NEVADA WOLF PACK (10-7, 2-2 WAC)
vs. NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (10-10, 4-1 WAC)
GAME NO. 18
Jan. 24, 2008 - 7:05p.m. MT (6:05 p.m. PT) - Pan American Center (12,482) - Las Cruces, N.M.
TELEVISION: KAME-TV 21 & Comcast Sports Net West (both broadcasts live)
Rich Cellini (play-by-play) & Dave Bollwinkel (color analyst)
RADIO: Wolf Pack Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno)
Don Marchand (play-by-play)
Pregame, 6:35 p.m. PT
SERIES HISTORY: New Mexico State leads the all-time series 14-9.
LAST MEETING: Nevada won the last meeting between the two teams, turning in a 69-65 victory over New Mexico State on March 3, 2007 in Reno.
Following a 95-80 home loss to Boise State on Saturday, the four-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada Wolf Pack (10-7, 2-2 WAC) looks to get back on track this week, traveling to Las Cruces, N.M., on Thursday night to take on the New Mexico State Aggies (10-10, 4-1). Thursday night’s game at NMSU’s Pan American Center, the site of this year’s WAC Tournament, will tip off at 7:05 p.m. Mountain Time (6:05 p.m. Pacific Time) and will be televised live by KAME-TV 21 and Comcast Sports Net West. Despite Thursday’s loss, Nevada has won eight of its last 11 games and heads to Las Cruces looking to notch its second consecutive WAC road victory of the year. Following Thursday’s game with the Aggies, Nevada will continue its road trip, heading to Ruston, La., to take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-13, 0-4) on Saturday night.
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Mark Fox, the Wolf Pack returned 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 22 of its last 32 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 18 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 six of its last 12 regular-season road contests and 17 of its last 24 and holds a 3-5 road mark this season. 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 34-12 record in road contests (.739 winning percentage). That includes a 22-5 record in WAC road games (.815).
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, behind just fellow WAC schools Hawai’i and New Mexico State. The team played four of its first six games away from home and has already logged eight road contests and 21,060 miles traveled this season, including trips to UCF, Northern Iowa, North Carolina and Hawai’i. This week’s trips to New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech will add another two road games and 4,015 miles, bringing Nevada’s total miles traveled for the year to 25,075.
This year began with a 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.
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 116-34 record, the best record of any WAC team during that time (.773 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 58 games, the most in that same time period.
ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES
New Mexico State has turned in a 10-10 overall record and is second in the WAC standings with a 4-1 conference mark so far this season. The Aggies have won five of their last six games and split their last two WAC games, falling at Utah State 74-62 on Jan. 12 and turning in a 63-54 home victory over Louisiana Tech on Jan. 19. Under the direction of first-year head coach Marvin Menzies, NMSU returned three starters and seven letterwinners from last year’s 25-9 NCAA Tournament team. The Aggies finished second to the Wolf Pack in the WAC standings with an 11-5 league mark one year ago.
Senior guard/forward Justin Hawkins (6-7, 205) is leading New Mexico State and ranked fourth in the WAC in scoring with 17.6 points per game. Hawkins is one of five Aggies in double figures for scoring this year. Sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson (6-2, 180) is second in the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game and is leading the Aggies in three-point percentage (.437) and three-pointers made (45, 5th in the WAC with 2.25 treys per game). Hawkins paces New Mexico State and checks in at third in the league in rebounding with 7.8 boards per contest. As a team, the Aggies are first in the WAC in rebounding offense (40.2 rpg) and margin (+7.2) and rank second in the league in scoring at 75.2 points per game.
IN THE SERIES
New Mexico State holds a 14-9 advantage over Nevada in the series between the two former members of the Big West Conference, while the Wolf Pack has won four of the last five games in the series. Last year, the two teams split a pair of regular-season meetings with each team winning on its own home court. The Aggies turned in an 80-73 victory on Jan. 20, 2007 in Las Cruces, N.M., while the Wolf Pack captured a 69-65 win on March 3, 2007 in Reno. NMSU has won nine of 10 games played in its own building with Nevada’s lone victory there coming during the 2005-06 season in the form of a 90-81 win on Feb. 4, 2006.
