NEVADA WOLF PACK (8-7, 1-1 WAC) at LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS (7-9, 1-2)
GAME #16
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009 - 2 p.m. CT (12 p.m. PT) - Thomas Assembly Center (8,000) - Ruston, La.
TELEVISION: None
RADIO: University of Nevada Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno;
KELK 1240 AM, Elko; KHWG 750 AM, Fallon & KSVL 92.3 FM, Yerington)
Ryan Radtke (play-by-play), pregame show starts at 1:30 p.m. CT (11:30 a.m.PT)
SERIES HISTORY: Nevada leads the series with Louisiana Tech 12-3.
LAST MEETING: Nevada has won the last 11 meetings between the two teams, most recently turning in a 98-85 victory over La Tech on March 1, 2008 in Reno, Nev.
Following a 79-71 overtime win at New Mexico State on Thursday night, the five-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada Wolf Pack (8-7, 1-1 WAC) continues WAC play on the road, traveling to Louisiana Tech (7-9, 1-2) on Saturday, Jan. 10. Saturday’s game at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, La., will tip off at 2 p.m. Central Time (12 p.m. Pacific Time) and can be heard on Nevada’s radio flagship, ESPN 630 AM, and affiliates throughout the state with Ryan Radtke calling the action. Nevada picked up its first WAC win of the season on Thursday night in Las Cruces, N.M., and snapped its second two-game losing streak of the year. Winners of 27 of its last 35 WAC road games, the Wolf Pack heads to Louisiana Tech looking to extend an 11-game winning stretch in the series with the Bulldogs, including a streak of seven straight victories in Ruston. Following Saturday’s game at La Tech, Nevada returns home next week, starting a three-game homestand with Boise State on Thursday, Jan. 15.
Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Mark Fox, the Wolf Pack returned 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.
ON THE ROAD
Nevada has won 30 of its last 48 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 25 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 13 of its last 25 regular-season road contests and 24 of its last 37 and turned in a 7-9 road mark last season (3-3 this year). 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 five seasons since the start of the 2004-05 campaign, the Wolf Pack has tallied a 41-19 record in road contests (.683 winning percentage). That includes a 27-8 record in WAC road games (.771).
ABOUT THE LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS
Louisiana Tech brings a 7-9 overall mark and a 1-2 WAC record into Saturday’s game with Nevada. The Aggies split their first two WAC contests, turning in a 66-61 victory at San Jose State on Jan. 3 and a 65-64 loss at Hawai’i on Jan. 5, and dropped a 50-37 decision to Utah State on Thursday night in Ruston. Under the direction of second-year head coach Kerry Rupp (13-33 record at LTU), the Bulldogs returned three starters and four letterwinners from last year’s 6-24 team and added eight newcomers. La Tech finished ninth in the WAC last season with a 3-13 league mark.
Junior guard Kyle Gibson (6-5, 205) is leading four Bulldogs in double figures for scoring and tied for 10th in the WAC with 14.9 points per game. He also ranks second in the WAC in three-point shooting, knocking down 43.4 percent of his treys this year (33-76). Junior guard Jamel Guyton (6-3, 180), a transfer from Odessa College, is second on the team with 12.1 points per game, while Oklahoma State transfer and junior center Kenneth Cooper (6-10, 260) is adding 11.7 pgg. Junior forward Magnum Rolle (6-11, 225), who came to La Tech from LSU, is leading the team and tied for seventh in WAC with 6.8 rebounds per game, while Cooper is pulling down 6.7 boards per contest.
IN THE SERIES
Nevada leads the series with Louisiana Tech 12-3 and has won the last 11 meetings with the Bulldogs and 12 of the last 13. The Wolf Pack won both meetings between the two teams last season, turning in an 83-70 victory on Jan. 26 in Ruston and a 98-85 decision on March 1 in Reno. Nevada has also won the last seven road games in the series with Louisiana Tech and holds a 7-1 all-time advantage in games played in Ruston.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Armon Johnson scored six of his 20 points in overtime and freshman Luke Babbitt added four of his career-high 22 in the extra period as Nevada beat New Mexico State 79-71 Thursday night at the Pan American Center
The Wolf Pack rallied to force overtime in the final 15 seconds and pick up its first WAC win of the year.
