GAME 15: FRESNO STATE (6-8, 0-3 MW) vs. SAN JOSE STATE (5-9, 0-3 MW)
January 6, 2026 | 7 p.m. PT | San Jose, Calif. | Provident Credit Union Event Center
MEDIA COVERAGE
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Watch: Mountain West Network
Play by Play: Ben Braun | Analyst: Dave Benz
Listen: Bulldog Sports Network (BSN)
Play by Play: Paul Loeffler | Analyst: Marc Q. Jones
FOLLOW ALONG ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter (X): @FresnoStateMBB
Instagram: @FresnoStateMBB
TikTok: @FresnoStateMBBall
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team is back on the road to face San Jose State in a Mountain West matchup on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT.
The Bulldogs opened Mountain West play with losses to UNLV, Utah State and Nevada, placing them at 6-8 overall and 0-3 in the MW. San Jose State is in a similar position, sitting at 5-9 on the season and 0-3 in MW play with losses to New Mexico, San Diego State and Utah State.
BULLDOG BONES
Head Coach Vance Walberg is in his second season at the helm of the Bulldog Basketball program and his fourth season as a head coach overall.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 6-26 season going into 2025-26, with a total of two conference wins, against Air Force and Wyoming.
Fresno State started the 2025-26 campaign with seven straight home games; all played at the Save Mart Center.
This is the first time in program history that the Bulldogs have a seven-game home stand to start the season.
The Fresno State men's basketball team looks a little different this season, with 73% of the roster being newcomers to the squad.
Fresno State returns only four athletes this season: Troy Jenkins, Makhan Diouf, Zaon Collins and David "DJ" Douglas, Jr.
Of the four, Collins is the Bulldogs' only returning starter and letterwinner.
DJ Douglas, a transfer from Green Bay, played in six games for the Bulldogs in 2024-25 before his season was cut short due to injury.
Troy Jenkins and Makhan Diouf both redshirted for the 2024-25 season and did not see game action.
A BRIEF HISTORY WITH THE SPARTANS
The Bulldogs and the Spartans have a long-running history, dating back to 1921.
Fresno State will face San Jose State in its 179th overall meeting on Tuesday.
Fresno State leads 98-80 all-time over the Spartans.
Over the last five games, Fresno State leads 3-2 against the Spartans, but has lost the last two.
Fresno State has the opportunity to snap a six-game losing streak this season with a win over San Jose State.
LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR
The Fresno State men's basketball team came up just short in a tightly contested Mountain West battle, falling to Nevada 66-65 on Saturday night at the Save Mart Center.
The Bulldogs (6-8, 0-3 MW) led at halftime and traded the lead throughout the second half before Nevada used late free throws to escape with the one-point road win. The Wolf Pack improved to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in league play.
Jake Heidbreder led all scorers with 25 points, knocking down five three-pointers.
DeShawn Gory added 14 points on efficient shooting and provided key finishes in transition.
Zaon Collins finished with nine points and a game-high seven assists, while Wilson Jacques pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds.
Fresno State out-rebounded Nevada 36-29.
The Bulldogs shot 42.1 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range.
The game featured 14 lead changes and 14 ties.
Nevada scored 27 bench points compared to Fresno State's one.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Fresno State currently has two players averaging double figures: Jake Heidbreder and Zaon Collins.
Heidbreder leads the team with an average of 18 points per game and has scored in double digits in all but one game this season.
Following closely behind is Collins with 13.6 points per game.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE KING
Freshman Wilson Jacques leads the Bulldogs in double-doubles this season, recording six so far.
Against Long Beach State, Jacques scored 12 points with 13 rebounds on November 8th.
He just closed a five-game double-double streak against CSU Bakersfield (11 points, 11 rebounds), Arkansas (12 points, 14 rebounds), CSUN (10 points, 10 rebounds), UNLV (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Utah State (15 points, 12 rebounds).
Jacques sits in 23rd place in the country in double-doubles and leads the Mountain West.
1,000 POINT CLUB
With 18 points scored against Utah Valley on November 15, the senior Jake Heidbreder surpassed 1,000 career points.
So far, the guard has scored 266 points in a Bulldog uniform and owns a .455 shooting percentage, .343 from three, and averages 36.55 minutes per game.
Heidbreder is making an impact on a national scale as well, 4th in the country in minutes per game (37:02), 59th in field goal attempts (200), 51st in points per game (19), and 75th in three-point attempts (105).
WITH THE ASSIST
Zaon Collins, one of Fresno State's only returners on the 2025-26 roster, has led the Bulldogs in assists in all 14 games so far this season.
He tied a career high with nine assists against Pepperdine.
Currently, the junior guard ranks 69th in the country and first in the Mountain West in the category with 72 total.
He is also second in the conference and 61st in the country in assists per game with 5.1.
FRESH START
Fresno State welcomes 11 newcomers to the roster this season: three transfers and 8 eight freshmen.
Cameron Faas, Jake Heidbreder and Jac Mani all transferred from NCAA DI basketball programs.
Of the eight freshmen, seven are international students.
WELCOME (BACK) TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Transfer Jake Heidbreder is on his third stop in his college career.
Heidbreder started his career at Air Force, where he spent the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
He then transferred to Clemson after his second year at Air Force, redshirted for the 2023-24 season, and returned to the court for the 2024-25 season.
Heidbreder returns to the Mountain West for his final year of eligibility at Fresno State.
VALLEY ROOTS RUN DEEP
When Vance Walberg was named the Bulldogs' head coach, he emphasized the community, doing things for the Central Valley because Fresno State is the Central Valley's team. That message resonates with not just Walberg but also with his staff. Of the program's six coaches, five have previously lived in the Central Valley.
Walberg has spent more than 20 years coaching in the Valley at Clovis West HS and Fresno City College.
John Welch was a member of Jerry Tarkanian's staff at Fresno State from 1995 to 2002.
Ray Barefield grew up in Fresno and prepped down the street from campus at Hoover HS, graduating in 1989. He is in the school's Hall of Fame.
Chris Stahowski played for and coached alongside Walberg. He also graduated from Fresno State in 2007.
Tory Stamps grew up in Fresno and played at Central HS, graduating in 2012.