NEVADA WOLF PACK (2-2) at #11/12 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (5-1)
GAME #5
Sun., Nov. 29, 2009 - 6:38 p.m. ET (3:38 p.m. PT) - Dean Smith Center (21,750) - Chapel Hill, N.C.
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net
Tim Brando (play-by-play) & Mike Gminski (color)
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 6:15 p.m. ET (3:15 p.m. PT)
SERIES HISTORY: North Carolina leads the all-time series with Nevada 4-0.
LAST MEETING: Then top-ranked North Carolina won the last meeting between the two teams, turning in an 84-61 victory over Nevada on Dec. 31, 2008 in Reno.
Coming off an 85-76 loss at VCU on Friday night, the Nevada Wolf Pack (2-2) plays the second of three consecutive road games Sunday, traveling to No. 11/12 North Carolina. Sunday's game at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., tips off at 6:38 p.m. Eastern Time (3:38 p.m. Pacific Time) and will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net. It can also be heard on Nevada's flagship radio station, ESPN 630 AM, with Ryan Radtke calling the action. Nevada heads to Chapel Hill looking for its first road win of the year and is in the middle of a stretch of four of five games away from home. The Carolina game also ends a two-for-one series between the Tar Heels and the Wolf Pack. Following Sunday's game, the Wolf Pack wraps up its three-game, 5,731-mile road trip with a game at Pacific on Saturday, Dec. 5. Nevada then returns home for a season-long four-game homestand, starting with Fresno Pacific on Dec. 8.
Under the direction of first-year head coach David Carter, the Wolf Pack returns three starters and a total of eight letterwinners from last year's 21-13 team, including the preseason WAC Player of the Year in sophomore forward Luke Babbitt who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season as a true freshman and preseason first-team All-WAC selection junior guard Armon Johnson who was second on the team in scoring and paced the Wolf Pack in assists last year. This season's team also features three seniors in guards Brandon Fields and Ray Kraemer and forward Joey Shaw as well as five new faces. Last season, Nevada turned in its sixth consecutive year with at least 20 wins and earned the team's seventh consecutive postseason appearance with an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational.
ROAD WARRIORS
Nevada is in the middle of a stretch of four of five games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center. The stretch started with a loss at UNLV on Nov. 18 and will include three consecutive road games, starting with Friday's loss at VCU. During its current three-game road stretch, Nevada will rack up 5,731 travel miles. The Wolf Pack traveled 2,661 miles from Reno to Richmond, Va., to take on VCU on Friday, Nov. 27 and then bused 165 miles to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on North Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 29. Then Nevada will fly the 2,639 miles from North Carolina back to Reno before making the 266-mile round trip bus ride to Pacific on Saturday, Dec. 5.
ON THE ROAD
Nevada has won 35 of its last 57 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 30 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 18 of its last 34 regular-season road contests and 29 of its last 45. Nevada turned in an 8-5 road mark last season (6-2 in WAC play) and is 0-2 so far this 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 six seasons since the start of the 2004-05 campaign, the Wolf Pack has tallied a 46-23 record in road contests (.667 winning percentage). That includes a 32-10 record in WAC road games (.762).
ABOUT THE NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS
Under the direction of seventh-year head coach Roy Williams (181-38 record in six-plus years at UNC), the North Carolina Tar Heels returned one starter and eight letterwinners from last year's 34-4 NCAA championship team. The Tar Heels won the ACC regular-season title one year ago with a 13-3 league mark, their 27th conference championship, and went on to win their fifth national title. North Carolina, which is ranked 11th and 12th in the latest national polls, has turned in a 5-1 record so far this season. After the team opened the season with four straight wins, the Tar Heels dropped a 87-71 decision to Syracuse on Nov. 20 before rebounding with a 93-72 victory over Gardner-Webb on Nov. 23.
Senior forward Deon Thompson is leading four North Carolina players in double figures for scoring at 16.8 points per game this year. He and sophomore forward Ed Davis share the team lead in rebounding with 9.0 boards per game apiece. Davis is second on the squad with 12.2 points per game, while senior forward/guard Marcus Ginyard is third for UNC with 11.7 points per contest. Ginyard returned this season after missing all but three games last year due to injury. As a team, Carolina is averaging 84.3 points (+13.8 advantage) and 42.8 rebounds (+12.5) per game and shooting 52.4 percent from the field.
