No. 15/13 NEVADA WOLF PACK (17-1, 5-0 WAC)
at NEW MEXICO STATE (14-4, 4-1 WAC)
GAME NO. 19
Sat., Jan. 20, 2007 - 7:05 p.m. MT (6:05 p.m. PT) - Pan American Center (13,071) - Las Cruces, N.M.
TELEVISION: KAME-TV 21, ESPN Full Court & wac.tv (Rich Cellini & Larry Farmer)
RADIO: Wolf Pack Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno)
Don Marchand (play-by-play)
Pregame, 6:20 p.m. MT (5:20 p.m. PT)
SERIES HISTORY: New Mexico State leads the series 13-8.
LAST MEETING: Nevada has won the last three meetings between the two teams, including a 70-59 victory in the semifinals of the 2006 WAC Tournament on March 10, 2006 in Reno.
Coming off an 85-75 victory over Fresno State Thursday night in Reno, the three-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada Wolf Pack (17-1, 5-0 WAC) travels to Las Cruces, N.M., to take on New Mexico State (14-4, 4-1 WAC) Saturday night. The game against the Aggies will wrap up a stretch of three of four away from home for No. 15/13 Nevada and will be televised locally KAME-TV 21. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Mountain Time (6:05 p.m. Pacific), at the Pan American Center, site of this year’s WAC Tournament, while Saturday’s game will also be carried as part of the ESPN Full Court pay-per-view package. Winners of 10 consecutive games as well as its last 15 WAC regular-season games, Nevada has opened WAC play with five victories for the first time since joining the league in 2000-01 and is in sole possession of first place in the league standings, a game ahead of New Mexico State. The team has climbed to 15th and 13th in the Jan. 15 Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ polls, the highest rankings in school history. The Wolf Pack is also off to its best start in school history with its 17-1 overall record and has won 11 consecutive road games, including seven straight WAC road contests. Following Saturday’s game at New Mexico State, Nevada returns home for a pair of contests, playing host to Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Jan. 25 and Utah State on Saturday, Jan. 27.
The Wolf Pack returned four starters from last year’s 27-6 team, including preseason All-American senior forward Nick Fazekas, senior guard Kyle Shiloh and junior guards Ramon Sessions and Marcelus Kemp. Under the direction of third-year head coach Mark Fox, the team also features four other returning letterwinners and six new faces (one redshirt freshman and five true freshmen). Nevada won its third straight WAC regular-season title last season and earned the team’s third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, garnering the league’s automatic NCAA bid after winning the 2006 WAC Tournament.
NEVADA IN WAC OPENERS
With Thursday’s victory over Fresno State, Nevada has now won its first five WAC games for the first time since joining the league in 2000-01. Nevada’s previous best WAC start came in 2004-05 when the team opened league play with wins in its first four WAC contests.
After turning in an 81-55 victory over Idaho on Jan. 6, Nevada now holds a 4-3 record in Western Athletic Conference openers since joining the league in 2000-01. The Wolf Pack has won four of its last five WAC openers with the only blemish coming last year when the team dropped a 73-69 overtime contest at Hawai’i on Jan. 5 in Honolulu. The Idaho game marked just the second time that the team opened WAC play at home in the last seven years, while with wins over Idaho and Boise State, Nevada opened WAC play with back-to-back wins for just the second time in its seven years as a member of the league,
After opening league play with a 3-3 mark last year, the Wolf Pack won its final 10 WAC games to finish with a 13-3 conference mark and its third consecutive WAC regular-season championship. In 2004-05, Nevada opened WAC play with four straight victories and won seven of its first eight league games en route to a WAC-record 16-2 overall mark and sole possession of the WAC championship. The team also won a share of the league title in 2003-04, tying for first with UTEP with a 13-5 mark.
ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES
New Mexico State brings a 14-4 overall mark and a 4-1 league record into Saturday’s game with Nevada. The Aggies had their 13-game winning streak snapped with a 73-71 overtime loss at Louisiana Tech on Wednesday. The team opened WAC play with home wins over Hawai’i and San Jose State and road victories at Idaho and Boise State. Under the direction of second-year head coach Reggie Theus (30-18 record at NMSU), the Aggies returned four starters and five letterwinners from last year’s 16-14 team. The team also had four transfers become eligible after redshirting last year and added three other newcomers. New Mexico State finished in fifth in the WAC last year with a 10-6 league record.
Junior forward Justin Hawkins (6-7, 205), a transfer from the University of Utah, is leading four Aggies in double figures for scoring and is ranked seventh in the WAC with 15.8 points per game. He is also the club’s top rebounder, checking in at seventh in the league with 7.7 boards per game. Junior center Hatila Passos (6-9, 230/10.7 ppg), junior guard Fred Peete (6-4, 200/10.6 ppg) and senior guard Elijah Ingram (6-1, 190/10.0 ppg) are also averaging in double figures for scoring for NMSU. Ingram, a St. John’s transfer, has knocked down a team-best 35 three-pointers and ranks fourth in the league statistics at 44.9 percent from beyond the arc (35-78). Passos started his collegiate career at Arkansas-Fort Smith, while Peete transferred from Kansas State.
IN THE SERIES
New Mexico State holds a 13-8 advantage over Nevada in the series between the two former members of the Big West Conference. The Wolf Pack has won the last three meetings between the teams, all last season, including a 90-81 victory on Feb. 4, 2006 in Las Cruces, N.M., an 85-63 win on Feb. 9, 2006 in Reno and a 70-59 victory win in the semifinals of the 2006 WAC Tournament on March 10 in Reno. Last year’s victory in Las Cruces marked Nevada’s first road win there. Prior to last season, the Wolf Pack had dropped nine straight in NMSU’s building.
IN THE RANKINGS
Nevada has been featured in the national top 25 in the majority of the preseason polls again this year and has climbed to 15th in the Associated Press poll and 13th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ rankings released on Monday, Jan. 15. This year’s rankings mark the highest ranking in school history. Prior to this year, Nevada had previously climbed as high as 17th in the Dec. 5, 2005 AP poll last season.
The Wolf Pack appeared at 24th in the preseason Associated Press poll, released on Nov. 6, and checked in at 25th in the first ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll, released on Oct. 27. That marks the second consecutive season Nevada has been ranked in the preseason by both of the major polls after checking in at 22nd (AP) and 25th (coaches) prior to the 2005-06 season.
The Wolf Pack spent 11 weeks ranked in one of the two major national polls in 2005-06, climbing as high as 17th in the AP poll on Dec. 5 and as high as 21st in the coaches’ rankings four times during the year. The team ended up ranked 20th in the final Associated Press poll of the year.
In addition, Nevada has been picked to win the WAC and featured in the top 25 in the majority of the other preseason publications, including Lindy’s (19th), Street & Smith’s (20th), Sporting News (23rd), Collegehoopsnet.com (23rd) and CBS SportsLine (23rd).
NEVADA OFF TO BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
With a 17-1 record to open the season, Nevada is off to the best start in school history, besting the mark of the 1951-52 team which won 16 of its first 18 games. That 1951-52 team won its first 14 games, the best start without a loss, but dropped its next two games and finished with a 19-3 overall record.
Nevada turned in a 7-0 record to start the 2006-07 season and opened the year with seven straight wins for just the second time in school history prior to its Dec. 9 loss to UNLV. With the team’s Nov. 18 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Nevada won its first three games for the third consecutive season. The Wolf Pack won its first three games in 2004-05, while last year, the team started the season with six consecutive victories and won 10 of its first 11 tilts. The Wolf Pack’s only loss in its first 11 games last year was a 67-56 defeat by NCAA runner-up UCLA in the Dec. 10 Wooden Classic in Anaheim, Calif. The 6-0 starts by this and last year’s squads also marked the first time in school history that Nevada has opened the year with six straight wins in back-to-back seasons.
