1981–82 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team

1981–82 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball
PCAA Regular season champion
PCAA tournament champion
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferencePacific Coast Athletic Association Conference
Record27–3 (13–1 PCAA)
Head coach
Home arenaSelland Arena
Seasons
1981–82 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 Fresno State 13 1   .929 27 3   .900
UC Irvine 10 4   .714 23 7   .767
Cal State Fullerton 9 5   .643 18 14   .563
San Jose State 7 7   .500 13 13   .500
Long Beach State 7 7   .500 12 16   .429
UC Santa Barbara 5 9   .357 10 16   .385
Pacific 3 11   .214 7 20   .259
Utah State 2 12   .143 4 23   .148
1982 PCAA tournament winner


The 1981–82 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team represented California State University, Fresno during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Boyd Grant's fifth season at Fresno State. The Bulldogs played their home games at Selland Arena and were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished the season 27–3, 13–1 in PCAA play to win the conference regular season title. They defeated Cal State Fullerton to win the PCAA tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs lost in the Sweet Sixteen to eventual runner-up Georgetown, 58–40.[1]

Roster

1981–82 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 22 Rod Higgins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Thornton Township Harvey, Illinois
F 34 Bernard Thompson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So South Mountain HS Phoenix, Arizona
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
Nov ?, 1981*
University of Victoria W 49–45  0–0
Selland Arena (4,958)
Fresno, California
Regular season
Nov 27, 1981*
Oklahoma City
Sun Met Classic
W 68–48  1–0
Selland Arena (6,530)
Fresno, California
Nov 28, 1981*
Nevada
Sun Met Classic
W 64–52  2–0
Selland Arena (6,530)
Fresno, California
Nov 30, 1981*
Saint Martin's W 60–31  3–0
Selland Arena (6,460)
Fresno, California
Dec 5, 1981*
at Air Force W 45–37  4–0
Clune Arena 
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Dec 11, 1981*
vs. Ole Miss
Bayou Classic
W 46–44  5–0
Blackham Coliseum 
Lafayette, Louisiana
Dec 12, 1981*
at No. 18 Southwestern Louisiana
Bayou Classic
L 51–57  5–1
Blackham Coliseum 
Lafayette, Louisiana
Dec 18, 1981*
Northern Illinois W 81–56  6–1
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Dec 21, 1981*
UC Davis W 75–43  7–1
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Dec 28, 1981*
New Mexico State W 48–41  8–1
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Jan 4, 1982*
Lamar W 56–36  9–1
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Jan 7, 1982*
Pepperdine W 63–46  10–1
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Jan 14, 1982
Pacific W 74–40  11–1
(1–0)
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Jan 16, 1982
Utah State W 71–50  12–1
(2–0)
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Jan 21, 1982
at UC Santa Barbara W 40–38  13–1
(3–0)
The Thunderdome 
Santa Barbara, California
Jan 23, 1982
at Cal State Fullerton W 43–40  14–1
(4–0)
Titan Gym 
Fullerton, California
Jan 28, 1982
San Jose State W 63–45  15–1
(5–0)
Selland Arena 
Fresno, California
Jan 30, 1982
at San Jose State W 47–36  16–1
(6–0)
San Jose Civic Auditorium 
San Jose, California
Feb 4, 1982
at Long Beach State L 42–45 OT 16–2
(6–1)
Long Beach Arena 
Long Beach, California
Feb 6, 1982
vs. UC Irvine W 55–49 OT 17–2
(7–1)
Long Beach Arena (8,456)
Long Beach, California
Feb 27, 1982
at Utah State W 73–61  24–2
(13–1)
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum 
Logan, Utah
PCAA Tournament
Mar 5, 1982*
(1) No. 12 vs. (5) Long Beach State
Semifinals
W 76–55  25–2
Anaheim Convention Center 
Anaheim, California
Mar 6, 1982*
(1) No. 12 vs. (3) Cal State Fullerton
Championship game
W 69–57  26–2
Anaheim Convention Center 
Anaheim, California
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1982*
(4 W) No. 11 vs. (5 W) No. 14 West Virginia
Second round
W 50–46[2]  27–2
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum 
Logan, Utah
Mar 18, 1982*
10:40 pm, CBS
(4 W) No. 11 vs. (1 W) No. 6 Georgetown
West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
L 40–58[1]  27–3
Marriott Center (15,237)
Provo, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Pacific Time.

[3]

Rankings

[4]

NBA draft

Round Pick Player NBA Club
2 31 Rod Higgins Chicago Bulls

[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "ALA.-BIRMINGHAM OUSTS VIRGINIA; GEORGETOWN GAINS; FRESNO STATE FALLS, 58-40-OREGON STATE ROUTS IDAHO". The New York Times. March 19, 1982. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  2. ^ "Georgetown, N. Carolina Gain; Hoyas Overcome Foul Problems". The New York Times. March 14, 1982. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "1981–82 Fresno State Bulldogs Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  4. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 892–893. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
  5. ^ "1982 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2022.