NEVADA WOLF PACK (2-3) vs. PACIFIC TIGERS (4-2)
GAME NO. 6
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007 - 7:07 p.m. PT - Alex G. Spanos Center (6,150) - Stockton, Calif.
TELEVISION: KAME-TV 21 (live), Comcast Sports Net West (tape delayed at 4 p.m. on Dec. 2)
Randy Rosenbloom (play-by-play) & Tom Asbury (color analyst)
RADIO: Wolf Pack Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno)
Don Marchand (play-by-play) & Jason Glover (color analyst)
Pregame, 6:37 p.m. PT
SERIES HISTORY: Pacific holds a 48-44 advantage in the series between the two teams.
LAST MEETING: Nevada has won the last two games in the series, including a 60-53 victory on Dec. 16, 2006 at Lawlor Events Center.
Following a 74-68 loss to California on Wednesday night in Reno, the four-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada Wolf Pack (2-3) returns to action this weekend, traveling to Stockton, Calif., to take on the Pacific Tigers (4-2) on Saturday in its fourth road game in its first six contests this season. Saturday’s game at the Spanos Center will tip off at 7:07 p.m. Pacific Time and will be televised locally on KAME-TV 21 by the Nevada Sports Network. The Wolf Pack has dropped its last two games, its first back-to-back losses in the same season since January of 2006, and heads into Saturday’s game looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak since 2000-01. Following Saturday’s game with the Tigers, Nevada returns home for a four-game homestand that starts on Dec. 8 with Montana State. That homestand will be the longest of the season for the Wolf Pack.
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Mark Fox, the Wolf Pack returns one starter and a total of eight letterwinners from last year’s school-record 29-5 team, including 2007 first-team All-WAC selection Marcelus Kemp. This year’s team also features four new faces (one redshirt freshman, a sophomore transfer and a pair of true freshmen). Last season, Nevada set the school single-season record for victories with 29, turned in its fourth consecutive year with at least 25 wins, won its fourth straight WAC regular-season title and earned the team’s fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
ROAD WARRIORS
Nevada has won 20 of its last 27 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 16 road wins and four neutral-site victories (dating back to midway through the 2005-06 season). Last year, the team turned in a 14-4 record away from home, including a 10-2 road mark and a 4-2 record in neutral-site games. The Wolf Pack has won four of its last seven regular-season road contests and 15 of its last 19. Last year, the team saw an 11-game regular-season road winning streak snapped with a Jan. 20, 2007 loss at New Mexico State. Prior to that, the team had not dropped a road contest since falling at Fresno State on Jan. 18, 2006.
In the last three-plus seasons since the start of the 2004-05 campaign, the Wolf Pack has tallied a 32-9 record in road contests (78.0 winning percentage).
This year, Nevada opened the season with four of its first six contests away from home, beginning with its season-opening two-game road trip to UCF and UC Irvine and trips to UNLV and Pacific. The team racked up over 5,800 frequent flier miles in five days to open the season, traveling 2,833 miles from Reno to Orlando, 2,496 miles from Orlando to Anaheim for a game two days later and 544 miles from Anaheim back to Reno. According to a story by ESPN.com’s Kyle Whelliston, the Wolf Pack will travel the third-most miles of any team in the country this season (21,009 miles), behind just fellow WAC schools Hawai’i (38,621) and New Mexico State (24,941).
Last season, Nevada opened the year with four of its first seven games away from home (three road wins and a neutral-site victory), while in 2005-06, the team played 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 to 2006 NCAA runner-up UCLA). That year, Nevada traveled over 10,000 miles in 11 days in a four-game road stand that included trips to Vermont, UNLV, Kansas and Pacific.
NEVADA TOP WAC TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS
Over the last four-plus seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 108-30 record, the best record of any WAC team during that time (.783 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 56 games, the most in that same time period.
ABOUT THE PACIFIC TIGERS
Pacific has opened the season with a 4-2 mark, most recently turning in a 75-62 victory over Sacramento State on Nov. 21 and falling at Saint Louis 63-54 on Nov. 24. Under the direction of 20th-year head coach Bob Thomason (326-242 record at Pacific), the Tigers have turned in a 2-0 record at home this season, downing Lewis and Clark College and Sac State at the Alex G. Spanos Center. Pacific returns two starters and five letterwinners from last year’s 12-19 squad. The Tigers finished in a tie for sixth in the Big West with a 5-9 league mark one year ago.
