Upcoming games:    Boise State, Thursday, January 8, 2009, Taco Bell Arena, Boise, Idaho, 7:00 p.m. (MST)

    Fresno State, Saturday, January 10, 2009, Save Mart Center, Fresno, Calif., 7:00 p.m. (PST)

San Jose State record: 6-6, 0-2 WAC. The Spartans have lost their last two games to Louisiana Tech (66-61) on January 3 and New Mexico State (75-73) on January 5.

Boise State record: 10-3, 1-0 WAC. The Broncos have won four in a row including their WAC opener at Hawai’i (70-58) on January 3.

Fresno State record: 7-8, 0-1 WAC. The Bulldogs have lost three of their last four including their WAC opener to New Mexico State (79-66) on January 5.

Radio Coverage: KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) and KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originate San Jose State University basketball broadcasts. Mike Chisholm calls the play-by-play. The Boise State broadcast begins at 530 p.m. (PST) and will be aired on KSJS. KLIV and KSJS will carry the Fresno State contest. The broadcast for the January 10 game is 6:30 p.m. Games also are available on a subscription basis on www.sjsuspartans.com and Yahoo!Broadcast.

Television coverage: There is no play-by-play coverage of either the Boise State or Fresno State games.

San Jose State-Boise State series: The Broncos lead the series, 17-1. Boise State has won the last 12 meetings between these teams including the nine contests played in Boise. San Jose State’s win in the series was a 62-51 win on February 2, 2002.

San Jose State-Fresno State series: The Bulldogs lead the series, 76-70. The two teams have split the last four meetings with each team winning on its home court. The last time the Spartans won in Fresno was at Selland Arena on December 4, 1993, 69-67.

A scoring touch: San Jose State is averaging 76.5 points a game in its last six contests. In the four games against Northern Colorado, USF, Saint Mary’s and William Jessup, the Spartans scored 331 combined points - the most scored by the team in a four-game span since the 2002 season when San Jose State scored 324 points.
     In comparison, for the first six games this season, the Spartans averaged 58.8 points a game. San Jose State’s 17.7 increase in scoring between its first and second six games of the season coincides with the addition of guard Adrian Oliver who is the team’s scoring leader at 18.8 points a game. 
     When looking at the other Western Athletic Conference schools, San Jose State, Nevada (+3.6) and Utah State (+2.4) have increased their per game scoring from the first half of their games played to their current number of completed contests.

Shooting eyes: In San Jose State’s last seven games, the Spartans are shooting 49.1 percent (202-of-411) from the field. In the team’s first five games when San Jose State compiled a 2-3 record, the Spartans made just 40.7 percent of their field goal attempts.

Five starters combine to be above 50 percent: The San Jose State starting five of forwards Tim Pierce and C.J. Webster, center Chris Oakes and guards Justin Graham and Adrian Oliver have a combined field goal percentage for the season of 50.1 percent (247-493).

Topping the WAC in field goal defense: San Jose State's opponents have combined to shoot 40.0 percent from the field – the best figure in the WAC for games played through January 3. 

Rebounding proficiency continues: San Jose State has outrebounded each of its last six opponents. In the team’s first six games, the Spartans had more rebounds than an opponent twice (California Maritime and Presbyterian). Heading into the New Mexico State game, San Jose State has a +4.2 rebounding margin.

Rebounding proficiency in the WAC: San Jose State, Hawaii and Utah State are the three teams in the Western Athletic Conference that have three players averaging at least 5.5 rebounds a game heading into January 8 action. Center Chris Oakes leads the Spartans with his 9.0 average. Forward Tim Pierce is second at a career best 7.1. Forward C.J. Webster has raised his average to 5.9 per game.

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