Feb. 3, 2010

FRESNO, Calif. - On a special evening for Bulldog Basketball, there will be a double feature with both the Fresno State men's and women's basketball teams hitting the hardwood in Honolulu on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. The WAC-leading Bulldog women take the floor first in a 7 p.m. PT battle on KSEE 24 Weather Plus. Head Coach Steve Cleveland and the `Dogs will then vie for their first sweep of the Warriors since 2004. The men's game is scheduled to tip off at 10 p.m. PT, can be seen on the Bulldog Sports Network (KAIL-TV) and heard live on KMJ Radio/www.kmj580.com.

Complete Women's Basketball Release in PDF Format

Complete Men's Basketball Release in PDF Format

Bulldogs Head to the Island
Fresno State is ready to begin round two of WAC play as the Bulldogs play at Hawai'i on Saturday at 7 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will be televised live on the KSEE 24.2 Weather Plus station or on Comcast channel 195. There is no radio for the game.

Fresno State vs. Hawaii
Fresno State trails in the series 25-20 but the Bulldogs have won 13 of the last 14 meetings. Hawai'i's last win over Fresno State came on Feb. 15, 2007 at the Stan Sherriff Center when the Dogs lost 79-65. The Bulldogs beat Hawai'i in Fresno, 83-42 in Fresno on January 6.

Scouting the Rainbow Wahine
Hawai'i is 9-12 overall and 3-5 in WAC. Keisha Kanekoa leads the team in scoring at 10.6 points a game. Hawai'i is scoring 60 points a game and shooting 39 percent from the field while averaging 21 turnovers a game.

Strong Start to WAC
Fresno State is off to its best start in conference history as the Bulldogs are 8-0. The previous best start was 6-0.

Nearing The Best Start in School History
The Bulldogs' 17-5 start is the second best start to a season in school history. Only the 1986-87 team had a better start at 18-4.

Ross One of Top Scorers in Bulldog History
Jaleesa Ross has scored 1,257 points in her career at Fresno State and is currently in 9th place on the Fresno State all-time scoring list. Ross needs 16 points to pass Aritta Lane and move into eighth place and 18 points to pass Simone Srubek and take over the seventh spot. Lane played for Fresno State from 2002-05 and had 1,272 points. Srubek played from 1987-90 and had 1,273 points in her career. Ross is one of only 16 Bulldogs who have surpassed 1,000 points.

Ross Climbing the School 3-Point Record Books
Jaleesa Ross has hit 256 3-pointers in her two plus seasons as a Bulldog and she is currently in second place on the schools career list for 3-pointers made. She needs 17 3-pointers to pass Lindsay Logan and move into first place. Her 95 3-pointers made last season is a new Fresno State single season record, breaking the previous mark of 89, set by Ross last year and Lindsay Logan in 2000-01. The 95 3-pointers ranks Ross fifth on the single season Top 10 list in the WAC for most 3-pointers made in a year.

Bulldogs Get National Recognition
As Fresno State continues to have success the Bulldogs are receiving notice on a national level. For the last two weeks the Bulldogs have received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. This week the team has three votes. ESPN.com writer Graham Hays named the Dogs the eighth ranked team in his mid major poll. The Bulldogs received votes in the preseason polls as they received three votes in the Preseason AP Poll. It was the first time the Bulldogs have been in any Preseason national poll. The Dogs also received one vote in the Preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

Winning Big
The Bulldogs are out scoring conference teams by an average score of 74 to 55.4 in WAC play. The 83-42 home win over Hawai'i was the largest margin of victory over the Rainbow Wahine in the series. The previous biggest win was 78-50 on January 8, 2009. The 41 point win was also the second largest margin of victory in a WAC game. The largest was 42 when the Bulldogs beat San Jose State 81-39 on January 5, 2004. The Bulldogs won at San Jose State by 37 points on Jan.30. Earlier in the season the Bulldogs beat Sacramento State by 48 points.

`Dogs Stocked with Another Talented Set of Newcomers
In the past four and a half seasons, head coach Steve Cleveland set his sight on the horizon and developed a vision for his hometown Bulldogs that would foster a program that was "Built to Last" as a standard of excellence. With the academic accolades, degrees and focus soaring, Cleveland can also point to yet another loaded class of newcomers. Last year, the tandem of Paul George, Mike Ladd and Brandon Sperling highlighted one of WAC's best group of freshmen. This season, Cleveland added four key building blocks in sophomore point guard Steven Shepp and freshmen Greg Smith, Jerry Brown III and Garrett Johnson.

Smith Making Waves as One of Nation's Premier Freshmen
When 6-10 center Greg Smith decided to play for his hometown Bulldogs, head coach Steve Cleveland and his staff knew they were getting a talented front court player and an even more grounded and humble young man. Through his first 23 games as a Bulldog, Smith ranks12th in the nation in field goal percentage and leads the team with four double-doubles. Smith is committed to helping his team compete for championships and earning a degree.

Bulldogs Ready to Make Run in Experienced and Talented WAC
Cleveland and the Bulldogs know that conference play is the most important time of the year. Fresno State bolted out to 3-0 conference start with wins over Boise State, Hawai'i and San Jose State. After gaining some valuable road experience and pounding the Nevada Wolf Pack behind a powerful performance by freshman Greg Smith, the Bulldogs enter the month of February in sixth place in the conference standings. The WAC returned eight of 10 2008-09 All-WAC honorees, including Fresno State forward Sylvester Seay, for this season. The top eight teams qualify for the 2010 WAC Tournament from March 11-13, 2010.

George Slated to Travel with `Dogs, May Play as Early as Saturday
Sophomore Paul George is slated to travel with the Bulldogs to Hawai'i after missing the past three and a half games with a right ankle injury. Athletic Trainer Brad Floy is supervising his recovery and his playing status for Saturday will be determined later this week.

LAST WEEK: Senior, Freshmen Step Up on the Road
The road remained unfriendly for the Fresno State men's basketball team during last week's road trip to the Gem State. The week started with a 74-59 setback to an inspired Idaho Vandal team despite a 17-point evening by Bulldog senior Sylvester Seay and ended with a 64-59 loss at Boise State where Fresno State freshmen Jerry Brown and Garrett Johnson showed a glimpse of the Bulldogs' young talent and spark for the future with career nights.

"We are Your Team!" - The Bulldog women return home Wednesday, February 10 as they welcome Idaho to the Save Mart Center at 7 p.m. and the Bulldog men are back in the Save Mart Center on Feb. 11 to face first-place New Mexico State. Tickets can be purchased through the Save Mart Center Box Office, by calling 559-485-TIXS or through Ticketmaster.com.