The College Basketball Tournament: Fresno State vs. Youngstown State
Postseason play continues for the Bulldogs
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Fresno State at home
Who: Youngstown State (19-14) Vs Fresno State (20-13)
When: Wednesday, March 23rd, 7:00 p.m. PT
Where: SaveMart; Fresno, California
TV: ESPN+
Odds: Fresno State -13.5
Series Record: First Meeting
The Basketball Classic is onto the Quarterfinals stage. The Youngstown State Penguins come into the Save Mart Center to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs. Both teams are coming off wins and are meeting for the first time in program history for a spot in the semifinals.
Keys To The Game: Youngstown State
For the Penguins this is their first Division 1 postseason road game and are looking for their second, 20 win season since becoming a Division 1 program. The Penguins are led by Junior Guard, Dwayne Cohill who is averaging 14.6ppg and shooting 45% from the field. Cohill is coming off a 28 point game. Another player to watch is Senior Forward, Michael Akuchie with 13.6ppg and 7.8rpg, a contest.
If the Penguins are looking to move on, they have to start on the defensive side of the ball with limiting the inside shots. The Bulldogs scored 38 points inside the paint; the Penguins have to limit that and make the Bulldogs win by shooting the ball which they have struggled to do most of the season. Next, they must limit the Transition baskets. Fresno State did a great job pushing the ball up the court and getting easy transition baskets against Eastern Washington.
Youngstown State needs to control the tempo and make the Dogs beat them with their half-court offense. Finally, turnovers: the Bulldogs did a great job on the defensive side and forced 17 turnovers last game. The Penguins have to limit the turnovers and stretch the Bulldogs defense.
Keys to the Game: Fresno State
The Bulldogs may have had their best offensive performance all season against Eastern Washington. The Bulldogs put up 83 points and got their first win of the season when they allowed 70 points or more. Fresno State also got a bit of a lift from its bench with 24 bench points and four players in double figures. One of those double figure scorers was Junior Forward, Anthony Holland who had a team high of 18 points with 8 rebounds. Deon Stroud also may have had his best performance in quite a while.
Stroud finished with 13 points and a SportsCenter top 10 dunk. Now the Bulldogs look to take it another step closer to a championship. If the Bulldogs played the way they did last time, they will be a tough team to knock out. That starts with Orlando Robinson getting help offensively. The Bulldogs need to keep getting production from Holland, Stroud, and Colimerio like they did last game. Another Key component will be fastbreak points. Fresno State was out and running, pushing the ball up the court and getting easy baskets.
Staying away from the half court offense really helped the Bulldogs. Defensively the Bulldogs do a great job creating turnovers but have to limit the threes. The Bulldogs allowed 12 threes and the Penguins shot about 22 threes a game. If the Bulldogs can limit the premier shots and control this game, they will have a really good shot at moving onto the semifinals.
It’s the first meeting between these two schools. A spot for the Semifinals is on the line. Will the Penguins of Youngstown State get their first division 1 postseason road win? Can the Bulldogs put together another great offensive performance? The winner takes a step closer to The Basketball Classic Championship.
