FRESNO STATE (1-0) AT UCSB (2-0)

Nov. 13, 2024 • 7 p.m. PT • Santa Barbara, Calif. (The Thunderdome)

MEDIA COVERAGE

ESPN+ / Bulldog Sports Network

Radio - PxP: Paul Loeffler • Analyst: Marc Q. Jones

Stream: ESPN+

Listen: Bulldog Sports Network

Live Stats: Bulldogslive.com

X (Twitter): @FresnoStateMBB

FRESNO, Calif. — Coming off a win in its season opener, Fresno State will play five out of next six games away from its home court. The Bulldogs will begin the 15-day stretch on Wednesday at UCSB.

Tipoff at The Thunderdome is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT and will stream on ESPN+.

QUICK LOOK

Fresno State will play at the Save Mart Center just twice during the first 35 days of the season.

It took Vance Walberg just one game into his Fresno State career to earn his first win as the Bulldogs' head coach. It was 216 days between his hiring and his first win.

The win over Sacramento State was also the Bulldogs' first over a Division I opponent in a season opener since defeating UTSA 69-66 on Nov. 11, 2016.

Aiding in the 64-57 win was Amar Augillard, the 2024 NJCAA DI National Player of the Year. The junior from Zion, Ill., accounted for nearly half the Bulldogs' win, dropping 30 points in his debut.

Augillard became the first player in program history to score at least 30 points in their first game as a Bulldog.

Augillard scored 22 of those 30 points in 13 minutes during the second half, two more points than Sacramento State scored during the final 20 minutes.

With 14 newcomers to the squad this offseason, 89.1% of the team's scoring last Friday came from its newest members.

Walberg is one of four current Division I head coaches who was a high school head coach the season before taking over their current head coaching position (Penny Hardaway, Bucky McMillan, Stan Waterman).

Walberg isn't the only coach on his staff putting an emphasis on community when it comes to this process. His staff has deep ties to the Central Valley. Three of his five assistant coaches grew up in the Valley while associate head coach John Welch was a part of Jerry Tarkanian's Bulldog staff from 1995-2002.

Walberg entered the season with the sixth-most newcomers on a roster in Division I this year with 14 new faces, a roster he and his staff worked to put together during the first 100-plus days after his hiring.

With just two players returning in Jalen Weaver and Pierre Geneste Jr., the Bulldogs rank in the Top 20 in the country in fewest returning minutes, points and rebounds.

1 OF 1

Amar Augillard came to Fresno State highly touted as the 2024 Juco National Player of the Year. The Illinois native did not disappoint in his first game in a Bulldog uniform. A slow start at 2-of-7 from the field, Augillard finished with 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting. It was the first 30-point game in a player's debut in Fresno State history.

Augillard became the 45th player at Fresno State to record a 30-point game.

Augillard shot 7-of-12, scoring 22 points in 13 minutes in the second half.

Augillard's 22 second-half points outscored Sacramento State (20).

SECOND-HALF LOCK UP

While Fresno State allowed 37 points on 50% shooting in the opening half against Sacramento State, the Bulldogs flipped the game in the second half at the defensive end. The 'Dogs locked in and held the Hornets to 29% shooting, 11.8% from 3 during the final 20 minutes, scoring just 20 points.

With Fresno State leading by one with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, the 'Dogs forced six missed shots to close the game.

A DAY HE'LL NEVER FORGET

For 216 days Vance Walberg was working and waiting. After being hired as Fresno State's 20th head men's basketball coach on April 6, it was nothing but work until Nov. 8. The work paid off as Walberg earned his first win with the Bulldogs in his first game, a 64-57 defeat of Sacramento State at the Save Mart Center.

LIFE ON THE ROAD

During the first 35 days of the season, Fresno State will play just two games at home. That stretch includes a 15-day span in which the Bulldogs will play five of six games away from home, finishing the day before Thanksgiving in Palm Desert, Calif., at the Acrisure Holiday Invitational.

Beginning on Nov. 13, the Bulldogs will play just two of nine games at the Save Mart Center during a 29-day period. The stretch concludes with a trip to BYU on Dec. 11.

HISTORY WITH UCSB

UCSB holds a three-game lead in the all-time series at 52-49.

The Bulldogs are 15-23 all-time in Santa Barbara.

UCSB won last season's contest in Fresno, 79-76.

Fresno State has dropped five straight in the series, last winning on Feb. 23, 2005 (69-65).

The 'Dogs have lost three consecutive games in Santa Barbara dating back to their last win on Jan. 7, 1991 (77-71).