IN THE SERIES
North Carolina holds a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series with Nevada (2-0 in Chapel Hill), while this year's game marks the end of a two-for-one series between the Wolf Pack and the Tar Heels. Last year, then No. 1 UNC turned in an 84-61 victory over Nevada on Dec. 31, 2008 in Reno, while the Tar Heels earned a 106-70 win over the Wolf Pack on Dec. 27, 2007 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Wolf Pack holds a 1-10 all-time record against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Prior to the current series with North Carolina, the last ACC opponent Nevada faced was eventual NCAA runner-up Georgia Tech in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. The Wolf Pack fell to the Hornets 72-67 on March 26, 2004 in St. Louis, Mo., ending Nevada's magical run to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen that year.
BABBITT PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF LAST YEAR
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt has just picked up where he left off last season, leading the Wolf Pack with double-doubles in each of the last three games, including 27 points (a season high for Babbitt and the team) and 13 rebounds in Friday's loss at VCU for his ninth career double-double. Babbitt scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half Friday against the Rams, making 10-of-14 field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes. He also turned in 14 points and 10 rebounds Nov. 18 at UNLV and had 14 points and a career-best 17 rebounds Nov. 21 vs. Houston. The Nevada southpaw opened the year with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting in the team's Nov. 14 win over Montana State.
Babbitt has had 13 career games with at least 20 points (including two this year) and has led the team in scoring 17 times in his young career (15 times last year and two this season). He has scored in double figures in 35 of 38 career games at Nevada, including all four contests this year. The preseason WAC Player of the Year, Babbitt has been named to the preseason watch lists for the 2009-10 John R. Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. Both awards are annually presented to the top player in college basketball.
Babbitt, a 6-9, 225-pound forward from Reno, Nev., was named the 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year last season after leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.9 points and 7.4 boards per game. An all-district selection by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association, he ranked second among the nation's freshmen in scoring behind just Liberty's Seth Curry who averaged 20.2 points per game last year. Babbitt finished third in the WAC in scoring and rebounding and led the league in free throw shooting. Babbitt also set nearly every Wolf Pack freshman single-season record, including scoring with 573 total points.
The Naismith watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2009-10 college basketball season. In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the Top 30 players in the nation. In March, the voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists, while the Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2010 NCAA Men's Final Four in Indianapolis, Ind.
In late December, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed in March by the National Ballot, consisting of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round during the NCAA Tournament. The 34th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Wooden Award winners, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 9-11, 2010.
This year marks the fourth time in five seasons that Nevada has had a player on the preseason list for the Wooden Award with Marcelus Kemp making the list in 2007-08 and Nick Fazekas in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Fazekas was named to the final ballot for the Wooden Award in each of those years and in 2006-07, he was named one of 10 Wooden Award All-Americans and finished eighth in the final voting for the award.
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
Nevada's 112 points in its Nov. 21 win over Houston marked the most for the Wolf Pack since the team turned in a 117-88 win over Northwestern State on Dec. 19, 1991. The team's 61 points in the first half also mark the most points in a half since Nevada scored what is believed to be a school-record 71 points in the second half of a 117-88 win over Northwestern State on Dec. 19, 1991.
Nevada is leading the WAC in scoring offense this season at 84.5 points per game. Four Wolf Pack players are averaging in double figures for scoring this season, and Nevada has three players ranked in the WAC's top 10, including sophomore Luke Babbitt who is leading the league at 20.3 points per game, senior Brandon Fields who is sixth at 18.3 points per game and senior Joey Shaw and junior Armon Johnson who are tied for 14th at 15.0 points per contest apiece.
The Wolf Pack has had at least four players in double figures for scoring in all four of its games this year, including the Nov. 21 win over Houston where five Wolf Pack players reached double figures, including Shaw who led the team with a career-best 26 points. Fields added 24, while Johnson had 22 and Kraemer scored a career-best 19 in that contest, which also marked the first time that Nevada had three players score at least 20 points in the same game since the Wolf Pack turned in an 85-72 win at Idaho on Feb. 16, 2008. Marcelus Kemp scored 32 in that game, while Fields had 21 and JaVale McGee added 20. On Friday at VCU, Babbitt led the Wolf Pack with a season-high 27 points, while Shaw (14), Fields (13) and sophomore Dario Hunt (10) also reached double figures.