ROAD WARRIORS
Including a 6-0 record this year, Nevada has won its last 11 regular-season road games and most recently turned in a 72-63 victory at San Jose State on Jan. 11 and a 68-66 overtime win at Hawai’i on Jan. 13. Included in that 11-game streak are seven straight WAC road victories, including two this year. The team downed Oregon State 75-47 on Nov. 15 in Corvallis, Ore., edged Santa Clara 78-70 on Nov. 25, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the Broncos’ home gym, beat Louisiana-Lafayette 86-74 Nov. 29 in the Cajundome. Most recently, the Wolf Pack snapped Akron’s 21-game home winning streak, then the fourth-longest streak in the nation, with a 73-71 victory on Dec. 22 in Akron, Ohio. Nevada has also won both of its first neutral-site games this season, downing California 77-71 on Dec. 3 in the Pete Newell Challenge and Gonzaga 82-74 on Dec. 30 in the Battle in Seattle.
The Wolf Pack has tallied a 27-5 record in road contests in the last three seasons (since the start of the 2004-05 season), including a 10-3 record on the road last season (6-2 WAC mark). The Dec. 3 contest against Cal in the Pete Newell Challenge ended a stretch of four of seven games away from Lawlor Events Center to start the year. That stretch included road games at Oregon State (Nov. 15), Santa Clara (Nov. 25) and Louisiana-Lafayette (Nov. 29) and the neutral-site contest vs. California.
Last year, Nevada opened the year with five of its first six games away from the friendly confines of the Lawlor Events Center (four road wins and a loss on a neutral floor vs. NCAA runner-up UCLA) and saw streaks of 14 straight road wins and 10 consecutive WAC road victories, which dated back to the 2004-05 season, come to an end.
LAST TIME OUT
Junior Marcelus Kemp scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half and senior Nick Fazekas had 20 points and 10 rebounds to help Nevada win its 10th in a row Thursday night, 85-75 over Fresno State.
Junior Denis Ikovlev scored a career-high 18 points and junior Ramon Sessions had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Wolf Pack. It was the 53rd career double-double and 12th of the season for Fazekas, a 6-foot-11 senior who missed the previous two and a half games with a severe left ankle sprain he suffered against Boise State on Jan. 8.
Junior Dominic McGuire had 19 points to lead five players in double figures for Fresno State, which has lost three in a row after winning its first seven. Junior Hector Hernandez had 13 points, senior Quinton Hosley and senior Ja'Vance Colman 12 each and junior Eddie Miller 10 for the Bulldogs, who were outshot from the field 38 to 48 percent and outrebounded 45-35.
Kemp made consecutive 3-pointers to put Nevada up 61-55 with 10:54 remaining. Hernandez answered with a 3, but sophomore Lyndale Burleson matched it, Kemp added another and senior Kyle Shiloh did the same to make it 72-61 with 5:54 left.
Hosley's 3-point goal pulled the Bulldogs to 74-67 at 4:31. But Kemp drove the lane for a basket, Ikovlev scored inside off a pass from Fazekas and Fazekas tipped in a lob from Sessions to make it 80-68 at 2:04. McGuire scored six points in the final 54 seconds, but Sessions made 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch and Shiloh added one to seal the win.
Fazekas had his first two shots blocked but made his next five in a row, including back-to-back 3-pointers from the left baseline and a hook in the lane to give Nevada it's first lead, 21-19 in the first half.
Nevada opened a 52-46 lead early in the second half when Fazekas made a pair of free throws after the Bulldogs were called for a technical foul for sending six men on the court.
Hernandez made a 3-pointer, McGuire drove the baseline for a slam dunk and Hernandez stole the ball and fed Coleman for a dunk to tie it for the last time, 55-55 at 12:33.
Ikovlev, who surpassed his career high with 10 points in the first half, made 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers.
Kemp made 4-of-6 from behind the arc for the Wolf Pack, who made 11-of-25 from long range for 44 percent on the game.