Junior guard Steffan Johnson (6-1, 165) is leading three Tigers in double figures for scoring at 17.8 points per game. He is also adding a team-best 4.7 assists per game, while he and junior guard Chad Troyer (6-4, 190) have each made a team-high 14 three-pointers on the year. Troyer is adding 13.0 points per game, while junior forward Anthony Brown (6-7, 225) chips in with 10.5 points and paces the team with 6.3 rebounds per contest. As a team, Pacific is averaging 76.5 points per game and shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from beyond the arc (42-99).
IN THE SERIES
Saturday will mark the 93rd overall meeting on the hardwood between the Wolf Pack and Tigers with Pacific holding a 48-44 advantage in the all-time series. Nevada has won the last two meetings between the two teams, including a 60-53 win on Dec. 16, 2006 at Lawlor Events Center. Marcelus Kemp turned in 19 points, including four three-pointers, in that victory, which marked Nevada’s first win over Pacific in Reno since the 2002-03 season. In 2005-06, the Wolf Pack turned in a 77-70 come-from-behind victory at Pacific’s Spanos Center in Stockton on Dec. 3, 2005. That game snapped a 20-game losing streak for Nevada in Stockton. The Wolf Pack overcame a 39-30 halftime deficit in the tilt, which ended a grueling four-game road stretch that saw the team log over 10,000 frequent-flier miles in 11 days, including wins at Vermont, UNLV, Kansas and Pacific.
Prior to the last two seasons, the Tigers had won the previous two meetings between the two teams and eight of the last 10, including a 72-69 victory on Dec. 11, 2004 at Lawlor Events Center. Nevada was a member of the Big West Conference from 1992-2000 and holds a 157-96 all-time record against the teams that currently make up the league, including a 77-68 victory at UC Irvine on Nov. 13 earlier this season.
LAST TIME OUT
Ryan Anderson scored a career-high 36 points, including 10 straight during a key stretch in the second half, to keep California undefeated with a 74-68 win over Nevada on Wednesday night.
Anderson made 14-of-23 shots from the field and added 13 rebounds for the Golden Bears, who led by as many as 14 points in the first half and never trailed.
Marcelus Kemp scored 21 of his team-high 26 points in the first half and JaVale McGee added 19 points and 9 rebounds for Nevada, which had won its last 13 games in a row at home.
Patrick Christopher added 16 points and DeVon Hardin a game-high 16 rebounds for Cal, which out-rebounded Nevada 48-34 in its first road game of the season.
Tied early in the second half, Anderson scored three consecutive times inside, was fouled on the third and converted the free throw to put Cal ahead 51-44.
Brandon Fields' 3-pointer for Nevada made it 51-47, but Anderson converted another 3-pointer on a spinning 10-foot baseline shot and free throw for a 54-47 lead with 12 minutes left.
McGee made a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut it to 56-52 at 9:09. But Anderson and Christopher scored inside and Anderson made a 3-point goal for a 63-54 lead at 5:44.
Nevada pulled to 63-59 on Fields' 3-pointer and McGee's slam dunk at 3:45. But when Jerome Randle missed two free throws, Anderson put the second back in to make it 65-59 at 3:07. McGee scored inside and Kemp hit from 3 to pull to 67-64 at 2:06 but Nevada could get no closer as Anderson made 3-of-4 free throws and Christopher 4-of-6 down the stretch.
Nevada trailed by 14 in the first half but outscored the Bears 16-4 the final 5:39 of the half, including a pair of 3-pointers by Kemp and a 3-pointer and breakaway layup by Fields after a block by McGee, to cut it to 40-38.
KEMP PACING TEAM IN SCORING
A preseason candidate for the Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy, senior guard Marcelus Kemp is leading the team and ranked third in the WAC in scoring at 18.2 points per game. He turned in a team- and season-high 26 points Wednesday vs. California. He also made a season-high four three-pointers against the Golden Bears and has knocked down a team-best nine treys this season.
With his 26 points vs. Cal, Kemp turned in his 15th consecutive game in double figures for scoring (all five this year) and the 67th of his career. Dating back to the latter part of the 2005-06 season, Kemp’s sophomore year, he has scored in double figures in 46 of the last 48 games. After leading the team in scoring in 17 games last season, including five of the last six, Kemp has paced the Wolf Pack in scoring in three of five games this season.
