Fresno State roundup: Bad matchup catches up to Bulldogs men; women rout Utah State

The Utah State Aggies’ record is one thing, but it’s the end result. It doesn’t really tell the full story on what Fresno State was up against on Thursday, in the first of a two-game Mountain West men’s basketball series at the Save Mart Center.

The Aggies, winners of 10 of their first 12 conference games, are more than sound defensively. With the 7-foot Neemias Queta a primary piece, they had allowed opponents to hit just 38.6% of their shots and 42% of their 2-point shots, ninth- and sixth-best in the nation.

That is a tough go for a Fresno State team that has been trying to figure itself out at the offensive end after it missed weeks of practice time and had three pauses due to COVID-19.

And, while they were in it for a big chunk of the game, the end result was not really a surprise: Utah State won 69-53.

“A lot of good things were happening out there for us,” Bulldogs coach Justin Hutson said. “I saw a lot of good signs of individual play and team play, but it’s just not nearly enough.

“Until the mentality changes, you have to change from the neck up. For us to stay consistent, we have to be consistent from the neck up.”

The Bulldogs were hanging close for 13 minutes.

They made shots, moved the ball and took care of it. No turnovers for 13:06.

But they cracked there, turning it over six times to close out the first half. And when the shots stopped falling into the second half, that was about it.

Fresno State (7-7, 5-7 in the MW) finished 20 of 54 from the field (37%), including 4 of 19 from the 3-point line (21.1%) and had 11 turnovers.

It also had just eight assists, including a career high-tying six from Orlando Robinson.

And, while it had 10 players score, it did not have anyone score in double-digits for the first time since a 50-43 loss to Colorado in December 2012, when Kevin Foster led with eight points.

But the turnovers, the mistakes, many, again, were self-inflicted wounds and they hurt given the Bulldogs were within four at halftime and still in a two-possession game with 16 minutes to go. They were in it, as they were in a loss at Boise State, which is 10-1 and leading the conference. But down the stretch in that first half they had more turnovers than shots, and they were making their shots, 3 of 5.

Inconsistency leading to turnovers, mistakes

“We’re not trying to just hang with the good teams,” Hutson said. “I appreciate the recognition that we can play with the best teams for a certain amount of time. But we’re just inconsistent with what we’re doing.

“It’s not all us. Obviously those good teams, when they step it up, they make good plays, also. A lot of times Boise or with Utah State, they stepped up and made good plays, also. But we have to get rid of the ones where we shoot ourselves in the foot – we didn’t get a defensive rebound, a silly turnover, a bad shot. Those are the ones, if we’re going to be able to beat good teams, we have to do things to deserve to beat good teams.”

It all adds up, and has since the start. The Bulldogs went into the game ranked ninth in the Mountain West and 229th in the nation in field goal percentage, 10th and tied for 285th in 3-point percentage, 10th and tied for 309th in assists, 11th and tied for 317th in assists-to-turnover ratio and 11th and tied for 269th in turnovers.

The Aggies (14-5, 11-2), who lost Queta with an apparent leg injury with 8:31 to go, have done that to a number of teams. In their first six conference series, 12 games, an opponent had hit less than 40% of their 2-point shots six times and less than 30% three times. That’s layups and dunks and shots in the paint, jumpers and floaters out to the mid-range. And not much success there, for anyone.

“It takes time,” Hutson said. “A lot of times it takes experience. People grow through experiences. It’s a thin line between beating them up and showing them the bad things and praising them and showing them the good things.

“We’re not mailing in this three weeks. I want to see the neck-up grow in the next three weeks, because if we see that grow then we’ll see our team grow.”

Women: Fresno State 90, Utah State 62

The Bulldogs turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and rolled to their sixth win in seven games.

Fresno State (9-6, 7-3 in the MW) outscored the Aggies by 12 in the third quarter and by 15 in the fourth quarter, with Utah State hitting only 8 of 33 shots over the final 20 minutes with 11 turnovers.

Hanna Cavinder led the Bulldogs with 18 points and had five rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Haley Cavinder had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds with six assists and one steal.

Maddi Utti had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Bree Delaney continued to knock down shots from the 3-point line, going 3 of 5 in scoring 14 points for the Bulldogs, who moved the ball and made the extra pass. They had 25 assists on 35 made baskets, and cut back on the turnovers that had been a problem in a series split last week against New Mexico.

This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 11:05 PM.