KEMP ON A ROLL
Marcelus Kemp is a great shooter who can get on a roll, and that is just what the junior guard has done so far this season. Kemp has made 43.5 percent of his three-point attempts this season (47-108), good for fifth in the WAC statistics and 56th in the NCAA, and is third in the league in three-point field goals made (2.61). He has tied his career best with five three-pointers made in three games this season: in the Nov. 10 season opener vs. Alaska-Anchorage, at Oregon State on No. 15 and Jan. 11 at San Jose State. He also added four on Thursday vs. Fresno State, draining 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc.
Kemp ranks second on the team, third in the WAC and 33rd in the nation in scoring at 19.3 points per game. He is leading the league in scoring in conference-only games at 23.0 points per WAC game. Kemp also ranks eighth in the WAC in field goal percentage at 45.6 percent.
Kemp has led the team in scoring 10 times this year, including four of the last five games. That stretch has included 22 points Jan. 6 vs. Idaho, 27 Jan. 8 vs. Boise State, a season-best 33 Jan. 11 at San Jose State and 22 (15 in the second half) Thursday vs. Fresno State. He has turned in at least 20 points in six of the last seven games (156 points, 22.3 ppg in that stretch) and a total of 10 this season, while his 33 points vs. the Spartans were just one point shy of his career-best 34 vs. Montana in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. With 999 career points, Kemp needs just one more point to become the 18th player in school history to join the 1,000-point club.
Kemp turned in 29 points, including 5-of-6 three-pointers, Nov. 15 at Oregon State and had 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting in the Nov. 21 victory over UC Irvine. He scored 21 Dec. 28 vs. Gonzaga and led the team with 19 points Dec. 16 vs. Pacific, making 4-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc.
Last season, Kemp finished second on the team and 11th in the WAC with 15.0 points per contest. He led the team with 52 treys made and shot 35.9 percent from beyond the arc.
KEMP NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior guard Marcelus Kemp was named the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week for Jan. 8-14. It is Kemp’s second career WAC Player of the Week award and second for a Wolf Pack player this year.
Kemp was instrumental in extending Nevada’s winning streak to nine games as he averaged 23.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in three wins for the Wolf Pack. Kemp scored 27 points, dished out five assists and grabbed six rebounds in a 90-86 win over Boise State on Jan. 8. On Jan. 11, he scored 33 points and pulled down eight boards in a 72-63 win at San Jose State. He followed that up with 11 points in an overtime win at Hawaii on Jan. 13.
FABULOUS FAZEKAS
The 2005 and 2006 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, senior forward Nick Fazekas returns for his senior year poised to finish his career as one of the most decorated players in school history. He is the preseason favorite to win his third consecutive WAC Player-of-the-Year honor and could become just the second player in league history to be named the WAC Player of the Year three times in his career (Utah's Keith Van Horn is the other).
A preseason first-team All-American by Athlon and Street & Smith's and one of 50 players on the preseason watch lists for both John Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy, Fazekas has moved into the top 10 in nearly every Nevada career statistical category. The honorable-mention 2006-07 preseason Associated Press All-American scored 20 points in a Nov. 18 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff to become Nevada’s all-time leading scorer. He broke Edgar Jones’ 27-year-old record (1,877 points, 1975-79) and now has 2,137 career points, which ranks seventh on the WAC’s career scoring lists. Fazekas has already set Nevada's career record for blocked shots with 167, overtaking Jones who had 142 in his career. He has moved into first on the career list for field goals made with 782 and has also set the school record for free throws made with 468. With his five rebounds Dec. 12 vs. Saint Mary’s, he moved past Jones for second on the Nevada career rebounding list, while his 1,091 rebounds also rank sixth in the WAC career annals.
