University of Nevada Athletics

NEVADA WOLF PACK (11-7, 3-2 WAC) vs. LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS (3-14, 0-5  WAC)

GAME NO. 19
Sat., Jan. 26, 2008 - 7:05 p.m. CT (5:05 p.m. PT) - Thomas Assembly Center (8,000) - Ruston, La.

TELEVISION: None
RADIO:  Wolf Pack Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno)
 Don Marchand (play-by-play)
 Pregame, 6:35 p.m. CT (4:35 p.m. PT)
SERIES HISTORY: Nevada leads the all-time series 10-3.
LAST MEETING: Nevada won the last nine meetings between the two teams, most recently turning in a 79-71 victory over Louisiana Tech on Jan. 31, 2007 in Ruston, La.

Coming off an 87-78 victory at New Mexico State on Thursday night, the four-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada Wolf Pack (11-7, 3-2 WAC) continues WAC play on Saturday, traveling to Ruston, La., to take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-14, 0-5). Saturday’s game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. Central Time (5:05 p.m. Pacific Time) at La Tech’s 8,000-seat Thomas Assembly Center and can be heard locally on ESPN 630 AM. The Wolf Pack has won nine of its last 12 games and heads to Ruston looking to notch its third consecutive WAC road victory of the year. Nevada also looks to extend a nine-game win streak in the series with the Bulldogs and add on to its six-game winning streak in La Tech’s building. Following Saturday’s game with the Bulldogs, Nevada will return to Reno to take on Fresno State on Thursday, Jan. 31 and then heads out on the road again to face league-leading Utah State on Saturday, Feb. 2 in Logan Utah.
 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 23 of its last 33 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 19 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 seven of its last 13 regular-season road contests and 18 of its last 25 and holds a 4-5 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 35-12 record in road contests (.745 winning percentage). That includes a 23-5 record in WAC road games (.821).
 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 117-34 record, the best record of any WAC team during that time (.775 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 59 games, the most in that same time period.

ABOUT THE LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS
Louisiana Tech has turned in a 3-14 overall record and is 0-5 in WAC play so far this season. The Bulldogs have dropped five straight games and have played just two WAC home games so far this season, including a 71-61 loss to Utah State on Thursday night in Ruston. Last week, the team dropped a 63-54 decision at New Mexico State on Jan. 19 in Las Cruces, N.M. Under the direction of first-year head coach Kerry Rupp, Louisiana Tech returned one starter and five letterwinners from last year’s 10-20 team. The Bulldogs finished in seventh in the WAC standings last season with a 7-9 league mark.
 Sophomore guard Kyle Gibson (6-4, 185) is leading Louisiana Tech and ranked eighth in the WAC in scoring at 15.4 points per game. Junior guard JC Clark (6-0, 185), a transfer from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, is second on the squad at 8.2 points per game, while senior forward Keith Smith (6-7, 225) is adding 8.1 points per contest. Gibson is also pacing the Bulldogs and ranked 10th in the league in rebounding with 5.8 boards per tilt and has made a team-high 37 three-pointers this season.

IN THE SERIES
Nevada leads the series with Louisiana Tech 10-3 and has won the last nine meetings with the Bulldogs and 10 of the last 11. The Wolf Pack won both meetings between the two teams last season, turning in an 84-67 victory on Jan. 25 in Reno and a 79-71 win on Jan. 31 in Ruston. Nevada has also won the last six road games in the series with Louisiana Tech and holds a 6-1 all-time advantage in games played in Ruston.

LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Brandon Fields scored 21 points to lead the Nevada Wolf Pack to a 87-78 win over New Mexico State University on Thursday night in the Pan American Center. Nevada maintained its 11-point 36-25 halftime lead against the Aggies to secure a valuable road win.
 The Wolf Pack led by 18 points with 4:39 remaining in the game, and despite a 19-point performance by freshman Jahmar Young, the Aggies couldn't cut the deficit.
 The Wolf Pack was anchored by four players with double-digit scoring, including Fields and freshman Armon Johnson, who finished with 20 points. Nevada's leading scorer, senior Marcelus Kemp, had 17 points and sophomore JaVale McGee added 12 points.
 NMSU's offensive effort was led by Young and senior Justin Hawkins, who ended the night with 18 points and seven rebounds.

