NEVADA WOLF PACK (0-0) at MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (0-0)
GAME #1
Sat., Nov. 15, 2008 - 7:05 p.m. MT (6:05 p.m. PT) - Worthington Arena (7,250) - Bozeman, Mont.
TELEVISION: None
RADIO: University of Nevada Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno)
Ryan Radtke (play-by-play), pregame show starts at 6:35 p.m. MT (5:35 p.m. PT)
SERIES HISTORY: Nevada leads the all-time series with Montana State 21-17.
LAST MEETING: Nevada won the last meeting between the two teams, turning in an 82-76 victory over Montana State on Dec. 8, 2007 in Reno.
The five-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada Wolf Pack officially opens the 2008-09 season on Saturday, Nov. 15, traveling to Bozeman, Mont., to take on Montana State. Saturday’s game at MSU’s Worthington Arena marks the regular-season opener for both the Wolf Pack and the Bobcats, and Nevada’s radio flagship ESPN 630 AM will carry the game with Ryan Radtke calling the action. The Wolf Pack hits the road for a pair of away contests to start the season for the second year in a row and looks to win its season opener for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Nevada has won four of its last five regular-season openers (3-1 under head coach Mark Fox) and 12 of the last 14 dating back to the 1994-95 season. After Saturday’s season opener at Montana State, the Wolf Pack continues its road trip, traveling to San Diego, Calif., to face 2008 NCAA Tournament participant San Diego on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Nevada will take on Oregon State in its home opener on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Lawlor Events Center.
Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Mark Fox, the Wolf Pack returns two starters and a total of seven letterwinners from last year’s 21-12 team, including the coaches’ preseason WAC Player of the Year Armon Johnson who started 32 of 33 games last season as a true freshman. This year’s team also features five new faces (a junior college transfer and four true freshmen). Last season, Nevada turned in its fifth consecutive year with at least 20 wins, won its fifth straight WAC regular-season title and earned the team’s six consecutive postseason appearance with an invitation to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.
NEVADA IN SEASON OPENERS
Nevada has won four of its last five regular-season openers and 12 of the last 14 dating back to the 1994-95 season. Last year, the Wolf Pack had its streak of four consecutive season-opening wins snapped with a 63-60 loss at Central Florida on Nov. 11, 2007. Prior to that, the Wolf Pack had had not opened the year with a loss since falling at San Diego 77-75 on Nov. 23, 2002 to start the 2002-03 campaign. The Wolf Pack holds a 52-43 all-time record in season openers, while fifth-year head coach Mark Fox is 3-1 in his first four season openers.
This year marks the second consecutive year that Nevada will open the season with a pair of road games. Last season, the Wolf Pack crisscrossed the country to open the year, traveling more than 5,800 miles with games at UCF (Nov. 11) and UC Irvine (Nov. 13). Last year also marked the first time since 2002 that Nevada opened the season on the road.
In 2006-07, Nevada turned in an 85-62 victory over Alaska-Anchorage on Nov. 10, 2006 at Lawlor Events Center. In 2005-06, Nevada started the year with an 82-74 win over Sacramento State on Nov. 19, 2005 at Lawlor Events Center, while the team downed Colorado-Colorado Springs 88-33 on Nov. 20, 2004 to give Fox his first win as a collegiate head coach.
ABOUT THE MONTANA STATE BOBCATS
Under the direction of third-year head coach Brad Huse (26-34 in two years at MSU), the Montana State Bobcats return one starter and four letterwinners from last year’s 15-15 team. Montana State finished in a tie for fourth in the Big Sky Conference last season with a 7-9 mark. The Bobcats opened the season with a pair of exhibition games, downing Minnesota State-Moorhead 92-83 on Nov. 1 and Mary 101-69 on Nov. 10.
Senior center Divaldo Mbunga (6-9, 250) is the team’s top returning scorer after ranking second on the squad with 12.0 points per game last season. He was also the team’s top rebounder one year ago with 5.5 boards per game. Sophomore guard Erik Rush (6-5, 210) led the Bobcats in scoring in each of their exhibition games with 21 points vs. MSU-Moorhead and 17 vs. Mary.
IN THE SERIES
Nevada holds a 21-17 advantage in the all-time series with Montana State, which dates back to the first meeting between the two teams in 1947-48. The Wolf Pack has won nine of the last 10 games in the series, including an 82-76 victory over the Bobcats on Dec. 8, 2007 in Reno. Nevada has also won four of the last five games played in Bozeman, Mont., although Montana State won the last meeting there with a 83-74 victory on Dec. 11, 2000.