Fazekas suffered a severe ankle sprain Jan. 8 vs. Boise State and missed the first two games of his career last week at San Jose State and Hawai’i. He returned to action on Thursday night vs. Fresno State, turning in 20 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes while playing with a brace on the sore ankle. Prior to last week, he had played in all 114 previous games in his four years at Nevada and had started 102 career games, including the last 86 consecutive contests.
Fazekas has turned in double-doubles in 12 of his 16 games in the 2006-07 season, including 24 points and 11 rebounds Dec. 22 at Akron and 18 points and 13 boards Dec. 28 against Maine. He just missed his 11th double-double of the year Dec. 30 vs. Gonzaga, turning in a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds despite fouling out with 5:15 to play. He had 19 points and 11 rebounds in just 20 minutes Jan. 6 vs. Idaho and turned in 14 points and nine rebounds in only 15 minutes before suffering the ankle injury Jan. 8 vs. Boise State. Fazekas scored 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes in the season opener against Alaska-Anchorage and then 19 points and matched his career bests with 18 rebounds Nov. 15 at Oregon State. He pulled down 17 rebounds to go along with his 20 points in just 21 minutes vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, added 29 points and 14 rebounds Nov. 21 vs. UC Irvine and had 28 points and 15 rebounds Nov. 25 at Santa Clara. He saw his season-opening streak of five double-doubles come to an end Nov. 29 at Louisiana-Lafayette but turned in a team-best 21 points.
Currently, Fazekas is second in the WAC in scoring at 20.3 points per game, just behind Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll (21.1 ppg). After leading the nation for the first seven weeks of the season, Fazekas dropped into second in the NCAA in rebounding (11.9 boards per game) and has the WAC’s second-best field goal percentage (58.6 percent, 129-220). In addition to ranking second in the nation in rebounding to Arkansas-Little Rock’s Rashad Jones-Jennings (12.2 rpg), Fazekas also ranks 20th in scoring and 31st in field goal percentage.
Fazekas turned in one of the finest seasons in school history in 2005-06. A third-team 2006 AP All-America selection, he led the WAC and ranked 16th in the nation in scoring with 21.8 points per game after pacing the conference with 20.7 points per game in 2004-05. With 721 points on the year, he also broke the school single-season scoring record, passing Ken Green’s 697 points in 1982-83. Fazekas finished first on the squad, second in the conference and 15th in the NCAA in rebounding with 10.4 boards per contest. He was one of 21 players in NCAA Division I basketball to average a double-double last year. He knocked down 52.9 percent of his field goal attempts (268-507), which was good for fourth in the WAC, and finished second in the league and 41st in the nation in free throw shooting at 84.6 percent (154-182). Fazekas added a team-best 49 blocked shots (third in the WAC at 1.48 per game).
In addition to winning the 2006 WAC Player of the Year Award and being named to the All-WAC first team, both for the second straight year, Fazekas was one of 22 finalists on the national ballot for the 2006 John R. Wooden Award and was a finalist for the Adolph Rupp Award. He was recognized on several All-America teams in addition to his AP honor and was named the 2006 United States Basketball Writers Association District VIII Player of the Year and earned National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 13 first-team accolades.
FAZEKAS JOINS SOME ELITE COMPANY
With 19 points Dec. 12 vs. Saint Mary’s, Wolf Pack career-leading scorer Nick Fazekas has become the first player in school history and just the 12th player in the history of the Western Athletic Conference to score 2,000 points. His 17 rebounds Dec. 9 vs. UNLV made the senior forward the third player in school history and the 12th WAC student-athlete to reach the 1,000-rebound plateau. Fazekas is just the fifth player in the history of the conference to turn in both 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, joining Utah’s Keith Van Horn, Arizona’s Bob Elliott, Rice’s Michael Harris and Utah’s Josh Grant on that prestigious list.
According to research done by Jon Teitel of collegehoopsnet.com, Fazekas has a chance to become just the sixth player all time to score 2,000 points, pull down 1,000 rebounds and shoot 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line. Accomplishing that feat will put Fazekas in some very elite company, which includes Rick Barry, Larry Bird, Bill Bradley, Christian Laettner and Keith Van Horn.