DEALING WITH REJECTION
Sophomore JaVale McGee and the Wolf Pack continue to lead the WAC in blocked shots per game. McGee is averaging a league-best 3.4 blocks per game and holds a two-block advantage over Hawai’i’s Bill Amis (1.4). He swatted a career-best six shots Wednesday against Cal, tying the mark he blocked in Nevada’s Nov. 11 season opener at UCF. With 47 career blocks in just 38 games, McGee needs just 10 more to enter Nevada’s career top 10 in the category. Last season, he ranked second on the team and ninth in the WAC with 0.9 blocked shots per game. He finished with 30 blocks on the year and had swatted a previous career best with four vs. Idaho on Jan. 6, 2007.
As a team, Nevada paces the conference with an average of 5.80 blocks per game, including a season-best eight Nov. 13 at UC Irvine and seven Wednesday against Cal. Senior Demarshay Johnson is second on the team and fourth in the league in the category with 1.20 blocks per game.
PACK NEWS & NOTES
- Four members of the Wolf Pack are averaging in doubles figures for scoring this year, led by senior guard Marcelus Kemp who ranks third in the WAC at 18.2 points per game. Kemp has led the team in scoring in three of five games this year, including a game-high 23 Nov. 17 vs. Santa Clara and a team-best 26 Wednesday vs. Cal. Sophomore JaVale McGee is adding 14.4 points per game (tied for ninth in the WAC), including a career-high 20 at UC Irvine and again at UNLV and 19 vs. the Golden Bears. Sophomore Brandon Fields is adding 11.2 points per title, including a career-best 16 points Nov. 13 at UC Irvine, while true freshman Armon Johnson is averaging 10.4 points per game. Fields had 15 points Wednesday vs. Cal and knocked down a career-best three three-pointers.
- As a team, Nevada shot a season-low 37.3 percent from the field Wednesday vs. California. The Wolf Pack also made just 58.8 percent of its free throw attempts (10-17) vs. the Golden Bears. In the last two games, Nevada has shot just 58.1 percent from the free throw line (25-43).
- Despite its showing from the field on Wednesday, the Wolf Pack ranks fourth in the WAC in field goal percentage, making 46.6 percent of its field goal attempts this year. The team has been above 50 percent in two of the last four games, including a season-high 56.9 percent Nov. 13 at UC Irvine. Senior Demarshay Johnson leads the team and ranks 10th in the WAC in field goal percentage at 53.6 percent.
- Nevada has opened the year with a 2-3 record for the just first time since the 2003-04 season. That year, the Wolf Pack opened the season with a win over Vermont before falling at then top-ranked Connecticut (both in the Preseason NIT). Nevada then turned in a 74-62 win at UNLV and dropped games at Portland and Pacific before reeling off wins in its next five games and seven of its next eight. The Wolf Pack finished with a 25-9 record that season, winning its first of four WAC regular-season championships and making the first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history.
- The Wolf Pack heads into Saturday’s game looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak since dropping five straight contests at the end of the 2000-01 season. Wednesday’s loss to Cal marked Nevada’s first back-to-back losses in the same season since 2005-06. The Wolf Pack lost its second-round NCAA game to Memphis last year and opened this season with a 63-60 loss at UCF on Nov. 11, but the team had not dropped back-to-back losses in the same season since falling to Fresno State and Utah State in January of 2006. Head coach Mark Fox’s squads have dropped back-to-back games just five times in his three-plus seasons and hold a 15-5 record following a loss in his tenure. Fox’s teams have never lost more than two games in a row since he took the helm of the program in 2004-05.
- Nevada has had two players turn in double-doubles this season with sophomore JaVale McGee nabbing his first career double-double Nov. 24 at UNLV, matching his career best with 20 points and pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds. Senior Demarshay Johnson turned in his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 boards Nov. 13 at UC Irvine.
- The Wolf Pack was outrebounded for the third time this season, getting outboarded 48-34 by the Golden Bears. Nevada has outrebounded two teams (UC Irvine and UNLV) and been outrebounded by the narrowest of margins in its two other games this year (40-39 UCF and 27-25 vs. Santa Clara). Against UC Irvine, the Wolf Pack outboarded the Anteaters 43-20, including a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass, while the team turned in a 44-33 advantage over UNLV on Nov. 24. Nevada is ranked third in the WAC in rebounding margin at +3.4 boards per contest this year. Last season, Nevada beat its opponents on the boards in 27 of 34 games (24-3 record) and led the league in rebounding margin (+6.5).
