Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State holds only meeting with Fresno State at home on Wednesday
The San Jose Spartans will return to the Event Center Wednesday night to take on the rival Fresno State Bulldogs in a 7:00 pm PT tipoff. Tickets for the game are available at the Spartan Ticket Office, which can be reached at (408) 924-7589. The game will be broadcasted live on the Mountain West Network and on KLIV 1590 AM radio with Justin Allegri’s play-by-play. The 171st meeting between the Spartans and Bulldogs on Wednesday will be their only meeting of this season.

Game #24
San Jose State (3-20, 0-12 MW) vs. Fresno State (17-8, 7-5 MW)
Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 7:00 pm PT
The Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, California

Tickets: Spartan Ticket Office (408) 924-7589
TV: Mountain West Network
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM and KSJS 90.5 FM

Historical Facts
According to SJSU’s records, Wednesday will be the 171st meeting between the Spartans and the Bulldogs, with Fresno State owning an 89-81 advantage. The Spartans have taken two of the last three from the Bulldogs with both wins coming inside the Event Center. While the Spartans won last year’s first meeting, 69-62, it was Fresno State with a commanding 77-59 win in Fresno, California, on February 15.

Last meeting inside the Event Center
Jalen James hit a baseline jumper with 22.1 seconds left in regulation to put the Spartans ahead of the Bulldogs, 64-62. Fresno State inbounded the ball, came down the floor, and James was there again to take a charge on Fresno State guard Jaron Hopkins. Bulldogs head coach Rodney Terry was tossed after showing his displeasure with the call, giving SJSU a chance to put the game away from the free throw line, which it did. SJSU came away with the 69-62 victory, making it back-to-back wins against Fresno State for the first time since January 2009.

Keith Fisher III had his best game of the season last Saturday
Spartan freshman Keith Fisher III had his best game of the season last Saturday at Colorado State with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists. He was efficient, hitting 7-of-10 field goals, and sinking 9-of-12 from the free throw line. While it was Keith’s best game, a performance like that has been becoming more regular for him. He’s averaging 14.0 points and 6.8 rebounds over the last five games while shooting 51.9% from the field. Fisher’s ability to knock down the outside jumper and make moves off the dribble has opened up more opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Spartan offense is shaping up
SJSU is shooting 43.8% from the field and averaging 66.5 points per game for the 2017-18 season. In the last five games though, those number have jumped up to 47.8% shooting and 74.2 points per game. The development of Keith Fisher III’s game together with close-range scoring from big men Oumar Barry and Ashtin Chastain has resulted in the team’s rise in shooting efficiency. Those three have combined to shoot 57.7% (56-97) during the last five games.

Defense tumbles down
While SJSU’s offense is trending upward, their defense is headed in a completely opposite direction. The Spartans are holding opponents to 43.7% shooting while allowing 75.0 points per game for the season. In the last five games, SJSU opponents are shooting 47.9% and averaging 84.2 points per game.

Things have changed at Colorado State
SJSU trailed 60-59 at the 8:47 mark in the second half last Saturday at Colorado State. Then in a matter of 42 seconds, the Spartans found itself down by 10 points, and the Rams ran away with a 90-79 win on their home floor. The 42-second span started with an offensive foul called on Jaycee Hillsman after a defensive rebound under the Rams’ basket. The Rams hit a pair of 3-pointers and converted a standard 3-point play to break the game open. All three scoring plays for CSU were preceded by a Spartan turnover.

Welage continues to surge career ranks
With 16 points in the last game against Colorado State, Ryan Welage surged up to eighth on SJSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,144 points. Coby Dietrick, who played more than a decade of ABA and NBA basketball, sits ahead of Welage in seventh place with 1,173 points. Welage is currently second all-time at SJSU with 146 made 3-pointers, trailing only Tim Pierce, who finished his Spartan career with 153.

SJSU ALL-TIME SCORING LEADERS
1,767 – Ricky Berry (84 games)
1,750 – Adrian Oliver (80 games)
1,504 – Stu Inman (123 games)
1,432 – Wally Rank (102 games)
1,272 – Justin Graham (119 games)
1,236 – Chris McNealy (81 games)
1,173 – Coby Dietrick (72 games)
1,144 – Ryan Welage (84 games)
1,139 – Terry Cannon (97 games)
1,136 – Johnnie Skinner (73 games)
1,125 – Ken Mickey (82 games)
1,095 – Sid Williams (111 games)
1,050 – S.T. Saffold (72 games)
1,050 – Olivier Saint-Jean (51 games)
1,049 – Carroll Williams (75 games)

Turnovers put Spartans’ first Mountain West win on hold
SJSU shot better than New Mexico — 47.1% to 41.4% — outrebounded the Lobos, 43-19, and made more free throws than the Lobos. However a season-high 25 turnovers led to 30 UNM points and SJSU lost 71-68 on its home floor. It was the 11th game with 20 or more turnovers this season for SJSU, and the team’s 17.4 turnovers per game are the most in NCAA Division I.

Jaycee Hillsman made the most out of his opportunities
SJSU’s Jaycee Hillsman has had the ball in his hands a bit more than usual in the last couple of games and he made the most of his opportunity against New Mexico with career-highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds. It was the second double-double of his career, but the first against a Division I opponent. Hillsman played 30 minutes as the team’s so-called sixth-man, which are the most since he played 32 minutes against San Diego in SJSU’s second game of the season on November 12.

Notes
SJSU’s home game on February 24 against San Diego State will be broadcasted live on ESPN3. Tipoff against the Aztecs will remain at 7:00 pm PT. However, fans will want to get to the arena early for a pre-game recognition of Ryan Welage reaching the 1,000-point plateau.