NEVADA WOLF PACK (13-7, 5-2 WAC) vs. UTAH STATE AGGIES (15-6, 5-1 WAC)
GAME NO. 21
Feb. 2, 2008 - 7:05 p.m. MT (6:05 p.m. PT) - Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270) - Logan, Utah
TELEVISION: KAME-TV 21 (live)/Comcast Sports Net West (tape delay on Feb. 3)
Randy Rosenbloom (play-by-play) & Dave Bollwinkel (color)
RADIO: Wolf Pack Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno)
Don Marchand (play-by-play)
Pregame, 6:35 p.m. MT (5:35 p.m. PT)
SERIES HISTORY: Utah State leads the all-time series 24-11.
LAST MEETING: Utah State has won the last two meetings between the two teams, most recently turning in a 79-77 victory on March 9 in the semifinals of the 2007 WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M.
Coming off a 79-67 home victory over Fresno State on Thursday, the four-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada Wolf Pack (13-7, 5-2 WAC) heads to Logan, Utah, Saturday to take on the WAC’s first-place Utah State Aggies (15-6, 5-1). Saturday’s game at Utah State’s Dee Glen Smith Spectrum will tip off at 7:05 p.m. Mountain Time (6:05 p.m. Pacific Time) and will be televised locally by KAME-TV 21, the television home of Wolf Pack Athletics. Third in the WAC standings with a 5-2 mark, Nevada has won three consecutive WAC games and 11 of its last 14 games overall. Thursday’s game was Nevada’s only home contest in a stretch of three of four road games including last week’s trip to New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech, while the Wolf Pack has won its last three WAC road contests. Following Saturday’s game at Utah State, Nevada returns home to take on San Jose State on Thursday, Feb. 7 and Hawai’i on Saturday, Feb. 9. Next week’s contest with the Spartans begins a stretch of five games in10 days for Nevada.
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.
NEVADA TOP WAC TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS
Over the last four-plus seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 119-34 record, the best record of any WAC team during that time (.777 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 61 games, the most in that same time period.
ROAD WARRIORS
Nevada has won 24 of its last 35 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 20 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 eight of its last 14 regular-season road contests and 19 of its last 26 and holds a 5-5 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 36-12 record in road contests (.750 winning percentage). That includes a 24-5 record in WAC road games (.828).
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 10 road contests and 25,075 miles traveled this season, including trips to UCF, Northern Iowa, North Carolina, Hawai’i, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech. This week’s 1,194-mile roundtrip jaunt to Utah State marks the team’s 11th road game of the year and will bring its total of miles traveled to 26,269.
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.
ABOUT THE UTAH STATE AGGIES
Utah State has turned in a 15-6 record this season and is leading the WAC with a 5-1 league mark this season. Under the direction of 10th-year head coach Stew Morrill (228-81 record at USU), the Aggies saw their 10-game winning streak snapped last week with a 100-70 loss at New Mexico State on Jan. 26. Utah State has turned in a perfect 12-0 record at home this season, while last week's road trip to La Tech and NMSU marked the team's first road games in over a month, since Dec. 8. Utah State returned three starters and four letterwinners from last year's 23-12 team that finished fourth in the WAC with a 9-7 mark.
Senior guard Jaycee Carroll (6-2, 175), the preseason WAC Player of the Year, leads the conference in scoring at 21.1 points per game. He also paces the WAC in three-point and free throw shooting, making 51.2 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc (66-129) and 92.9 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe (79-85). Junior forward Gary Wilkinson (6-9, 204), a transfer from Salt Lake Community College, is second on the team and 14th in the WAC with 12.6 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder at 6.2 boards per contest (eighth in the WAC). Carroll is second on the team and ninth in the league with an average of 6.2 rebounds per game.
IN THE SERIES
Utah State holds a 24-11 advantage in the all-time series between the two former members of the Big West Conference. The Aggies have won the last two meetings between the teams, including a 79-77 victory on March 9 in the semifinals of the 2007 WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M. Those two losses snapped Nevada's three-game winning streak in the series. Saturday marks this season's first meeting between Nevada and Utah State after the originally scheduled first meeting on Jan. 5 was postponed due to winter storms in Reno. The two teams will play again in Reno on Monday, Feb. 11. Utah State has won eight of the last nine meetings at its own Dee Glen Smith Spectrum with the lone Nevada road win in that stretch coming in the form of a 75-57 victory on Feb. 25, 2006 in Logan. That 2006 win snapped Nevada's seven-game losing streak in Logan, Utah.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior Marcelus Kemp scored 28 points to lead Nevada to a 79-67 victory over Fresno State on Thursday night.