WINNINGEST PLAYERS
With Nevada’s Dec. 16 win over Pacific, seniors Nick Fazekas and Kyle Shiloh became the winningest players in school history and now have 94 career victories, passing Kevinn Pinkney (2002-05) for the distinction. Since starting their Wolf Pack careers in 2003-04, Fazekas and Shiloh have played on teams that have amassed a 94-23 mark, including the 25-7 NCAA squad in 2004-05 and a 27-6 NCAA team last season. Pinkney was a member of four squads that turned in an 85-43 record, including an NCAA Sweet Sixteen season in 2003-04 (25-9 record).
WOLF PACK SHOOTING THE BALL WELL
The Wolf Pack has shot the ball well from the field so far this year and turned in a season-high 59.6 percent shooting effort on Dec. 28 vs. Maine (34-57), including an impressive 64.0 percent showing in the second half (16-25). The team turned in its second-best showing of the season on Saturday, knocking down 56.6 percent of its shots vs. Idaho (30-53).
Nevada ranks among the national and WAC leaders in field goal, free throw and three-point percentage. The Wolf Pack leads the league and ranks 10th in the NCAA in three-point percentage (42.2 percent, 137-325). Nevada also ranks second in the WAC and 27th in the country in field goal percentage (48.7 percent) as well as second in the WAC and 49th in the nation in free throw percentage (72.8 percent). Last year, Nevada shot 45.6 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from three-point land and made 71.4 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe.
Nevada has shot 50 percent or better in nine of its 18 games this year and has made at least seven three-pointers in all but five games so far this year. The Wolf Pack knocked down a season-high 12 treys Jan. 11 at San Jose State, making 63.2 percent of its long-range attempts (12-19). The team had 11 treys Nov. 21 vs. UC Irvine (11-19) and Thursday vs. Fresno State (11-25) and turned in a season-best 71.4 effort from beyond the arc Dec. 12 vs. Saint Mary’s (10-14).
DISHING IT OUT
The Wolf Pack ranks second in the WAC and 40th in the NCAA in assists so far this season and has two players ranked in the top 10 in the league in the category. Nevada is averaging 16.67 assists per game and turned in a season-best 28 assists Dec. 28 against Maine.
With 77 assists so far this year, junior Ramon Sessions is ranked third in the WAC with 4.28 assists per game. Sessions turned in a season-high eight assists in the Dec. 16 win over Pacific. He had seven assists in the Nov. 21 victory over UC Irvine and matched that with seven (and no turnovers) Nov. 29 at Louisiana-Lafayette. Sessions has also dished out at least five assists in five other contests so far this year, including six on Dec. 28 vs. Maine and five Jan. 11 at San Jose State. Senior Kyle Shiloh is second on the team and tied for seventh in the league at 3.28 assists per game, while sophomore Lyndale Burleson is third on the team with 2.78 assists per contest and dished out a season-high tying six assists (with no turnovers) on Dec. 28 vs. Maine. Shiloh has averaged 4.2 assists per game in the last six contests (25), including a season-high six Jan. 8 vs. Boise State, and is ranked second in the WAC with 4.20 assists per league contest.
On the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, Sessions has moved into fifth place in the Nevada career record books with 396 assists in just 81 career games (4.9 assists per game). Sessions has led the team in assists in each of his seasons at Nevada, setting both the school’s freshman (166) and sophomore (153) marks for assists. Last year, he ranked second in the WAC with 4.9 assists per game.
Sessions and Shiloh are also ranked in the top five in the WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio. Sessions is leading the WAC at 2.33 (77 assists-33 turnovers) and Shiloh is fourth (1.90, 59-31), while Burleson would be leading the WAC at 2.50 (50 assists with just 20 turnovers) but falls just short of the league minimum of 3.00 assists per game. As a team, Nevada has the league’s best 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.