Babbitt made one free throw and his missed second foul shot was rebounded by teammate and senior Lyndale Burleson and sophomore Malik Cook's tip-in with 12 seconds left tied the score at 67.
Babbitt's two free throws with 2:18 remainig in overtime put Nevada ahead to stay at 71-69. Johnson hit a jumper with 1:44 left and he made two foul shots with 37 seconds showing for a 75-69 lead.
Two free throws apiece by Babbitt and Johnson capped the Wolf Pack's 10-0 run for a 79-69 bulge with 13 seconds left.
Babbitt's 22 points tied his career high and he matched his career best with 12 rebounds for his second double-double. Junior Joe Shaw finished with 13 points for Nevada, while Cooke and Shaw matched their career bests with 10 and eight rebounds, respectively.
New Mexico State was led by Troy Gillenwater's career-high 22 points. Jonathan Gibson had 18 points for the Aggies.
The Aggies took a 40-31 halftime lead. The game was tied eight times and saw eight lead changes.
BABBITT OPENS ROOKIE CAMPAIGN STRONG
Freshman Luke Babbitt has opened his first season in the Silver and Blue in strong fashion, leading the team in scoring and rebounding. With a career-high 22 points Dec. 31 vs. North Carolina and 22 again Thursday at New Mexico State, he regained the team scoring lead. He is averaging 15.2 points per game and stands just ahead of sophomore Armon Johnson (14.9 ppg). The McDonald’s High School All-American ranks eighth in the WAC and ninth among the nation’s freshmen in scoring. He has turned four 20-point games this season, surpassing a pair of 20-point efforts (at Montana State and vs. Oregon State) with his efforts against North Carolina and New Mexico State, and has led the team in scoring in eight of 15 games, including three of the last four. He has been in double figures for scoring in all but two contests this year.
Babbitt also checks in at fifth in the WAC with 7.2 rebounds per contest. He has led the Wolf Pack in rebounding seven times this season, most recently matching his career high with 12 boards Thursday at New Mexico State. He turned in his first career double-double in his collegiate debut, tallying 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds Nov. 15 at Montana State, and notched his second with 22 points and 12 boards Thursday at NMSU.
Babbitt has a chance to become the first Wolf Pack freshman to lead the team in scoring since Terrance Green paced the squad with 13.9 points per game in 1999-2000. He could also become the first freshman to pace the Wolf Pack in rebounding since Nick Fazekas averaged 7.6 boards per game in 2003-04. Since 1972-73, Nevada has never had a freshman lead the team in both categories, while the Wolf Pack has had just two rookies lead the team in scoring (Green & Edgar Jones in 1975-75) and two pace the squad in rebounding (Fazekas and Pete Padgett in 1972-73) in that span.
NATION’S TOP FRESHMEN SCORERS IN 2008-09
Name, School PPG
1. Seth Curry, Liberty 19.9
2. Sylven Landesberg, Virginia 18.3
3. Mike Rosario, Rutgers 17.6
4. Tyreke Evans, Memphis 16.5
5. Willie Warren, Oklahoma 16.2
6. Keith Gabriel, VMI 15.9
7. Afam Muojeke, Wyoming 15.3
Paul George, Fresno State 15.3
9. Luke Babbitt, Nevada 15.2
10. Courtney Fortson, Arkansas 15.1
11. Alex Young, IUPUI 14.3
12. Samardo Samuels, Louisville 13.5
JOHNSON TURNS IT ON
Sophomore Armon Johnson is now second on the team and ninth in the WAC with 14.9 points per contest. The preseason WAC Player of the Year has paced the team in scoring four times this year, including a career-high 33 points on Dec. 20 at California, 21 points Dec. 6 vs. UNLV and a then career high-tying 23 Dec. 2 at Colorado State. In the last 10 games, Johnson has turned in 17.4 points per game (174 points).
Johnson has had a knack for big second halves this year, including 27 of his career-high 33 points in the second half at Cal and 14 of 20 in the second half and overtime Thursday at New Mexico State. Against the Bears, he scored Nevada's first seven points of the half and 13 of its last 15 in the game. Johnson also scored 13 of his points in the second half Dec. 31 vs. top-ranked North Carolina, 14 of his 23 points in the second half Dec. 2 at Colorado State and 14 of 16 in the final 20 minutes Dec. 14 vs. Southern Illinois.