Sophomore Brandon Fields added 17 points and sophomore JaVale McGee scored 15 with a team-high six rebounds and two blocked shots as the Wolf Pack earned its first three-game winning streak in Western Athletic Conference play this season. Nevada has won 32 of its last 35 games at Lawlor Events Center.
Kevin Bell scored 22 points to lead Fresno State. Eddie Miller added 17 for the Bulldogs, and Brandon Webster scored 11 with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Fresno State pulled within eight points twice in the second half. Bell scored in the lane with 7:30 to play to cut Nevada's lead to 64-56, and Nedeljko Golubovic scored inside to cut the deficit to 66-58 with 6:50 to go.
Kemp, though, scored on a jumper off the glass and sophomore Richie Phillips put back an offensive rebound after a Kemp miss, and Nevada stretched its lead to 72-58 with four minutes to play.
Nevada, which has won 11 of its last 14 games, jumped out to a 44-28 halftime lead.
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 19.4 points per game (52nd in the NCAA). He has turned in at least 20 points in eight of the last 16 games, including a season-high 29 Jan. 12 at Hawai’i and 28 Thursday vs. Fresno 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 12 of 20 games this season, including 10 of the last 16. 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 10th in the WAC with 39 three-pointers made this year (1.95 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 196 three-pointers made. He stands just 13 three-pointers behind Nevada’s career leader in the category, Terrance Green (209 treys, 1999-2003).
With his 28 points Thursday vs. Fresno State, Kemp turned in his 30th consecutive game in double figures for scoring (all 20 this year) and the 82nd 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 61 of the last 63 games. With 1,667 career points, he has moved into fourth place on the Nevada career scoring list. On Thursday, he moved past both Pete Padgett (1,642 points, 1972-76) and Terrance Green (1,646 points, 1999-03) on the all-time scoring list and now needs 64 points to catch Alex Boyd (1,731 points, 1967-70) for third place on the list.
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 3.00 blocks per game, 1.52 blocks per game ahead of New Mexico State’s Martin Iti (1.48), and is 10th 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 nine games (North Carolina, Cal State Stanislaus, Idaho, NMSU). McGee has blocked at least one shot in 19 of 20 games this season (15 with two or more). With 90 career blocks in just 54 games (1.67 per game), McGee has already climbed into sixth on the Nevada career list, moving past Kevinn Pinkney (2001-05, 89 in 110 games) for that spot. McGee has also already moved into second on the Nevada single-season list with 60 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 10th in the nation with an average of 6.40 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 1.15 blocks per game, including a career-high six swats in the Dec. 19 victory over Colorado State.
LIGHTING IT UP
Nevada scored a season-high 104 points in its Dec. 31 victory over Cal State Stanislaus and has turned in 10 of its highest scoring outputs of the year in its last 14 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 Jan. 24 at New Mexico State, the Wolf Pack scored 87 points, its second-highest scoring output of the year, while its 83-70 win Jan. 26 at Louisiana Tech was the team’s sixth 80-point effort of the season.
After averaging 67.5 points in the first six contests of the year, the Wolf Pack has averaged 77.3 points per game in its last 14 (1082 points), including 87 points Jan. 24 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 74.3 points per game.
FINDING THEIR TOUCH
Nevada has shot the ball well recently, making 48.6 percent of its attempts from the field in its last 14 outings (382-783). The team has turned in eight 50-percent shooting efforts this season, including each of its last three games, and holds an 8-0 mark in those contests, most recently knocking down 50.9 percent of its attempts Thursday vs. Fresno State (29-57), a season-high 61.2 percent of its attempts Jan. 26 at Louisiana Tech (30-49), 56.4 percent Jan. 26 at New Mexico State (31-55). Nevada has also turned in its two best three-point nights of the year in the last three games, including a season-high 61.5 percent Thursday vs. the Bulldogs (8-13) and 53.3 percent of its attempts (8-15) Jan. 24 at New Mexico State. Prior to the last 14 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 (47.6 percent).
After leading the WAC and ranking 10th in the nation in three-point shooting at 40.6 percent last year, the Wolf Pack struggled to find its touch from beyond the arc early this season. However, Nevada has now moved into fourth in the WAC at 34.9 percent from three-point land this season (111-318). 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 at NMSU. The team has made at least seven three-pointers in nine of its last 16 games (Pacific, Montana State, San Diego, UCF, Hawai’i and Fresno State 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 52nd in the nation at 19.4 points per game. Kemp has led the team in scoring in 12 of 20 games this year, including 10 of the last 16. Sophomore JaVale McGee is second on the team and 13th in the WAC with 12.8 points per game, while sophomore Brandon Fields (14th in the WAC) and freshman Armon Johnson trail just behind at 12.5 and 12.3 points per contest, respectively. McGee scored a career-high 20 Nov. 19 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 nine games this year (UC Irvine, Montana State, UCF, Hawai’i, Idaho, Boise State, NMSU and La Tech).