LAST TIME OUT
Tyler Tiedeman scored 27 points and led five Boise State players in double figures as the Broncos posted a 95-80 win at Nevada Saturday night.
Boise State used a stellar shooting performance from the perimeter to snap Nevada’s 14-game WAC home winning streak. The Broncos knocked down 13-of-22 3-point attempts en route to victory. They hit five of their first six shots from beyond the arc in the first half and their first six from long range to start the second half.
Tiedeman and Anthony Thomas both buried four 3-pointers for Boise State. Thomas and Reggie Larry chipped in 16 points apiece for the Broncos. Matt Bauscher and Matt Nelson each added 10 points for Boise State.
Boise State trailed 52-47 after Nevada senior Demarshay Johnson threw down a dunk at the 17:10 mark of the second half. Boise State responded with a 22-3 outburst that gave it a 69-55 advantage with 9:09 remaining to play. The Broncos converted all six of their 3-point shots in the key spurt and never trailed again.
Nevada was led by senior Marcelus Kemp and freshman Armon Johnson, who scored 23 and 20 points, respectively. Sophomore Brandon Fields and Johnson contributed 16 and 10 points to Nevada's losing cause.
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 second in the WAC in scoring at 19.5 points per game (45th in the NCAA). He has turned in at least 20 points in seven of the last 13 games, including a season-high 29 Jan. 12 at Hawai’i and 23 Saturday vs. Boise State, and has had 19 points in two other games in that stretch. After leading the team in scoring in 17 games last season, including five of the final six, the sixth-year senior has paced the Wolf Pack in scoring in 11 of 17 games this season, including nine of the last 13. He turned in a team-high 26 points with a season-best four three-pointers Nov. 28 vs. California and notched his second career double-double with a game-best 20 points and a career-high-tying 12 rebounds Dec. 1 at Pacific. He also turned in 28 points in a Dec. 19 win over Colorado State (22 in the second half).
Kemp holds the team lead and ninth in the WAC with 32 three-pointers made this year (1.88 per game). With four three-pointers Saturday vs. the Broncos, he moved into sole possession of second place on the Nevada career list with 189 three-pointers made and stands 20 behind Nevada’s career leader in the category, Terrence Green (209 treys, 1999-2003).
With his 23 points Saturday vs. Boise State, Kemp turned in his 27th consecutive game in double figures for scoring (all 17 this year) and the 79th 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 58 of the last 60 games. With 1,611 career points, he has moved past Ric Herrin who had 1,512 points in his career from 1989-93 for sixth place on Nevada’s all-time list and stands 31 points out of the Nevada career top five for scoring.
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 3.12 blocks per game, 1.52 blocks per game ahead of New Mexico State’s Martin Iti (1.60), and is tied for ninth in the NCAA in the category. He swatted a career-best seven shots Dec. 22 at Northern Iowa and has blocked six in two other games this season (Nov. 18 vs. Cal and Nov. 11 at UCF). He added five blocks Dec. 12 vs. San Diego and has had four in three of the last six games (North Carolina, Cal State Stanislaus and Idaho). McGee has blocked at least one shot in 16 of 17 games this season (13 with two or more). With 83 career blocks in just 50 games (1.66 per game), McGee has already climbed into a tie for seventh on the Nevada career list with Quentin Stephens who had 83 in 76 career games from 1983-87. McGee has also moved into third on the Nevada single-season list with 53, moving past Nick Fazekas for the single-season mark by a Wolf Pack sophomore (51 in 2004-05). Last season, McGee 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 and ranks ninth in the nation with an average of 6.53 blocks per game, including a season-best 11 in its Jan. 17 win over Idaho and 10 in the Dec. 19 win over Colorado State. Senior Demarshay Johnson is second on the team and fourth in the league in the category with 1.24 blocks per game, including a career-high six swats in the Dec. 19 victory over Colorado State.