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 19.3 points per game (45th in the NCAA). He has turned in at least 20 points in seven of the last 14 games, including a season-high 29 Jan. 12 at Hawai’i and 23 Jan. 19 vs. Boise State. He also 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 18 games this season, including nine of the last 14. 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 ranks ninth in the WAC with 35 three-pointers made this year (1.94 per game). With four three-pointers Jan. 19 vs. the Broncos, he moved into sole possession of second place on the Nevada career list and now has 192 three-pointers made. He stands just 17 three-pointers behind Nevada’s career leader in the category, Terrence Green (209 treys, 1999-2003).
 With his 17 points Thursday night at New Mexico State, Kemp turned in his 28th consecutive game in double figures for scoring (all 18 this year) and the 80th 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 59 of the last 61 games. With 1,628 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 14 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 3.17 blocks per game, 1.65 blocks per game ahead of New Mexico State’s Martin Iti (1.52), 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 four of the last seven games (North Carolina, Cal State Stanislaus, Idaho, NMSU). McGee has blocked at least one shot in 17 of 18 games this season (14 with two or more). With 87 career blocks in just 51 games (1.74 per game), McGee has already climbed into seventh on the Nevada career list and needs just two more swats to tie Kevinn Pinkney (2001-05, 89 in 110 games) for sixth. McGee has also already moved into second on the Nevada single-season list with 57 and has broken Nick Fazekas’ mark 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 6.50 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 1.17 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. JaVale McGee, 2007-08 16 57*
3. Greg Palm, 1981-82 28 55
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 40.2 percent (33-82). He is second on the team with 33 three-pointers made this year, two behind senior Marcelus Kemp. Fields has knocked down at least one three-pointer in 16 of 18 games this year (nine 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, while on Thursday at New Mexico State, he missed his career high by just one point, leading the team with 21 points. Fields 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 eight of its highest scoring outputs of the year in its last 12 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. On Thursday night at New Mexico State, the Wolf Pack scored 87 points, its second-highest scoring output of the year.
 After averaging 67.5 points in the first six contests of the year, the Wolf Pack has averaged 76.7 points per game in its last 12 (920 points), including 87 points Thursday at NMSU and 86 points in its Dec. 16 win vs. UCF. Nevada has now moved into third place in the WAC statistics in scoring at 73.6 points per game.

FINDING THEIR TOUCH
Nevada has shot the ball well recently, making 47.7 percent of its attempts from the field in its last 12 outings (323-677). The team has turned in six 50-percent shooting efforts this season and holds a 6-0 mark in those contests, most recently knocking down 56.4 percent of its attempts Thursday at New Mexico State (31-55). The team made a season-best 56.9 percent of its attempts Nov. 13 at UC Irvine, while Nevada turned in its best three-point night of the year Thursday at New Mexico State, making 53.3 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc (8-15). Prior to the last 12 games, Nevada had shot just 37.2 percent from the field in its previous two, while the team now ranks third in the league in field goal percentage this season (46.8 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. After making a season-high 53.3 percent of its three-point attempts Thursday at NMSU, Nevada has moved into fourth in the WAC at 34.1 percent from three-point land this season (100-293). The Wolf Pack knocked down a season-best nine three-pointers Jan. 19 vs. Boise State and had eight Nov. 28 vs. Cal and again Thursday at NMSU. The team has made at least seven three-pointers in eight of its last 14 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 19.3 points per game. Kemp has led the team in scoring in 11 of 18 games this year, including nine of the last 14. Freshman Armon Johnson and sophomore JaVale McGee are tied for second on the team and 14th in the WAC with 12.7 points per game, while sophomore Brandon Fields is turning in 12.4 points per contest. McGee scored a career-high 20 at UC Irvine, while Fields turned in a career-best 22 Dec. 16 vs. UCF. 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 eight games this year (UC Irvine, Montana State, UCF, Hawai’i, Idaho, Boise State and NMSU 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 its sixth first-year head coach of the season on Saturday in Louisiana Tech’s Kerry Rupp. The Wolf Pack has turned in a 5-0 mark against first-year head coaches so far this season, downing Santa Clara (Kerry Keating), San Diego (Bill Grier), Colorado State (Tim Miles), Hawai’i (Bob Nash) and New Mexico State (Marvin Menzies).