Johnson is also leading the team in assists for the second year in a row. He ranks sixth in the WAC with 3.9, assists per game this year and is fifth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.79, 59 assists and just 33 turnovers). He turned in seven assists with no turnovers in the Dec. 17 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and has had just one turnover in six other games this season. He dished out a career-high 11 assists in the Nov. 22 win over Oregon State. He also added 11 points vs. the Beavers for his first career double-double and the Wolf Pack’s first points-assists double-double since Ramon Sessions had 11 points and 10 assists in an 84-66 victory over Boise State on Jan. 15, 2005.
SUCCESS AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Nevada ranks third in the WAC and 40th in the nation in free throw percentage this season, knocking down 72.8 percent of its attempts from the line (270-371). Nevada made a season-high 87.5 percent of its free throws in its Dec. 14 win over Southern Illinois (21-24), besting its previous high of 87.1 percent Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State (27-31).
Freshman Luke Babbitt is shooting 82.2 percent from the line (60-73) to tie for third in the WAC, including all eight of his attempts Dec. 14 vs. Southern Illinois and Dec. 27 vs. Idaho State. Junior Ray Kraemer has made 17-of-18 of his free throw attempts on the year (.944) and would lead the WAC, while junior Joey Shaw is shooting 82.4 percent (28-34) which would rank third, but both players fall short of the league’s 2.0 minimum per game. Sophomore Armon Johnson checks in at 10th in the WAC at 74.7 percent (56-75).
WIPING THE GLASS
The Wolf Pack has outrebounded each of its last four opponents, including a 51-43 advantage over New Mexico State on Thursday, and is now 5-3 on the year when outrebounding its opponents. Nevada was down 27-17 in the rebounding battle at the half but outboarded the Aggies 34-16 in the final 25 minutes. The 51 rebounds were one shy of the team's season high of 52 Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State. In addition to a team-leading and career high-tying 12 rebounds from freshman Luke Babbitt, sophomore Malik Cooke and junior Joey Shaw each tied their career bests with 10 and eight rebounds, respectively, Thursday vs. the Aggies.
Freshman Luke Babbitt is the team’s top rebounder, checking in at fifth in the WAC with 7.2 boards per game. He has pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds twice this year (at Montana State and at New Mexico State). Sophomore Malik Cooke ranks second on the team and 11th in the WAC with 6.1 rebounds per contest, while Cooke is Nevada’s best offensive rebounder this season, checking in at second in the WAC with 3.07 offensive rebounds per game this year. Cooke has matched his career best with 10 rebounds twice this year, most recently Thursday at New Mexico State (five offensive boards).
GETTING DEFENSIVE
As a team, Nevada ranks fifth in the WAC in scoring defense, allowing its opponents 65.7 points per game. Including three games this year (3-0 record), Nevada has won 55 of its last 57 games when holding its opponent to 60 points or less, including a 13-1 record in 2005-06, a 6-1 mark in 2006-07 and a 6-0 record in 2007-08.
Nevada held Sonoma State to a season-low 39 points on Dec. 9, while Southern Illinois came into its Dec. 14 game with the Wolf Pack ranked 14th in the nation in three-point percentage at 42.1 percent but was held to just 26.7 percent (4-15). New Mexico State came into Thursday’s game ranked first in the WAC and seventh in the nation in three-point shooting at 41.0 percent but was held to just 12.5 percent by the Wolf Pack (1-8).
WOLF PACK NEWS & NOTES
- Freshman Dario Hunt blocked a career-best five shots in Thursday’s win at New Mexico State, besting his previous mark of four Dec. 31 vs. then top-ranked North Carolina. He is leading the WAC with 1.93 blocks per game. He has blocked at least one shot in 12 of 15 games this year, including 10 with two or more.
- The Wolf Pack overcame a 40-31 halftime deficit on Thursday at New Mexico State and improved to 2-5 on the year when trailing at the half.
- Nevada is getting 65.1 percent of its scoring (685 points) and 62.2 percent of its rebounding (349 rebounds) from its freshmen and sophomores this season.