NEVADA SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS LIST
Player, Year G Blks
1. Edgar Jones, 1977-78 27 96
2. Greg Palm, 1981-82 28 55
3. JaVale McGee, 2007-08 15 53*
4. Nick Fazekas, 2004-05 32 51
5. Nick Fazekas, 2005-06 33 49
6. Nick Fazekas, 2006-07 32 48
Greg Palm, 1980-81 26 48
* Nevada single-season record for blocks by a sophomore
FIELDS FROM DOWNTOWN
The Dec. 17 WAC Player of the Week, sophomore Brandon Fields is leading the team and ranked 10th in the WAC in three-point percentage at 40.3 percent (31-77). He is second on the team with 31 three-pointers made this year, one behind senior Marcelus Kemp. Fields has knocked down at least one three-pointer in 15 of 17 games this year (eight with two or more). He made just three three-pointers and shot just 27.3 percent from beyond the arc all of last season (3-11).
Fields turned in career highs for scoring in back-to-back games against San Diego on Dec. 12 and UCF on Dec. 16, including 17 points in the win over the Toreros and a career-best 22 in the victory over the Knights. He notched career highs for three-pointers made in back-to-back games against Cal and Pacific. He made a then career-best 3-of-6 treys Nov. 28 vs. Cal and then bested that mark Dec. 1 at Pacific, knocking down a career-high four three-pointers (4-of-8). He knocked down another trio of three-pointers Dec. 12 vs. San Diego and has matched his career high with four three-pointers in two other games (Dec. 16 vs. UCF and Jan. 19 vs. Boise State).
LIGHTING IT UP
Nevada scored a season-high 104 points in its Dec. 31 victory over Cal State Stanislaus and has turned in seven of its highest scoring outputs of the year in its last 11 games. That win over the Warriors also marked the first time that the team has topped the century mark since turning in a 101-76 win over Rice on Jan. 24, 2004 in Reno.
After averaging 67.5 points in the first six contests of the year, the Wolf Pack has averaged 75.7 points per game in its last 11 (833 points), including 86 points vs. UCF and 82 in its Dec. 8 victory over Montana State. Nevada now ranks third in the WAC in scoring at 72.8 points per game.
FINDING THEIR TOUCH
Nevada has shot the ball well recently, making 46.9 percent of its attempts from the field in its last 11 outings (292-622). The team has turned in five 50-percent shooting efforts this season, most recently knocking down 51.0 percent of its attempts Jan. 12 at Hawai’i (26-51) and making 54.1 percent of its attempts Dec. 31 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (40-74). The team made a season-best 56.9 percent of its attempts Nov. 13 at UC Irvine. Nevada turned in its best three-point night of the year Dec. 16 vs. UCF, making 46.7 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc (7-15) and matched those marks again Jan. 12 at Hawai’i. Prior to the last 11 games, Nevada had shot just 37.2 percent from the field in its previous two, while the team now ranks fourth in the league in field goal percentage this season (46.2 percent).
After leading the WAC and ranking 10th in the nation in three-point shooting at 40.6 percent last year, the Wolf Pack has struggled to find its touch from beyond the arc so far this season. Nevada checks in at seventh in the WAC at 33.1 percent from three-point land this season (92-278). The Wolf Pack knocked down a season-best nine three-pointers Saturday vs. Boise State and had eight Nov. 28 vs. Cal. The team has made at least seven three-pointers in seven of its last 13 games (Pacific, Montana State, San Diego, UCF and Hawai’i are the others).
SPREADING IT AROUND
Four members of the Wolf Pack are averaging in doubles figures for scoring this year, led by senior guard Marcelus Kemp who ranks second in the WAC and 45th in the nation at 19.5 points per game. Kemp has led the team in scoring in 11 of 17 games this year, including nine of the last 13. Sophomore JaVale McGee is adding 12.7 points per game (12th in the WAC) with a career-high 20 at UC Irvine and again at UNLV, while freshman Armon Johnson and sophomore Brandon Fields are adding 12.2 and 11.9 points per game, respectively. Fields turned in a career-best 22 Dec. 16 vs. UCF, while Johnson has matched his career high with 23 points twice (Dec. 27 at then top-ranked North Carolina and Jan. 17 vs. Idaho).
