Nov. 20, 2017
SPARTANS HOST IDAHO STATE WEDNESDAY NIGHTThe San José State men's basketball team is hosting Idaho State on Wednesday night in The Event Center for a 7:00 p.m. (PT) tipoff. It will be the last time SJSU plays a home game until December 17, so get your tickets from the Spartan Ticket Office and come to the game on Wednesday. The Mountain West Network will carry the game live and fans can also tune into KLIV 1590 AM to hear Justin Allegri's play-by-play call.GAME #5San José State (1-3) vs. Idaho State (0-3)Wednesday, November 22, 2017, 7:00 p.m. (PT)The Event Center (5,000)San Jose, Calif.TicketsLive StreamingLive StatisticsSeries: SJSU leads, 7-3Last Meeting: Dec. 22, 1990 - Spartans won, 79-70 at Idaho StateTrend: Spartans have won five in a row and seven of the last eight matchupsSPARTANS AGAINST THE BIG SKYThe Spartans aren't off to a good start against the Big Sky this year, having lost to Southern Utah which was picked to finish last in the league. However San José State has good history against the Big Sky with an all-time record of 71-44 (.617) against the current members. The Spartans own a 7-3 advantage all-time against Idaho State. SJSU beat the Bengals, 79-70, in the last meeting between the two programs on Dec. 22, 1990.BATTLING THE TURNOVERSSan José State averaged 18 turnovers through the first three games of the season, and committed a season-high 22 turnovers in the game at Southern Utah (11/16). But SJSU bounced back against the country's 21st-ranked team by turning it over a season-low nine times against Saint Mary's. Although it was a season-low, the Gaels still managed to score 13 points off of those turnovers and beat SJSU by 18 points.BARRY PROTECTS THE ROCKWhile turnovers have been a problem for the Spartans as a team, center Oumar Barry has only turned the ball over one time this season in four games. He has played the third-most minutes (101) on the team and has started every game. His only turnover of the season came in SJSU's 81-64 loss to San Diego.CLOSE GAME WITH #21-SAINT MARY'S ENDS WITH 79-61 LOSSSan José State stayed within single-digits of #21-Saint Mary's for most of the first half. Ryan Welage scored on consecutive possessions to make it a one-point game with 13:33 left in the first. Noah Baumann's layup with 3:36 to go in the opening period kept the Spartans within seven, 35-28, but a last-second shot for the Gaels gave them a 10-point edge at halftime. After Saint Mary's built a lead of 18 points during the second half, SJSU got it down to an 11-point game but couldn't get any closer. Five players finished in double figures for the Gaels. Welage led the Spartans with 20 points, Keith Fisher scored a new career-high 14 points and Oumar Barry scored 11 points.STILL UNDEFEATED ON THE GLASSSan José State has yet to lose in the rebounding department through four games this season. It was close last time out against Saint Mary's when both teams grabbed 29 rebounds. Heading into Wednesday's game SJSU is averaging 39.0 rebounds per game, good for a +10.0 margin against the opponents.WELAGE AMONG THE MOUNTAIN WEST LEADERSRyan Welage's 22.0 points per game ranks second among all Mountain West players with Wyoming's Hayden Dalton (23.3 ppg) leading the way. Through games as of Nov. 19, Welage leads the league and is 27th nationally with 27 made field goals.WHAT'S NEW WITH WELAGEIf you've covered Ryan Welage throughout his first two seasons with the Spartans you know that the three-ball is one of his greatest weapons. However this season through four games he's only taken eight shots from beyond the arc. In his first two years 57 percent of Welage's shots were in 2-point territory, and this year that's up to 84.9 percent. The combination of Welly's new role in Jean Prioleau's offense and wanting to add another element to his game means a lot more twos for the 6-foot-9 forward. Shooting 42.9 percent for his career, Welage has a team-high 58.5 shooting percentage in 2017-18.1,000 POINTS IN REACH FOR WELAGERyan Welage came into 2017-18 with 716 career points and could become the 15th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. He has already eclipsed the 800 career-points mark after the first four games of the season. Assuming he would play in all 30 games on the schedule this year, Welage would need to average 9.5 points per contest to get to 1,000. He's well on his way after averaging 22.0 points over the first four games. Justin Graham in 2011 is the most recent Spartan to crack the 1,000-point plateau.KNOW THE FOE: IDAHO STATEThe Bengals were picked to finish in 10th place in the 12-team Big Sky Conference according to the league's preseason coaches' poll. The conference's media pegged them 11th. So far Idaho State has suffered losses to Arizona State (94-74), Utah Valley (84-71) and Washington State (83-62). Brandon Boyd is averaging a team-high 14.0 points while teammates Jacob McCord and Balint Mocsan are also averaging double-digit points per game. The Bengals are coached by Bill Evans in his sixth season.MASSIVE ROAD TRIP AHEAD FOR SPARTANSWednesday's game will be the last time the Spartans see The Event Center for a while. The team embarks on a trip to the Midwest for games at Bowling Green (11/29) and Southern Illinois (12/2), then heads to Denver for a game on Dec. 5. In total the Spartans will travel more than 4,600 miles through five states on the nine-day road trip. Upon returning on the morning of December 6, SJSU takes off again two days later to play at Portland on Dec. 9.