The Wolf Pack has had three different players lead the team in scoring in its first four games this year. Sophomore Luke Babbitt paced the team with 26 points in the season-opening win over Montana State and had a season-high 27 in Friday's loss at VCU, Fields had 22 in a Nov. 18 loss at UNLV and Shaw turned in his career-best 26 in the Nov. 14 win over Houston.
SHOOTING TOUCH
Despite having its poorest shooting performance of the year Friday at VCU (35.4 percent overall and 7.1 percent from three-point land), Nevada continues to rank among the WAC leaders in field goal and three-point percentage, knocking down 46.4 percent of its field goal attempts (second in the WAC) and 38.2 percent of its three-point attempts (26-68, 3rd). Those numbers compare to the team's 42.7 overall percentage and 30.6 three-point percentage last season. Nevada ranked seventh in the WAC and 267th out of 303 Division I teams in three-point percentage last season.
The Wolf Pack has shot over 50 percent in two of its four games this season, including a sizzling 60.9 percent in its Nov. 21 victory over Houston. That marked the team's first 60-percent effort since a 62.3-percent shooting night at San Jose State on Feb. 12, 2009. The Wolf Pack also made 50 percent of its three-point attempts in two of its last three games (6-of-12 at UNLV and 11-of-22 vs. Houston). The 11 three-pointers made marked the most for Nevada since it made 11 in a Feb. 9, 2008 win over Hawai'i.
Senior Ray Kraemer is leading the team and ranked eighth in the WAC in field goal percentage (61.1) so far this season. He is also ranked second in the WAC in three-point percentage at 57.1 percent (8-14). He made a career-best four three-pointers in the Nov. 21 win over Houston, going 7-of-9 overall from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point land, and went 3-of-5 from beyond the three-point line in Nevada's season-opening win over Montana State. Senior Brandon Fields also tied his career high with four three-pointers made vs. the Cougars. Fields and Kraemer are also tied for sixth in the WAC in three-pointers made per game with 2.0.
SHAW NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Joey Shaw was named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 16-22. The honor marked the first career WAC Player of the Week award for Shaw.
Shaw, a senior from Glendale, Ariz., helped the Wolf Pack to a 1-1 record last week. Against UNLV, Shaw tallied 15 points and tied a career high with nine rebounds. Shaw then led Nevada with a career-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the victory over Houston. He also tied his career mark with nine rebounds.
On the week, Shaw averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He shot 61.9 percent from the field (13-of-21), 50 percent from beyond the arc (3-of-6), and 92.3 percent from the free throw line (12-of-13).
ASSISTS MACHINE
Junior guard Armon Johnson is leading the Wolf Pack in assists for the third consecutive season and is tops in the WAC this year with 5.75 assists per game this year. The leftie dished out a career-best 12 assists Nov. 21 vs. Houston for his second career double-double. He also had 11 points and 11 assists in last year's win over Oregon State, which marked Nevada's first points-assists double-double since Ramon Sessions had his lone career double-double in 2004-05 vs. Boise State (11 points and 10 assists).
Johnson needs just 14 more assists to enter Nevada's top 10 for career assists. He currently has 279 career assists and is chasing Kyle Shiloh who dished out 293 assists in his career from 2004-07 to rank 10th on the Nevada career charts.
As a team, Nevada is leading the WAC in assists with 15.75 per game, while the team's 27 assists Nov. 21 vs. Houston marked the most since the Wolf Pack had 27 in a March 1, 2008 win over Louisiana Tech. In addition to Johnson, senior Joey Shaw is tied for 10th in the WAC with 2.5 assists per game, including a career-best four assists in a Nov. 14 win over Montana State. Johnson (1.44) and Shaw (1.43) rank fifth and sixth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio, respectively.
CARTER WINS HIS HEAD COACHING DEBUT
Nevada's Nov. 14 win over Montana State gave Nevada head coach David Carter his first career victory, and he is now 2-2 in his first year as the Wolf Pack's mentor. He becomes the eighth head coach in school history to win his first game, joining recent head coaches Trent Johnson and Mark Fox who also won their Wolf Pack coaching debuts.
