.

“We’ll go back and watch again when they doubled Orlando (Robinson) in the post, how we can take advantage of that, and anything we can do defensively, whether it was discipline or whether we need to adjust our game plan.”

In its three road games, two losses at Colorado State and one at Nevada, Fresno State has hit just 37.2% of its shots (64 of 172) including 21.8% at the 3-point line (17 of 78) and is averaging just 56.3 points.

Robinson and point guard Isaiah Hill led the Bulldogs with 15 points, with Robinson adding six rebounds and two assists and Hill adding three rebounds and four assists.

Fresno State went into Nevada averaging 14.1 offensive rebounds per game, second in the Mountain West Conference, but had only seven against the Wolf Pack and were outrebounded 37-26.

Here are three takeaways from the game …

Offense impacting defense

Hutson said he did not think the Bulldogs’ issues at the offensive end could be tied to playing on the road, but more to a lack of experience. But whether one, both or a combination of a number of factors, it often is following them to the defensive end of the floor; offense impacting defense.

The Bulldogs were down only 36-31 at halftime, but could have been closer or even had a lead if not for leaving Nevada shooters wide open for 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions. They were hanging in, but started to lose focus at the defensive end – slow to help, slow to close out on shooters as the game steadily got away from them.

“When you come down and you hold it and you dribble and you hold it and you dribble and the ball is not moving side to side and you miss a layup or an open three, it’s demoralizing,” Hutson said.

“Not everybody touches the ball. It’s frustrating, especially for a team with 10 new guys who haven’t experienced much on the road. Now you go down at the other end and they’re hitting a shot over a hand or whether it’s an open shot and it definitely affects it. But that’s the game of basketball. We’re going to have to put together good minutes and good stretches on both ends. It’s complementary. It’s very complementary.”

The 3-ball won’t fall

In hitting 7 of 25 shots from three, the Bulldogs’ 3-point shooting percentage in road games actually went up … to 21.8%. They went into the game as one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the nation when on the road.

From the bottom up …

12.2% Fordham

13.3% Saint Louis

17.4% North Alabama

18.9% Fresno State

20.0% New Hampshire

The separator between the teams – despite that shooting percentage, the Bulldogs had attempted at least two more threes a game than any of the other four programs at the bottom of the stat sheet.

Bulldogs were missing pieces

Hutson was hoping to get Braxton Meah more minutes, and more minutes playing alongside Robinson. He got only six, with one rebound and one steal, limited by some soreness in a knee.

The Bulldogs also were without Anthony Holland for much of the second half after he caught an elbow from Wolf Pack forward Zane Meeks, who was called for a flagrant 2 foul and ejected.

“You don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Hutson said. “You always feel for anybody who gets hurt out there. We’re hoping he’s going to be OK. Obviously, he got hit in the head so you’re going to be on concussion watch. But you feel for anybody who goes down and gets hurt.”

If both are unavailable or limited Sunday for the second game of this Mountain West series, it would be a problem for the Bulldogs.

Fresno State went into the game with a rebounding margin of plus-9.1, second best in the Mountain West, but was outrebounded 37-26 and 6-foot-10 K.J. Hymes and 7-foot Warren Washington off the Nevada bench combined to hit 8 of 14 shots in scoring 19 points with nine rebounds and four assists.

Layup lines

• Fresno State had nine steals, its most against a Division I opponent this season. But it scored only 13 points off Nevada turnovers, after averaging 20.5 in its two victories over San Jose State.
• Nevada guard Grant Sherfield led the Wolf Pack with 23 points, hitting 9 of 15 shots including four 3-pointers and also had four assists. It was his fifth game in a row with 20 or more points for the Wichita State transfer.
• Deon Stroud made his first start since a Dec. 19 victory over Fresno Pacific, the second game of the season, and Jordan Campbell made his first start of the year. Both struggled at the offensive end, going a combined 5 of 16 including 1 of 9 from the 3-point line.
  
  
• The Bulldogs were 15-6 when hitting less than 40% from the 3-point line in 2018-19, Hutson’s first season, when they had a much more experienced team led by senior Deshon Taylor, Braxton Huggins and Sam Bittner. They are 9-20 since when hitting less than 40% from three.

Up next for the Bulldogs

FRESNO STATE AT NEVADA

Where and when: Lawlor Events Center; Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network/ESPN940AM

Records: Bulldogs 5-4, 3-4 in the MW; Nevada 9-5, 4-3

This story was originally published January 16, 2021 at 2:23 AM.