OUTLOOK First round: Lost to Wisconsin, 66-56
Fresno State may not have won the WAC regular-season title, but the Bulldogs managed to sweep Tulsa, the conference champion.
Courtney Alexander may be the most underrated guard in the country. He will be an NBA first-round pick. At 6-foot-5, he has great size. He can get his shot off on any player in the country. Utah's Alex Jensen, who guarded Vince Carter in the Final Four, says Alexander is the toughest player he has ever had to defend.
Under Jerry Tarkanian, Fresno State is a little like UNLV in terms of scoring. Melvin Ely is a thin, active, 6-11 shot blocker. Larry Abney is a rebounding machine, pulling down 35 rebounds against SMU. They have a lot of very talented players, as many as Tark ever had at UNLV. But he has struggled with getting his team to commit defensively, which they need to do in order to make a deep run into March.
It's hard to play 25-30 games one way defensively, and then take it to another level in the NCAA tournament. I don't think Fresno State will consistently be able to make defensive stops. The Bulldogs will probably win one game at the most. -- Jimmy Dykes, ESPN
ROSTER
PROBABLE STARTERS |
F -- Larry Abney (6-8, Sr., 10.4 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 0.7 apg)
F -- Terrance Roberson (6-7, Sr., 16.2, 5.0, 4.1)
C -- Melvin Ely (6-9, Jr., 13.3, 7.0, 0.9)
G -- Demetrius Porter (6-0, Jr., 13.1, 3.2, 6.3)
G -- Courtney Alexander (6-6, Sr., 25.3, 4.8, 3.4)
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TOP RESERVES |
G -- Nick Irwin (5-11, Jr., 3.2, 1.6, 3.7)
F -- Noel Felix (6-8, Fr., 2.7, 2.2, 0.1)
G -- Travis DeManby (6-3, Fr., 3.9, 1.5, 1.2)
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NOTABLE
Seed, Region and Bid: 9, West, At-large
Total NCAA Tournament Bids: 4
NCAA Tournament Record: 1-3 (.250)
Final Four Appearances: 0
NCAA Tournament Championships: 0
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: Rregional semifinals (1982)
Final ESPN/USA Today ranking: NR
Final Associated Press ranking: NR
Final Ratings Percentage Index: 25
Final Sagarin Computer Ranking: 55
RECORD VS. RANKED TEAMS (3-1)
Nov. 28 -- Lost to LSU, 95-85
Jan. 29 -- Beat No. 15 Tulsa, 75-73
Feb. 24 -- Beat No. 13 Tulsa, 73-72
Mar. 11 -- Beat No. 17 Tulsa, 75-72
(Opponents ranking reflects ranking on game day)
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Overall Record: 1-3 (.250)
1984--Seventh seed in Midwest Region
Lost to Louisiana Tech in first round, 66-56
1982--Fourth seed in West Region
Defeated West Virginia in second round, 50-46
Lost to Georgetown in regional semifinal, 58-40
1981--Sixth seed in West Region
Lost to Northeastern in first round, 55-53
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