- Sophomore JaVale McGee is pacing the squad and ranked seventh in the WAC in rebounding at 7.4 boards per game. He has led the team in rebounding in four games this season, including a career-best 13 boards Nov. 24 at UNLV and added nine on Wednesday vs. Cal.
- On Wednesday vs. Cal, freshman Armon Johnson had a team- and career-best six assists and sophomore Brandon Fields tied his career high with five assists for the second consecutive game (also at UNLV). The Wolf Pack features three players ranked in the league’s top 10 for assists this year. Fields is fourth in the WAC at 4.2 assists per game, while Johnson is seventh at 3.4 and senior Marcelus Kemp is tied for eighth in the league at 3.0 assists per contest. The trio is also ranked in the WAC’s top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (Fields-4th, 1.91; Kemp-7th, 1.25; Johnson 8th-1.06).
- Kemp had 21 of his team-best 26 points in the first half Wednesday against Cal, but prior to that, he had scored 72.3 percent of his points in the second halves of games (47 of 65 total points prior to the Cal game). In the season opener at UCF, he turned in 15 of 19 points in the second half, while at UC Irvine, it was 10 of his 12 points in the final 20 minutes. Kemp continued that trend again Nov. 17 against Santa Clara, turning in 16 of his game-high 23 in the second half, and had seven of his 11 in the second session Nov. 24 at UNLV. Kemp played just 11 minutes in the first half at UNLV after picking up two first-half fouls and committed his third foul just 18 seconds into the second half.
- Nevada is tied for second in the WAC in scoring defense, holding its opponents to 67.6 points per game, including a season-low 54 points by Santa Clara on Nov. 17. Nevada has won 47 of its last 49 games when holding its opponent to 60 points or less, including a 13-1 record in 2005-06 and a 6-1 mark last year.
- After leading the WAC and ranking 10th in the nation in three-point shooting at 40.6 percent, the Wolf Pack has struggled to find its touch from beyond the arc early this season. Nevada checks in at eighth in the WAC at just 30.4 percent from three-point land this season (24-79), but did make a season-best eight treys Wednesday vs. Cal.
- Sophomore forward JaVale McGee, sophomore guard Brandon Fields and true freshman guard Armon Johnson all made their first career starts for the Wolf Pack on Nov. 11 at UCF. Johnson marked the first Wolf Pack true freshman to start a game since Ramon Sessions started 31 of 32 games in 2004-05. Sessions was named the WAC Freshman of the Year that season.
WINNING AT LAWLOR
Wednesday’s loss to California snapped Nevada’s 13-game home winning streak. The streak had been the longest active home winning streak in the WAC and the 12th-longest in the nation. The Wolf Pack has won 25 of its last 27 contests at Lawlor Events Center and prior to the Cal loss, had not dropped a home contest since falling to UNLV on Dec. 9, 2006. The team has also won 13 consecutive WAC home games, including a perfect 8-0 mark one year ago.
Including its 15-1 record last year and a 1-0 mark this season, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 61-7 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.897 winning percentage). In 2005-06, the Wolf Pack turned in a 17-1 record at Lawlor Events Center, setting the school record for home victories in a single season. That bested the 15 victories the team turned in during the 2003-04 season. The Wolf Pack also turned in the second-best home winning percentage in school history in 2005-06 (.944), second only to the perfect 15-0 record the team turned in during that 2003-04 campaign.
The Wolf Pack has won 73.7 percent of its games at Lawlor Events Center since it opened in 1983-84 (261-93 all-time).
KEMP NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR NOV. 12-18
Nevada guard Marcelus Kemp was named the WAC Player of the Week for Nov. 12-18. It marked the third career WAC Player of the Week honor for the senior from Seattle, Wash. Kemp averaged 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in Nevada’s wins over UC Irvine and Santa Clara. He shot 60 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point land. He turned in 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, six rebounds and two steals in Nevada’s win at UC Irvine on Nov. 13. He also scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting in the Wolf Pack’s victory over Santa Clara on Nov. 17, making 3-of-6 three-point attempts against the Broncos.
WOLF PACK ONE OF TWO SCHOOLS WITH FOUR STRAIGHT LEAGUE TITLES, NCAA BIDS
Last year, Nevada became one of just two schools in the country to win four consecutive regular-season conference titles and appear in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments (2004-07). The four-time Western Athletic Conference regular-season champion Wolf Pack joins just Gonzaga, which has won at least a share of the last five West Coast Conference regular-season crowns, on that list. A total of 15 schools appeared in the last four NCAA Tournaments, including Arizona, Boston College, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State, Nevada, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Southern Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin.
