Questions abound for Fresno State basketball. Can the Bulldogs afford to compete?

Fresno State and Boise State for several seasons had similar basketball programs, both squeezing out more wins per dollar invested than most teams in the Mountain West Conference.

One of them is now the conference champion.

And after winning a first regular-season championship following 20 or more wins in eight of his 11 seasons, coach Leon Rice made sure to credit athletics director Jeramiah Dickey and an increased investment in the Broncos’ program that included a significant increase in charter travel.

“It’s such a fine line,” Rice said, after Boise State clinched its first regular-season Mountain West title. “We’ve lost games on buzzer beaters, on fouls, on fatigue. The stuff that they’re doing to help us makes a difference. When you talk about it when you’re losing it’s whining and complaining, you know, if you don’t have that stuff.

“But when you get that stuff, it makes a difference … if we have to play and then stay overnight and catch the first flight out the next morning, over the course of the season, it costs you games and the commitment that our administration has made to this basketball program is why you get to cut down the nets, it’s why the banners come out of the ceilings.”

Fresno State, which last season was ranked in the bottom third of the Mountain West in basketball spending, is nearing a decision point with coach Justin Hutson, who has two years remaining on his contract. It also has a big question with its top player, forward Orlando Robinson, who took 27.6% of the Bulldogs’ shots, scored 30.5% of their points and could leave school and enter the NBA Draft.

But is there a plan to push investment into a program with a list of challenges from the way it travels, the pool of dollars it has available to buy non-conference games and its access to practice times at the Save Mart Center or in the North Gym? Athletics director Terry Tumey said all of the Bulldogs’ programs are in need of greater investment; basketball, men’s and women’s, are not alone there.

“We need to figure out some things that will smartly invest in them in order for them to be successful, whether that means how they practice or support mechanisms for nutrition,” he said. “One of the things that we’re looking at now that I think is going to pay true dividends is an investment in their workout facilities.

“But we’re at a place where we need to bring it all together.“

Charter travel in the Mountain West

Fresno State this season was able to take five charter legs, after having just two in Hutson’s first three seasons.

But the Bulldogs, according to conference sources, were well behind Mountain West rivals including UNLV (18), New Mexico (16), Colorado State (14), Boise State (13), Wyoming (12), Utah State (10) and San Diego State (8). Three of those programs have budgets that are close to or more than $2 million more than the Bulldogs – the Aztecs according to data through the U.S. Department of Education spent $5.6 million last year, Fresno State $3.2 million.

Hutson, who is 65-53 (.551) with a chance to play this season in the NIT or CBI, was quick to thank donors who made those trips possible. But he also put building a program into a context relatable to many in the Valley – farmers all deal with similar issues, getting to a harvest.

“If it doesn’t rain, they have to pump that water, they have to spend that money,” he said. “We know that. If it does rain, then it’s different. But if it doesn’t, it costs money to make money and you’re putting everything you can into having that harvest.

“It’s very similar to what we’re doing. It’s just like you’re building a program. We’re trying to build this the right way, and we are.”

On the floor the Bulldogs have developed into one of the best defensive teams in the nation, ranked third in scoring defense through March 10. They allowed just 58.5 points per game, behind North Texas (55.4) and San Diego State (57.8). They also struggled at the offensive end shooting the basketball from the 3-point line, and Fresno State obviously is a much different team if forward Robinson, perhaps the most improved player in the Mountain West and a first-team all-conference selection, takes an early entry into the NBA.

Boise State cashed in on investment in basketball

But the conference is trending in the right direction after back-to-back seasons with just one team advancing to the NCAA Tournament and two teams in 2018, ‘19 and 21. The Mountain West could have as many as four make the tournament with Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Wyoming, the most it has had since five in 2013.

Boise State and San Diego State play Saturday for the conference tournament title.

“I’ve been in this league for 16 years,” Hutson said. “I’ve been there when we had five teams in. And, you know, I think this has been the toughest. It’s been one through 12 or 11. You know, I think we’ve had some top 10 teams before where we were a little top-heavy with one or two teams at the top.

“But, you know, we have been telling everybody – I think every coach in this conference has been saying the same thing, It’s a dogfight every night.”

That, seemingly, only ramps up the pressure.

“It’s about being intentional,” Tumey said. “We need to be intentional about the success of Fresno State basketball and that means all parties, whether it’s donors, whether it’s administration, whether it’s coaches and student-athletes. We all need to move forward. I would be remiss if I didn’t say it also has to do with fan support. We need our fans to come out and show that our investments are yielding the support. Our community needs to rally around basketball again. Let’s get our basketball program to where it has been.

“For us, it’s investing in the now. Coach Hutson has done a good job in terms of what he’s trying to do on the court. I think our student-athletes are right on the brink of doing some good things, but we need to move forward.”