The Wolf Pack holds a 149-105 record against the nine teams that currently make up the Big Sky Conference and spent 13 years from 1979-80 to 1991-92 as a member of that league. Nevada won a pair of regular-season conference championships (1983 & 1985) and two conference tournament titles (1984 &1985) as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Wolf Pack will take on another Big Sky team later this season when Idaho State visits Reno on Dec. 27.
Saturday’s game is the second in a two-for-one series between the Wolf Pack and the Bobcats. Montana State will return to Lawlor Events Center during the 2009-10 season.
ON THE ROAD
Nevada has won 27 of its last 42 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 22 road wins and five neutral-site victories (dating back to midway through the 2005-06 season). In 2006-07, 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 10 of its last 19 regular-season road contests and 21 of its last 31 and turned in a 7-9 road mark last season. In 2006-07, 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 four-plus seasons since the start of the 2004-05 campaign, the Wolf Pack has tallied a 38-16 record in road contests (.704 winning percentage). That includes a 26-8 record in WAC road games (.765).
EXHIBITION RECAP
Junior Joey Shaw scored 25 points in his Nevada debut to lead the Wolf Pack to an 89-67 victory over San Francisco State in exhibition play on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Lawlor Events Center.
Shaw, who originally started his career at Indiana and transferred to Nevada after one season at the College of Southern Idaho, made 5-of-10 attempts from the field and 13-of-14 from the free throw line to pace four Wolf Pack players in double figures.
True freshman Luke Babbitt added 16 points, sophomore Malik Cooke had 14 and junior Ray Kraemer added 12. Cooke led the Wolf Pack in rebounding with 10 boards for a double-double, while junior Richie Phillips and Shaw each added seven.
After San Francisco State took a 16-15 lead with 11:42 to play in the first half, Nevada scored the next seven points, including a pair of free throws and a three-pointer by Shaw, to go ahead 22-16 with 10:37 to play. The Wolf Pack took a 46-25 halftime lead when senior Lyndale Burleson hit a three-pointer with one second to go in the first half.
Cooke and Shaw each had 11 points in the first half to lead the Wolf Pack.
In the second half, San Francisco State cut Nevada’s advantage to nine points, 52-43, with 13:29 to play, but the Wolf Pack rebuilt a double-digit advantage and led by as many as 26 points in the second half.
WHO’S BACK
The Wolf Pack returns two starters and seven letterwinners from last year’s 21-12 team, including sophomore guard Armon Johnson. The 2008 WAC Freshman of the Year, Johnson started 32 of 33 games last season and finished fourth on the team with 11.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He also led the team and ranked sixth in the WAC with 3.4 assists per contest. Other returning letterwinners includer senior guard Lyndale Burleson, junior guards Brandon Fields and Ray Kraemer, junior forward Richie Phillips and sophomore forwards Malik Cooke and Adam Carp.
NEVADA NEWCOMERS
Nevada’s roster features five new faces in junior Joey Shaw and true freshmen Luke Babbitt, London Giles, Dario Hunt and Ahyaro Phillips. Shaw started his collegiate career at Indiana University and comes to Nevada after earning second-team all-conference honors at the College of Southern Idaho last season. Babbitt was named a McDonald's All-American honors at Reno's Galena High School last season, while Giles comes to Nevada from Kimball High School in Dallas, Texas, where he was named the offensive MVP of his district and a second-team all-area selection by the Dallas Morning News. Hunt earned all-league honors at Charis Prep School in Goldsboro, N.C., after averaging a double-double, while Phillips graduated from Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy where he averaged a double-double as a senior.
PACK PICKED TO WIN WAC BY COACHES AND MEDIA
Nevada has been picked to win the Western Athletic Conference in 2008-09 by the league’s coaches and media, while sophomore guard Armon Johnson, freshman forward Luke Babbitt and junior guard Brandon Fields garnered individual recognition.
The Wolf Pack received seven first-place votes and 63 points from the coaches, while in the media poll, Nevada received 255 points and 20 first-place votes.
Johnson was named the WAC Preseason Player of the Year by the league’s nine coaches, while Babbitt was the media’s pick for Preseason Newcomer of the Year. Johnson earned first-team preseason honors from both the media and the coaches, while Babbitt and Fields were second-team selections by the coaches.