FOX RETURNS FOR FOURTH SEASON
Fourth-year head coach Mark Fox is the first coach in school history to lead his squad to three consecutive 20-win and NCAA Tournament seasons. He holds an 83-21 career record in his three-plus seasons at the helm of the Wolf Pack program (.798 winning percentage). His 81 wins were tied with Gonzaga's Mark Few for the most victories in Division I history by a coach through three seasons (81-18 record in his first three seasons).
Fox has been named the Don Haskins Coach of the Year in each of his first three seasons as Nevada’s head coach to become the first coach in WAC history to earn the honor in three consecutive years. Last year, he was also one of 15 finalists for the 2007 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award and was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 13 Coach of the Year.
PACK PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN WAC BY COACHES AND MEDIA
Nevada has been picked to finish third in the Western Athletic Conference in 2007-08 by the league’s coaches and media, while seniors Marcelus Kemp and Demarshay Johnson were named to the All-WAC teams.
The Wolf Pack received one first-place vote and 53 points in the poll of the league’s nine head coaches, while the team garnered 239 points with seven first-place votes in the media poll. The coaches and media also picked All-WAC teams with Kemp being named to the first team by both groups and Johnson earning second-team honors from the league’s coaches.
KEMP NAMED TO WOODEN, NAISMITH WATCH LISTS
Senior guard Marcelus Kemp has been named to the preseason watch lists for two of the most prestigious awards in college basketball: the John Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy. For Nevada, this marks the third year that a member of the Wolf Pack has garnered the attention of the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy committees. Three-time WAC Player of the Year Nick Fazekas was named to the final national ballot for the Wooden Award in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Last season, Fazekas was one of 10 Wooden Award All-Americans and finished eighth in the final voting for the Wooden Award. He was a preseason and midseason candidate for the Naismith Trophy in 2005-06 and made the final ballot in 2006-07.
Kemp joins Utah State's Jaycee Carroll as the two WAC representatives on the preseason watch lists for both honors. A 2007 first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection, Kemp ranked second on the team and third in the conference in scoring last season at 18.5 points per game. He started 33 of 34 games for the Wolf Pack and ranked among the league's leaders in field goal, three-point and free throw shooting one season ago. Kemp has started 56 of 106 games in his Wolf Pack career and ranks in the Nevada career top 10 for scoring, three-pointers made, three-point percentage and free throw percentage.
The Wooden Award watch list is composed of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball’s most coveted trophy. These top 50 candidates are comprised of returning players. In January, the Wooden Award committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed by the distribution of the national ballot to more than 1,000 voters in early March. The 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the Tuesday after the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament is completed. The 2008 award ceremony will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of April 11-13, 2008. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the Award’s ceremony and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university’s general scholarship fund. One of these five players will be named the John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year at a live televised announcement from The Club.
The Naismith Trophy watch list, which consists of 50 players, was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selector's, which based its preseason criteria on player performances from last season and expectations for the 2007-08 season. There were 17 seniors and 17 juniors on the preseason list, along with 16 sophomores. In January, the Naismith Trophy voting academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, will narrow its pre-season list to the Top 30 players in the nation. Those players, and others who distinguish themselves throughout the season, will be eligible for the final ballot in March. Beginning in mid-February, CBS' "AT&T at the Half" will feature a weekly Naismith Trophy update highlighting the players in contention. In April, the Naismith Trophy winner will be recognized at the Final Four in San Antonio.
TIME-OUT LUNCHEONS
Fourth-year Wolf Pack head men’s basketball coach Mark Fox will appear at Nevada’s Time-Out Luncheons monthly at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno.
This year’s remaning luncheons will take place on Monday, Dec. 3, Monday, January 7 and Monday, Feb. 4. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and the cost is $13 per person at the door.
The luncheons will feature a gourmet buffet prepared by the Silver Legacy, and the program includes game recaps and previews by Fox as well as appearances by other Wolf Pack coaches and staff.
UP NEXT
Following Saturday’s game at Pacific, Nevada will return home to begin a four-game homestand, its longest of the season. Nevada will play host to Montana State on Saturday, Dec. 8 at Lawlor Events Center to start that four-game homestand.