TOUGH DEFENSE
So far this season, Nevada is holding its opponents to 65.3 points and 30.9 rebounds per game, including a season-low 45 points and 24 rebounds Nov. 15 by Oregon State. That marked the fewest points since the Wolf Pack held Idaho to just 44 in a 70-44 victory on Jan. 12, 2006, while Nevada has won 45 of its last 47 games when holding its opponent to 60 points or less, including a 13-1 record last season and a 4-1 mark this year (most recently an 81-55 win over Idaho on Jan. 6).
Nevada ranks second in the league in scoring and rebounding defense this year. The squad is also allowing teams to shoot just 40.0 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point land, marks which both rank second in the WAC. Nevada is also ranked 44th in the nation in field goal percentage defense. Oregon State made just 29.0 percent of its attempts and 14.3 percent of its three-point attempts on Nov. 15, while Santa Clara knocked down just 14.3 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc (2-14) on Nov. 25.
The Wolf Pack led the WAC in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense, ranked second in scoring defense and ended up third in rebounding defense in 2005-06. Nevada held teams to just 63.7 points per game, including a season-low 44 Jan. 12 by Idaho, and 34.1 rebounds per contest. The Wolf Pack allowed teams to shoot just 30.4 percent from beyond the arc and 40.1 percent from the field. The team also ranked 28th in the nation in field goal percentage defense. Nevada held 20 of its 33 opponents under 40 percent from the field in 2005-06, including a season-low 29.6 percent Jan. 12 by Idaho.
NEWS AND NOTES
- Senior Denis Ikovlev scored a career-best 18 points in Thursday’s win over Fresno State, making six field goals and three three-pointers (both career highs). Ikovlev has started the first 18 games of this year (his first career starts) and is averaging 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest (up from averages of 1.8 points and 1.0 rebounds per game last year). He pulled down a career-best eight rebounds to go along with then career-high 10 points Dec. 12 vs. Saint Mary’s. Ikovlev has made at least one three-pointer in 14 of the first 18 games this year, including four games with more than one.
- Junior Marcelus Kemp dished out a career-high seven assists Thursday vs. Fresno State to go along with his game-best 22 points.
- Nevada has averaged 81.0 points per game in its last seven contests (567 points), up from a season average of 77.3 points per game. The team scored a season-high 90 points on Jan. 8 vs. Boise State, besting the previous high of 89 in its Dec. 28 over Maine. Nevada put 82 points on the board in the Dec. 30 win over Gonzaga, poured in 81 Jan. 6 vs. Idaho and had 85 on Thursday vs. the Bulldogs. The Wolf Pack is averaging 77.3 points per game and is outscoring its opponents by a WAC-best 11.8 points per game this year (37th in the country in scoring margin). The team also ranks second in the WAC in scoring offense.
- Over the last four-plus seasons, Nevada has turned in a 113-37 overall mark (.753), which is the most wins and is the second-best winning percentage of any WAC team during that time (second only to Utah State’s 107-34 record, .759). In conference games, the Wolf Pack has won 58 games, which is the most among league schools in that same time period. The next closest team is Fresno State, which has won 42 league contests.
- In addition to leading the team and ranking second in the WAC in assists in league games (4.20), senior Kyle Shiloh is also second in steals steals (2.20) in WAC contests. He is averaging 12.5 points per game in the last four, including a season-best 18 Jan. 13 at Hawai’i.
- Nevada has won its last 15 regular-season WAC games, the longest current conference winning streak. The team won its last 10 WAC contests last season and its first five this year.
- The Jan. 13 victory over Hawai’i marked Nevada’s second overtime win in its last eight tries. It also marked the second straight year that Nevada had gone to overtime in Honolulu. Last year, the Wolf Pack turned in a 1-1 record in overtime games. Its win over Utah State in the championship game of the 2006 WAC Tournament snapped a string of six overtime losses dating back to the 2001-02 season.