Nevada saw all five of its starters score in double figures for the first time this year on Dec. 12 vs. the Toreros, while it had five players in double figures again Dec. 31 vs. Cal State Stanislaus. The team has seen at least four players in double figures in a total of seven games this year (UC Irvine, Montana State, UCF, Hawai’i, Idaho and Boise State are the others).
Nevada got a season-high 35 points from its bench in its Dec. 31 win over Cal State Stanislaus, including a season-best 19 points from senior Demarshay Johnson. The Wolf Pack bench added 24 in the Dec. 8 win over Montana State, including a season-high seven by senior David Ellis and five from sophomore Ray Kraemer, the first points of Kraemer’s Wolf Pack career. Dec. 12 against San Diego, sophomore Matt LaGrone tallied a career-best 12 points, while true freshman Malik Cooke added a career-high seven, including his first career three-pointer.
PACK NEWS & NOTES
- Nevada will face another pair of first-year head coaches this week in New Mexico State’s Marvin Menzies and Louisiana Tech’s Kerry Rupp. That will mark Nevada’s fifth and sixth games this season against first-year head coaches. The Wolf Pack has turned in a 4-0 mark against first-year head coaches so far this season, downing Santa Clara (Kerry Keating), San Diego (Bill Grier), Colorado State (Tim Miles) and Hawai’i (Bob Nash).
- True freshman Armon Johnson matched his career best with 23 points Jan. 17 vs. Idaho, marking the third time in five games that he had led the team in scoring, and added his third 20-point game with 20 points Saturday vs. Boise State. Johnson has turned in 16.8 points per game over the last six contests (101 points).
- As a team, Nevada made a season-best nine three-pointers Saturday but allowed Boise State to knock down 13, a season high for a Wolf Pack opponent. The team also allowed the Broncos to shoot 54.4 percent from the field, also a season best for a Nevada foe.
- The Wolf Pack has gotten just two points from its bench in the last two games.
- Senior David Ellis turned in season highs for rebounds (5), assists (2) and minutes played (19) Saturday vs. Boise State.
- Nevada’s Jan. 17 victory over Idaho gave fourth-year head coach Mark Fox the 91st win of his career and moved him into a tie for fourth place on the team’s all-time wins list with Len Stevens (91-79 from 1987-93). Fox now holds a 91-25 record (.784 winning percentage) since becoming Nevada's head coach in 2004-05.
- The Wolf Pack ranks fourth in the WAC in free throw percentage at 71.0 percent and shot a season-high 85.7 percent from the charity stripe Jan. 12 at Hawai’i (18-21). Senior Marcelus Kemp is third in the WAC and tied for 48th in the NCAA at 85.2 percent, including 11-of-13 in Nevada’s Dec. 19 win over Colorado State and 8-of-8 Jan. 12 at Hawai’i, while true freshman Armon Johnson ranks eighth in the WAC at 77.3 percent, including 10-of-12 Jan. 17 vs. Idaho. Nevada has turned in six 80-percent efforts from the free throw line this season.
- Kemp missed a free throw in the first half Jan. 17 against Idaho, ending a stretch of 22 consecutive made free throw attempts, dating back to the second half of the Dec. 22 game at Northern Iowa. Kemp has now converted on 30 of his last 32 free throw attempts. He has made all of his attempts in three of the last five games, including 4-of-4 Dec. 27 at top-ranked North Carolina, 6-of-6 Dec. 31 vs. Cal State Stanislaus and 8-of-8 Jan. 12 at Hawai’i (did not attempt any free throws at San Jose State). He has been perfect from the line in eight games this year.
- Including its 41-28 advantage over Idaho Jan. 17 vs. Idaho, the Wolf Pack has now outrebounded nine of its 17 opponents this season (8-1 record in those games) and tied one other. Nevada has climbed to second in the WAC in rebounding offense (37.9 rpg) and margin (+4.2) this year. The team pulled down a season-high 57 rebounds and turned in its season best for rebounding margin (+31) Dec. 31 vs. Cal State Stanislaus, outrebounding the Warriors 57-26. 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). Nevada is 1-6 this year when getting outrebounded.