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. On Jan. 26 at Louisiana Tech, senior David Ellis scored a career-best 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting to lead the team and pace a 31-point effort from the Wolf Pack bench.
FIELDS FROM DOWNTOWN
The Dec. 17 WAC Player of the Week, sophomore Brandon Fields is leading the team in three-point percentage at 39.5 percent (34-86). He is second on the team with 34 three-pointers made this year, five behind senior Marcelus Kemp. Fields has knocked down at least one three-pointer in 17 of 20 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 Jan. 24 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). He added another 17 points Thursday vs. Fresno State.
PACK NEWS & NOTES
- The Wolf Pack has shot 55.9 percent from the field in its last three games (all wins). The team ranks third in the WAC in field goal percentage, shooting 47.6 percent, and is holding its opponents to a league-best 42.1 percent.
- The team has also topped the 80-point mark in three of its last four games and is 6-1 this year when scoring 80 or more points. Nevada just missed its fourth game with 80 points or more with 79 scored Thursday against the Bulldogs.
- Sophomore Ray Kraemer scored a career-best seven points last week at Louisiana Tech and added six Thursday night vs. Fresno State, knocking down a pair of three-pointers.
- True freshman Armon Johnson has scored at least 20 points in three of the last five games and has turned in four 20-point contests this season. He matched his career best with 23 points Jan. 17 vs. Idaho and turned in 20 points Jan. 19 vs. Boise State and Jan. 24 at New Mexico State. Johnson has turned in 15.3 points per game over the last nine contests (138 points), up from his season average of 12.3 ppg.
- Johnson also matched his career high with six assists Thursday vs. Fresno State. He turned in just one turnover in the game. That marked the third time this year that he has turned in six assists. Johnson is leading the team with 3.25 assists per game.
- Sophomore Brandon Fields led the team with 21 points Jan. 24 at New Mexico State, 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 12.5 points per game this season, up from 2.1 points per game last season (+10.4), while fellow sophomore JaVale McGee is averaging 12.8 points per contest, up from 3.3 ppg last season (+9.5).
- 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 Jan. 24 at New Mexico State gave him sole possesion of fourth place on that list. Fox now holds a 94-25 record (.790 winning percentage) since becoming Nevada's head coach in 2004-05.
- Nevada has faced six first-year head coaches this season and has turned in a 6-0 mark, downing Santa Clara (Kerry Keating), San Diego (Bill Grier), Colorado State (Tim Miles), Hawai’i (Bob Nash), New Mexico State (Marvin Menzies) and Louisiana Tech (Kerry Rupp).
- The Wolf Pack ranks fourth in the WAC in free throw percentage at 70.4 percent and shot a season-high 85.7 percent from the charity stripe Jan. 12 at Hawai’i (18-21). Senior Marcelus Kemp is second in the WAC and 29th in the NCAA at 87.1 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 10th in the WAC at 77.0 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 43 of his last 45 free throw attempts. He has made all of his attempts in six of the last eight 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, 4-of-4 at New Mexico State and at La Tech and 5-of-5 Jan. 31 vs. Fresno State (he did not attempt any free throws at San Jose State). He has been perfect from the line in 11 games this year.
- Including its 37-25 advantage over Louisiana Tech on Jan. 26, the Wolf Pack has now outrebounded 10 of its 20 opponents this season (9-1 record in those games) and tied one other. Nevada has climbed to second in the WAC in rebounding offense (37.5 rpg) and 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 3-6 this year when getting outrebounded.
- After averaging 7.8 rebounds per game in the last 12 games (94 rebounds), sophomore JaVale McGee has jumped from ninth to the top four in the WAC with 7.6 rebounds per contest. After leading the WAC for several weeks, he now checks in at fourth. 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 13 games this season, including nine of the last 13. Most recently, he led the team with six rebounds Jan. 19 vs. Boise State and again Jan. 31 vs. Fresno 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 has made his return to the starting lineup 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 Jan. 24 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 7.3 points per game and third at 4.7 rebounds per contest.
- Nevada opened the year with a 2-4 record for the first time since the 2002-03 season (now 13-7). 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.
- 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.
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 final luncheon will take place on Monday, Feb. 4. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and the cost is $13 per person at the door.
The luncheons 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 Utah State, Nevada returns to Reno to begin the second half of its WAC schedule, playing host to San Jose State on Thursday, Feb. 7 and Hawai’i on Saturday, Feb. 9. The game with San Jose State begins a stretch of five games in 10 days for the Wolf Pack.
