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The Fresno State basketball team lost a home game against USC Upstate to fall to 1-1 on the season. The Bulldogs paid the Spartans to come to California.
There were not many fans in attendance to witness the surprise upset, which paints a grim picture for the future of the PAC-12.
For the first time in program history, USC Upstate has defeated a Mountain West squad.
Spartans shot 50% from the field, survived back-to-back Fresno State misses from downtown down the stretch, before fouling late, and eventually held on for the 67-66 victory.#BigSouth #MWC pic.twitter.com/pp9bmqMx2O
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) November 6, 2025
The victory was a historic one for USC Upstate, which had never before beaten a Mountain West Conference opponent. The Spartans used a strong second half to overcome an early deficit and get the win.
Fresno State entered the matchup as a double-digit favorite. The Bulldogs held an 11-point lead at the halftime break. They were outscored 42-30 the rest of the way.
Fresno State paid money for the basketball loss.
Fresno State loses a buy game to USC Upstate.
The epitome of brutality.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 6, 2025
The Bulldogs compete in a typically competitive Mountain West Conference. They were expected to win the game.
USC Upstate was provided financial incentive to travel cross-country. This was one of many “buy games” littered throughout the early season as teams pay opponents to fill the non-conference slate.
Most of those meetings result in wins for the home team. This one did not.
.@FresnoStateMBB paid USC Upstate a lot of money ($100,000) for a game at the Save Mart Center, and got beat 67-66. The Bulldogs hit just 35.5% of their shots, were outrebounded, scored just 13 points off 22 USC Upstate turnovers and blew an 11-point halftime lead in the loss.
— Robert Kuwada (@rkuwada) November 6, 2025
More than 2,100 miles separate Spartanburg, SC and Fresno, CA. Robert Kuwada of the Fresno Bee says the Bulldogs paid six figures to invite the Spartans into their arena.
The environment did not provide an advantage. The home crowd was non-existent in the Save Mart Center.
The venue holds just under 15,000 fans for Fresno State basketball games. The official attendance for the USC Upstate outing was 2,722.
No one showed up to watch the Bulldogs lose on their own dime. It signals a bad omen for the PAC-12.
The Bulldogs are switching conferences.
In 2026, Fresno State will be a PAC-12 member. It is one of seven newcomers expected to join the league as it recovers from realignment.
The PAC-12 had previously been one of college sports’ most storied conferences. It crumbled when the majority of its affiliates bailed for TV money.
Still, the league refuses to go away. It’s adding more than a half-dozen new teams to pair with current members Washington State and Oregon State.
Four of those additions will come from the Mountain West. Two have already lost buy games.
Prior to Fresno State’s basketball loss, the Boise State Broncos fell to Division II foe Hawaii Pacific. They reportedly paid $17,000 to get beat on their home floor. The struggles don’t stop there.
Washington State and Oregon State have gotten off to rough starts, too. The Cougars lost their season opener to Idaho. The Beavers narrowly escaped North Dakota State.
The subpar results, combined with the lacking fan support, paint a rather grim picture for PAC-12 basketball moving forward.
The conference with the most national championships saw schools leave for a larger paycheck. Some of the teams replacing those members don’t seem to have much interest in college basketball success.