- After averaging 9.2 rebounds per game in the last nine games (83 rebounds), sophomore JaVale McGee has jumped from ninth to the top of the WAC with 8.2 rebounds per contest. After leading the WAC for several weeks, he now checks in at second, just behind Reggie Larry of Boise State, who has turned in 9.1 boards per game. McGee pulled down a career-best 18 rebounds Dec. 16 vs. UCF, which marked the most for the Pack since Nick Fazekas had 18 rebounds in Nevada’s Jan. 27, 2007 win over Utah State. McGee has led the team in rebounding in 12 games this season, including eight of the last 10. Most recently, he pulled down a game-best 12 boards Jan. 12 at Hawai’i and led the team with six rebounds Jan. 19 vs. Boise State. Senior Marcelus Kemp is second on the team at 5.6 rebounds per game.
- The Wolf Pack defense held Northern Iowa to a season-low 52 points in its Dec. 22 victory, season lows both for a Wolf Pack opponent and the Panthers this year. Nevada has won 49 of its last 51 games when holding its opponent to 60 points or less, including a 13-1 record in 2005-06, a 6-1 mark last year and a 3-0 record this season.
- Senior Demarshay Johnson made his return to the starting lineup last weekend and responded by leading the team with a career high-tying 11 rebounds Jan. 17 vs. Idaho and 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting Jan. 19 vs. Boise State. Johnson started the first six games of the year but then embraced his role off the bench in the next nine before returning to the starting lineup vs. the Vandals. He is fifth on the team with 7.3 points per game and third at 4.8 rebounds per contest.
- Nevada opened the year with a 2-4 record for the first time since the 2002-03 season (now 10-7). That season, Nevada played five of its first seven games on the road and turned in a 2-5 mark before winning its next three contests. The 2002-03 team finished with an 18-14 record and made a trip to the postseason NIT, the first of five consecutive postseason appearances for the Wolf Pack (one NIT bid and four NCAA appearances). In 2003-04, Nevada opened the year with a 2-3 mark 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.
- Nevada’s starting lineup in eight games this year has featured just one senior (Marcelus Kemp), three sophomores (Matt LaGrone, JaVale McGee, Brandon Fields) and one true freshman (Armon Johnson). Nevada has turned in a 6-2 record in those games.
- Senior Marcelus Kemp scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half Dec. 19 vs. Colorado State and has turned in 52.6 percent of his points in the second halves of games this season (174-331). He had 17 of 24 points in the second half Dec. 16 vs. UCF, while in the first three games of the year, he scored 75.9 percent of his points in the final 20 minutes of games, including 16 of 23 Nov. 17 vs. Santa Clara, 10 of 12 Nov. 13 at UC Irvine and 15 of 19 Nov. 11 at UCF.
- The Dec. 8 victory over Montana State snapped the Wolf Pack’s first three-game losing streak since dropping five straight contests at the end of the 2000-01 season. The Nov. 28 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 an 18-6 record following a loss in his tenure.
- 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.
CLOSE LOSSES
Five of Nevada’s seven losses this season have come by an average of just 5.4 points per game (27 points), while three of them - a 63-60 loss at UCF on Nov. 11, a 70-66 defeat Dec. 1 at Pacific and a 62-60 loss at San Jose State on Jan. 10 - were decided by four points or less. Last year, Nevada’s five losses came by an average of just 6.8 points per game. In his three-plus years as Nevada’s head coach, Mark Fox’s squads have only lost eight games by a margin in double figures.
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 a 91-25 career record in his three-plus seasons at the helm of the Wolf Pack program (.784 winning percentage) and is already tied for fourth in all-time wins at Nevada with 91. His 81 wins after his first three seasons 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.
UP NEXT
Following Thursday’s game at New Mexico State, Nevada continues its WAC road trip, traveling to Ruston, La., to take on Louisiana Tech on Saturday night. The Wolf Pack will return to Reno the following week, playing host to Fresno State on Thursday, Jan. 31.