- The Wolf Pack bench is averaging 22.5 points per game this season (337 points), and Nevada holds a 6-3 record when its bench outscores its opponent’s. In the last eight games, the reserves have turned in 27.4 points per contest (219). Juniors Brandon Fields and Joey Shaw are Nevada’s leading scorers off the bench this year, averaging 8.8 and 8.6 points per game to rank fourth and fifth on the team, respectively. Nevada got a season-high 48 points from its bench in its Dec. 17 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, including 21 points from Fields, nine from Shaw and a career-best eight from freshman London Giles.
- Junior Brandon Fields led the team in scoring with 19 points in its Jan. 3 loss to Idaho, marking the second time this season that he has paced the team after doing so three times last year. He scored a game- and season-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line Dec. 17 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Fields also added a team-best eight rebounds, his season best and just one board off his career high, and had two assists and a season-high two steals vs. the Golden Lions. Fields has turned in 12.2 points per game in the last six contests (73) - including 12 Dec. 27 vs. Idaho State - up from his average of 8.8 points per game this season (fourth on the team).
- Sophomore Malik Cooke added a career-high 17 points Jan. 3 vs. the Vandals, the second time in three games that he had turned in a career best in scoring. He had a then career-high 15 points Dec. 27 against Idaho State and followed that up with 13 points Dec. 31 vs. North Carolina. Cooke made 6-of-10 attempts from the field, matching his career high with two three-pointers made, and went 3-of-3 from the free throw line in vs. the Vandals. With 12.8 points per game in the last four contests (51 points), he has moved into third on the team in scoring with 9.7 points per contest.
- Cooke set a career best with six steals Dec. 6 vs. UNLV and ranks third in the WAC with 1.67 steals per game, while sophomore Armon Johnson is tied for eighth in the league with 1.27 thefts per contest. The Wolf Pack turned in a season-high 12 steals in its Nov. 22 win over Oregon State with four by junior Joey Shaw and three apiece by freshman Luke Babbitt and Cooke, and matched that with 12 in the Dec. 17 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Cooke also added four steals Dec. 31 vs. No. 1 North Carolina. As a team, Nevada leads the WAC with 7.67 steals per contest.
- Nevada has had some up and down shooting nights this season and is now shooting 41.5 percent on the year. Nevada made a season-high 53.4 percent of its attempts from the field Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State, besting its previous high of 51.7 percent from the field Dec. 2 at Colorado State. Nevada also turned in a season high from three-point land vs. Sonoma State (.500, 6-12).
- All 12 players scored for Nevada en route to the team’s season-high 95 points Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State, led by freshman Luke Babbitt who had 16 on 6-of-10 shooting. Nevada also notched season bests for field goal percentage (.534), field goals made (31), three-point percentage (.500), free throws made (27) and attempted (31), free throw percentage (.871, 27-31 - since broken), rebounds (52), assists (24) and blocked shots (12) vs. the Seawolves.
- The Wolf Pack opened the year with a 2-3 record for the second consecutive season (now 8-7). Last year, Nevada turned in a 2-4 mark to start the year but won its next five games and finished the season with a 21-10 mark and a share of its fifth consecutive WAC regular-season championship. In 2003-04, Nevada also opened the year with a 2-3 mark. That year, the Wolf Pack opened the season with a win over Vermont before falling at then top-ranked Connecticut (both in the Preseason NIT). Nevada then turned in a 74-62 win at UNLV and dropped games at Portland and Pacific before reeling off wins in its next five games and seven of its next eight. The Wolf Pack finished with a 25-9 record that season, winning its first of four WAC regular-season championships and making the first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history.
NEVADA TOP WAC TEAM OVER LAST FIVE YEARS
Over the last five seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 135-46 record, the most wins of any WAC team during that time (.746 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 69 games, the most in that same time period.
FOX RETURNS FOR FIFTH SEASON
Nevada head coach Mark Fox holds a 110-37 career record in his five seasons at the helm of the Wolf Pack program (.748 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.
UP NEXT
After Saturday’s game at Louisiana Tech, Nevada returns to Lawlor Events Center for a three-game homestand, starting with Boise State on Thursday, Jan. 15.
