By Kavin Mistry:
San Jose State is looking to bounce back after a back-breaking loss to Colorado State on Wednesday night.
Plagued by a slow start, the Spartans were able to mount a comeback in the second half before letting a five-point lead slip away in the final minute to send the game to overtime.
Today, SJSU finishes its two-game road trip at Fresno State, taking on a Bulldogs team coming off a close road loss to Wyoming.
Despite the Spartans’ loss on Wednesday, several positives came out of the game for SJSU. Dezz Ramos continued her torrid scoring pace, raising her points per game average to 21.6 (which leads the Mountain West) after scoring 34. Forward Paris Baird had a game to remember, pulling down a career high 19 rebounds, two shy of the SJSU school record.
“The rebounding really helped us,” said head coach Jamie Craighead following Wednesday’s game. “We were able to run the floor off missed shots in the second half, we just didn’t get it done on the offensive end.”
It was a rare sight for the offensive-minded Spartans, struggling to score points in the first half and missing open looks.
The Spartans and Bulldogs will be a duel of a strong SJSU offense (scoring over 70 points per game) pitted against a defensive-focused FSU team (allowing 60 points per game). It will be crucial for the Spartans to knock down open looks as they did in the conference opener against Nevada, to make the Bulldogs chase early.
Strong Mountain West play in the first two games has been the result of a tough preseason schedule that has turned out to aid the Spartans. Similar to last season while entering conference play with a less than eye-catching record, taming the west has been no problem for the Spartans.
Saturday in Fresno, the Spartans will have a chance to push their conference record above .500 before returning home for a big home tilt with San Diego State on Wednesday.
It will be the 75th meeting between Fresno State and San Jose State. The Bulldogs hold the edge 53-21, but the Spartans won both meetings last season.
Tip-off is at 2 p.m. at the Save Mart Center on the campus of Fresno State.