WINNING AT LAWLOR
The Wolf Pack has won 37 of its last 41 contests at Lawlor Events Center, including 12 of its last 14 home games last season. Including a 13-3 mark in 2007-08, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 73-9 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.890 winning percentage). Nevada’s loss to California on Nov. 28, 2008 snapped the team’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. Prior to the Cal loss, Nevada had not dropped a home contest since falling to UNLV on Dec. 9, 2006.
Nevada also has won 20 of its last 21 WAC regular-season home games and 23 of its last 25 home games against WAC opponents counting the 2006 WAC Tournament. A Jan. 19, 2008 loss to Boise State snapped the Wolf Pack’s 14-game winning streak in WAC home games, including a perfect 8-0 mark in 2006-07 and a 2-0 mark to start the 2007-08 season (finished 7-1). That 14-game win streak had dated back to January of 2006.
NEVADA TOP WAC TEAM OVER LAST FIVE YEARS
Over the last five seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 127-39 record, the best record of any WAC team during that time (.765 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 68 games, the most in that same time period.
FIVE-TIME WAC CHAMPIONS
With a 12-4 mark in conference action, Nevada finished in a tie for first in the WAC in 2007-08, capturing a share of its fifth consecutive WAC regular-season championship. Nevada had captured sole possession of the WAC regular-season crown in each of the three previous seasons (2005, 06, 07) and shared the title with UTEP in 2004. In 2007, the Wolf Pack finished with a 14-2 record in conference play, while the team was 13-3 in 2006. Nevada won the regular-season crown with a WAC-record 16-2 conference mark in 2005, while in 2004, Nevada tied for first with a 13-5 record in WAC play.
NEVADA NOTCHES FIFTH STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASON
With its March 8, 2008 regular-season finale victory at Fresno State last year, Nevada notched its fifth consecutive season with at least 20 wins. It also marked the 10th 20-win season in school history and the fourth for Mark Fox, who is the only coach in school history to lead more than one team to at least 20 victories. In each of the previous four years, Nevada had won at least 25 games (25-9 in 2003-04, 25-7 in 2004-05, 27-6 in 2005-06 and a school-record 29-5 in 2006-07).
Nevada has also turned in a school-record seven consecutive winning seasons dating back to the 2001-02 campaign (three under former Pack head coach Trent Johnson and four under Fox). The previous long stretch was six from 1986-87 to 1991-92.
FOX RETURNS FOR FIFTH SEASON
Nevada head coach Mark Fox holds a 102-30 career record after four seasons at the helm of the Wolf Pack program (.773 winning percentage) and is already fourth in all-time wins at Nevada. He is the first coach in school history to lead his squad to four consecutive 20-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Nevada’s March 1, 2008 victory over Louisiana Tech gave Fox the 100th win of his career. He tied for 21st on the NCAA's list of fastest coaches to reach 100 wins (among coaches with at least half of their seasons at the Division I level). Duke's Vic Bubas also took 128 wins to reach the milestone, doing it in his fifth season (1964). Fox also became the fastest coach in school history to reach the 100-win plateau. It took Jake Lawlor, the winningest coach in school history, seven seasons (10th game into that season) and 168 games to hit that milestone, while Sonny Allen reached the mark in the first game of his seventh season (100 wins in 174 games). Nevada has seen three of its previous head coaches notch at least 100 wins, including Lawlor (201-159 career record), Allen (114-89) and Jack Spencer (123-199).
Fox’s 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 was 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. He was also one of 15 finalists for the 2007 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award and was named the 2007 National Association of Basketball Coaches District 13 Coach of the Year.
WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO RENO IN 2009 AND 2010
The University of Nevada has been selected to host the 2009 and 2010 Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournaments.
The university and the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority will play host to the tournaments at the 11,536-seat Lawlor Events Center. The 2009 tournament will be played March 10-14, and the 2010 tournament will run from March 9-13.
That will mark the third and fourth times that Nevada will serve as host to the WAC’s basketball tournaments with the event being held in Reno in 2005 and 2006. As a member of the Big West Conference, Nevada also served as the host of the conference tournament five years from 1996-2000.
UP NEXT
After its two-game road trip to Montana State and San Diego, the Wolf Pack will return home to Lawlor Events Center next week. Nevada will take on Oregon State on Saturday, Nov. 22 in its home opener and plays host to Pacific on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
