Fresno State shot a season-low 25% as San Jose State walloped the Bulldogs 72-45.
Fresno State (14-16, 6-8) is now tied with the Spartans (14-14, 6-8) for fifth place in the WAC and have a chance to finish as low as 7th in the WAC when the season ends.
I'll get into that in a second.
First, a stat I didn't get into the game story: SJSU shot 50% from 3, going 13 of 26. It was senior night and the Spartans' four seniors nearly outscored the Bulldogs 45-44. Roberts Owens led SJSU with 20, Mac Peterson had 16, Chris Oakes had 8 and reserve Jerelle Wilson went scoreless. They combined for 19 rebounds.
Now back to the WAC race. How can the Bulldogs end up 7th? Let's look at the matchups for the final week:
The Bulldogs have a trip to conference leader Utah State on Monday and a home game against fourth-place LaTech on Thursday. That could be two losses.
Meanwhile, San Jose State hits the road for games against 7th-place Idaho and 8th-place Boise State and Idaho (4-10) hosts San Jose State and 9th-place Hawaii to close the season.
It's entirely possible that the Bulldogs lose both of their games. If SJSU loses to Idaho and beats Boise, SJSU claims 5th. If Idaho wins both games, they'll be tied with Fresno State and hold the tiebreaker (which is head-to head matchups).
If this happens, the Bulldogs will face Nevada or New Mexico State in the first round of the WAC tournament, which begins March 11.
Leave a comment