SAN JOSE, Calif. – San José State men's basketball concluded their nonconference portion of the schedule with a 3-9 record. The Spartans now turn their attention to the Mountain West for conference play beginning this Wednesday against Fresno State. Justin Allegri will have the call for the Mountain West Network and KLIV 1590 AM.
Game #13
Fresno State (9-3) at San José State (3-9)
Wednesday, Jan. 2, 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, California
LIVE STATS
Fans can view live stats of all San José State men's basketball games, home and away, by accessing the Live Stats feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men's basketball schedule page to follow the action.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
» SJSU is 0-5 in conference openers since joining the league prior to the 2013-14 season. Two of those losses were at the hands of Nevada while the other three were against Utah State, including last season in a 86-72 loss in Logan. A win would also be the fourth of the season, tying last season's overall total.
» On the other side of the court, Fresno State has a 1-5 record in MW openers.
PUTTING A WRAP ON NONCONFERENCE
» After two close and promising losses at Stanford and Cal, the Spartans closed out the nonconference slate on a sour note as they were held to a season-low 45 points in a 75-45 loss at Saint Mary's (CA). SJSU finished the nonconference slate 3-9.
SHARPEST SHOOTER IN THE WEST (OR ANYWHERE ELSE)
» Sophomore Noah Baumann ranks second in the nation in three-point FG percentage. He is touting a 56.6 percent clip on 30-of-53 shooting. He is also averaging 2.5 3's per game, which ranks in the top-10 in the Mountain West.
» Baumann is averaging 14.8 points per game in the last five games and is touting a gaudy 60 percent clip from 3-point range (18-30).
STEADY STEADMAN
» JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6'10 forward is averaging a team-high 13.4 points per game and ranks fourth in the Mountain West with 9.2 rebounds per game. He also ranks 42nd nationally in rebounds per game and 39th in defensive rebounds per game. Steadman has five double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the conference and has scored in double figures in 11-of-12 games, including 10 straight.
STAFF CHANGES
» Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.
OO MY OUMAR
» Senior center Oumar Barry is playing his best basketball as a Spartan as of late. Against Bethune-Cookman, he finished with a then-career-high 13 points and seven rebounds. He followed that up with his most dominating performance at SJSU as he recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, his first-career game with double digit rebounds. Barry also blocked two shots and was 7-of-10 at the free throw line to help the Spartans to victory.
» Barry followed up with another double-double against Stanford (15 pts, 10 reb). After playing 38 career games without recording a double-double, he now has two in the last four games.
» Barry's then scored a career-high 18 points before fouling out with 4:36 to play at Cal and led the team with 11 points at Saint Mary's. In his last five games, he leads the team with 14.8 points per game and is
averaging 7.6 rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY: FRESNO STATE
» The longstanding rivalry between Fresno State and San Jose State will see the 172nd game of the series played on Wednesday. The series dates back to Dec. 18, 1916 in a 58-32 Spartan victory. Since then, SJSU has posted a 53-31 record in home games.
» The Bulldogs enter the game currently third in the Mountain West standings at 9-3. Their last game was a 64-60 loss to Utah Valley, which snapped a seven-game win streak, among the longest in the nation at the time. A pair of Bulldogs are averaging 18 points per game in Braxton Huggins and Deshon Taylor, ranking in the top-6 in the conference scoring standings. Fresno State is led by first year head coach Justin Hutson.