- Nevada was outrebounded 42-33 by Hawai’i, which marked the first time this season that the team had been outrebounded. Prior to that, Nevada had tied with just one team in the category this year (31-31 at Louisiana-Layette). The Wolf Pack holds a 15-1 record when outrebounding teams this season.
- After averaging 4.7 points per game last season, junior Ramon Sessions is turning in an average of 13.3 points per contest this year, which ranks 11th in the WAC. He scored all 20 of his points in the second half in the Dec. 30 win over Gonzaga, turned in a season-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting Dec. 22 at Akron, had 21 in the Jan. 8 win over Boise State and turned in a team-high 19 Jan. 13 at Hawai’i. Dec. 9 vs. UNLV, he tied with senior Nick Fazekas for the team scoring lead, scoring all 16 of his points in the second half. Sessions is also shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three-point land (11-26) this season after turning in a 35.9 percent effort from the field and not making any treys one year ago (0-3).
- Sessions is fourth in the WAC in free throw percentage, knocking down 82.8 percent of his attempts this season (77-93), including a career-high 13-of-16 Jan. 8 vs. Boise State. He shot just 56.8 percent from the free throw line last year (25-44). Senior Nick Fazekas ranks third in the WAC and 45th in the NCAA at 87.7 percent (50-57).
- Nevada is outrebounding its opponents by a WAC-best average of 7.4 boards per contest, including a 54-24 advantage over Oregon State on Nov. 15 and a 45-26 edge Jan. 6 vs. Idaho. Nevada also ranks 22nd in the NCAA in rebounding margin and holds a 15-1 record when outrebounding its opponents this season. Led by the nation’s No. 2 rebounder, senior Nick Fazekas (11.9 rpg), Nevada ranks in the top five in the WAC in all five rebounding categories so far this season: offense (3rd-38.4 rpg), defense (2nd-30.9), margin (1st-7.4), offensive (5th-11.83) and defensive rebounds (3rd-26.56).
- The Wolf Pack has won 31 of its last 33 contests, dating back to an 82-79 victory at Boise State on Jan. 26, 2006. The team has lost back-to-back games just five times since the start of 2003-04 season.
- The Wolf Pack’s 2006-07 schedule features 16 home games and contests with four schools that received NCAA Tournament bids one year ago (Cal, Pacific, Gonzaga and Utah State). The team will play in three special events this year: the Dec. 3 Pete Newell Challenge vs. California, the Battle in Seattle vs. Gonzaga on Dec. 30 and the ESPN BracketBusters on Feb. 17.
- Senior Kyle Shiloh ranks eighth on the Wolf Pack career list with 116 career steals. He is leading the team and is tied for second in the WAC with an average of 1.61 steals per game this year. He had turned in a season-best four steals four times this year (vs. Alaska-Anchorage, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Idaho and Hawai’i).
- Senior Nick Fazekas and freshman JaVale McGee are both ranked in the top 10 in the WAC in blocked shots. Nevada’s career leader in the category with 167, Fazekas is fourth in the WAC at 1.44 blocks per game. He tied his career best with four blocks on Dec. 12 vs. Saint Mary’s. McGee is ninth in the league at 1.11 swat per game with a career-best four Jan. 6 vs. Idaho.
- Third-year head coach Mark Fox won his 60th career game on Dec. 12 vs. Saint Mary’s. Fox is the first coach in school history to lead his squad to back-to-back 20-win seasons and holds a 69-14 career record in his three seasons at the helm of the Wolf Pack program (.831). Fox has been named the Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons as Nevada’s head coach.
- Five Nevada players made their Wolf Pack regular-season collegiate debuts in the team’s Nov. 10 season opener vs. Alaska-Anchorage, including true freshmen Brandon Fields, Tyrone Hanson, Matt LaGrone and JaVale McGee and redshirt freshman Richie Phillips.
UP NEXT
Following Saturday’s game at New Mexico State, Nevada will return to Lawlor Events Center next week, playing host to Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Jan. 25 and Utah State on Saturday, Jan. 27.
