LAS VEGAS -- The countdown to the tip off of the 2017-18 men's basketball season is in its final weeks and Fresno State is once again projected by a media panel to be a key contender in the Mountain West championship race, the league office announced on Wednesday morning from Las Vegas at the MW's Men's Basketball Media Summit.
"Our expectations are going to be the same that they have always been since I have been here," Fresno State seventh-year head coach Rodney Terry said. "We are going to put a team out there that is going to play as hard as they can every night. We are going to try to compete for a regular season championship and have some success in postseason play."
Fresno State, who returns two All-Mountain West honorees in senior guard Jaron Hopkins and junior guard Deshon Taylor, is building off its second straight postseason appearance and third in the last four seasons. Fresno State is one of eight programs in the West to play in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT in each of the past two seasons.
The media panel predicted that the Bulldogs will finish fourth in the Mountain West regular season conference standings, while the Nevada Wolf Pack, who Fresno State swept during the regular season a season ago, is the favorite to defend its conference title with 19 of the 24 first-place votes.
San Diego State is picked to finish second and Boise State is slotted to finish third in league play.
"The talent level that we have worked to assemble is completely different than what it was when I inherited the job here," Terry noted of the program's rise since 2011. "I think a big part of that has been joining the Mountain West. It has helped us play at a higher level and be more competitive in our league."
For Fresno State, the excitement and buzz for the start of the 2017-18 season has already led to a sellout of the Bulldogs' annual Tip Off Dinner, which will be hosted by the program's Time Out Club on Oct. 23 at Copper River Country Club. The crowd of 300 confirmed guests is the largest for the event since 2003.
Fresno State will host two exhibition contests on Oct. 30 and Nov. 3 before opening the season at home for the third straight season. The Bulldogs tip off the regular season on Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. PT versus UC Santa Cruz.
Season ticket packages and mini-plans are currently on sale through the Bulldog Ticket Office at the northeast corner of the Save Mart Center or by calling 559-278-DOGS (and then pressing "1"). Season ticket packages start at $149 while six-game mini plans start as low as $78 and group outings available starting at $8 per ticket.