- The Wolf Pack has made 44.7 percent of its three-point attempts in the last two games (17-38), including a season-high 53.3 percent from beyond the arc on Thursday at New Mexico State (8-15).

- True freshman Armon Johnson has scored at least 20 points in each of the last three games and has turned in four 20-point contests this season. He matched his career best with 23 points Jan. 17 vs. Idaho and has turned in 20 points in each of the last two games (Jan. 19 vs. Boise State and Thursday at New Mexico State). Johnson has turned in 17.3 points per game over the last seven contests (121 points).

- Sophomore Brandon Fields led the team with 21 points on Thursday, marking just the second time this season that he has led the team in scoring. He also paced the team with 17 points in the Dec. 12 victory over San Diego.

- Fields is averaging 12.4 points per game this season, up from 2.1 points per game last season (+10.3), while fellow sophomore JaVale McGee is averaging 12.7 points per contest, up from 3.3 ppg last season (+9.4).

- The Wolf Pack bench scored eight points Thursday at New Mexico State, led by junior Lyndale Burleson who had six, after getting just two points combined from its bench in the previous two games.

- 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), while his 92nd win Thursday at New Mexico State gave him sole possesion of fourth place on that list. Fox now holds a 92-25 record (.786 winning percentage) since becoming Nevada's head coach in 2004-05.

- The Wolf Pack ranks fourth in the WAC in free throw percentage at 71.2 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 85.9 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 ninth in the WAC at 76.5 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 34 of his last 36 free throw attempts. He has made all of his attempts in four of the last six games, including 4-of-4 Dec. 27 at top-ranked North Carolina, 6-of-6 Dec. 31 vs. Cal State Stanislaus, 8-of-8 Jan. 12 at Hawai’i and 4-of-4 Thursday at New Mexico State (he did not attempt any free throws at San Jose State). He has been perfect from the line in nine games this year.

- Including its 41-28 advantage over Idaho Jan. 17 vs. Idaho, the Wolf Pack has now outrebounded nine of its 18 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 third in rebounding margin (+3.7) 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 2-6 this year when getting outrebounded.

- After averaging 8.4 rebounds per game in the last 10 games (84 rebounds), sophomore JaVale McGee has jumped from ninth to the top three in the WAC with 7.8 rebounds per contest. After leading the WAC for several weeks, he now checks in at third, just behind Boise State’s Reggie Larry (9.1) and Matt Nelson (8.0). 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 11. 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 5.7 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 turning in 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting Jan. 19 vs. Boise State. He also added nine points and six rebounds Thursday at New Mexico 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 Jan. 17 vs. the Vandals. He is fifth on the team with 7.4 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 11-7). 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 51.4 percent of his points in the second halves of games this season (179-348). 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 a 19-6 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.

FOX FOURTH ON NEVADA CAREER WINS LIST
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 92-25 career record in his three-plus seasons at the helm of the Wolf Pack program (.786 winning percentage) and is already fourth in all-time wins at Nevada with 92. 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.

NEVADA’S WINNINGEST COACHES (by wins)
Name (Years) Career Record (Win. Pct.)
1.  Jake Lawlor (1942-43, 45-49) 201-159 (.558)
2.  Jack Spencer (1959-72) 123-199 (.382)
3.  Sonny Allen (1980-87) 114-89 (.562)
4.  Mark Fox (2004-pres.) 92-25 (.784)
5. Len Stevens (1987-93) 91-79 (.535)
6.  Pat Foster (1993-99) 90-81 (.526)

UP NEXT
Following Saturday’s game at Louisiana Tech, Nevada returns to Reno to take on Fresno State on Thursday, Jan. 31 and travels to Utah State on Saturday, Feb. 2