After spending 10 years as an assistant on the Wolf Pack bench, including the last five as Nevada's associate head coach, Carter was named the 17th head coach in the history of the Nevada men's basketball program on April 3, 2009, just one day after fifth-year head coach Mark Fox announced that he was leaving Nevada after five seasons for the University of Georgia. Carter has been an integral part of Nevada's five WAC regular-season championships and seven postseason appearances, including four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2004-07. Carter was also recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation, making FOXSports.com's list of the top 10 Mid-Major Assistant Coaches in 2007-08 and being named the best assistant coach in the Western Athletic Conference in Street's & Smith's 2004-05 College Basketball National Preview.
LAST TIME OUT
Larry Sanders had 17 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks as Virginia Commonwealth held off Nevada for an 85-76 win on Friday night in Richmond, Va.
The Rams broke to a 16-5 lead and pushed to a 26-15 margin with 6:11 left on T.J. Gwynn's jumper. The Wolf Pack, which missed 18 of its first 21 shots, then cut the margin to 30-28 with 2:13 left.
VCU held on for a 35-28 halftime lead and began the second half on a 10-2 run. The Rams built the lead to 60-40 with 12:20 left on Ed Nixon's dunk. Nevada pulled within eight points as VCU went without a field goal for 5:11 before a Brandon Rozzell jumper in the lane ended the dry spell. Nevada could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
Nixon added a career-high 17 points for the Rams. Sophomore Luke Babbitt led the Wolf Pack with a season-high 27 points, 23 in the second half.
WOLF PACK NOTES
- Sophomore Dario Hunt led the Wolf Pack in rebounding for the second time this season, turning in his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds Friday at VCU (both career highs).
- Nevada has outrebounded its last two opponents after being outrebounded in its first two games. The team turned in a 50-45 advantage over VCU and outrebounded Houston 57-27 last week. The 57 boards marked a season high for the Wolf Pack, which has climbed to a tie for first in the WAC standings with 44.0 rebounds per contest this year.
- The Wolf Pack has five players averaging 5.3 rebounds or better this season, led by sophomore Luke Babbitt who paces the Wolf Pack and ranks third in the WAC with 10.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore Dario Hunt checks in at tied for sixth in the WAC at 8.8 boards per contest, followed by senior Joey Shaw (12th in the WAC at 7.3 rpg), senior Brandon Fields (5.5) and junior Armon Johnson (5.3). Four Wolf Pack players set or tied career bests for rebounding in the season-high 57-rebound performance vs. Houston, including a career-high 17 by Babbitt, a career best-tying nine by Shaw and Hunt (since broken) and a career high-matching seven by Johnson. Fields also matched his career best with nine rebounds in Friday's loss at VCU.
- Nevada shot just 35.4 percent from the field (29-82) and 7.1 percent from the three-point line (1-14) Friday vs. VCU. The Wolf Pack also had its worst shooting half of the season at 26.8 percent in the first half but rebounded with a 43.9 percent effort in the final 20 minutes. VCU shot 49.2 percent in the game, a season high for a Wolf Pack opponent.
- Nevada turned the ball over a season-low seven times Friday vs. the Rams.
- The 17 rebounds by Babbitt and the 12 assists by Johnson in the Nov. 21 win over Houston are the most by WAC players so far this season.
- The Wolf Pack is pacing the WAC with 5.5 blocked shots per game after leading the conference in the category with 4.79 per tilt last season. Sophomore Dario Hunt is once again pacing the WAC in blocked shots with 2.25 per game, including five in the season opener vs. Montana State. That marked his 23rd career game with more than one block and his fourth career contest with five or more. Hunt has 77 blocks in his career (in 38 games, 2.03 per game), which already ranks ninth on the Nevada career list. Hunt's 67 blocks last season set the school freshman record and ranked third in the Nevada single-season record book.
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt and senior Joey Shaw are ranked among the WAC's top 10 in free throw shooting. Babbitt is shooting 88.9 percent from the line this year (16-18), including a 10-of-10 effort Nov. 18 at UNLV, while Shaw is at 85.0 percent (17-10) on the year. Babbitt led the WAC in free throw percentage and ranked 24th in the country last year as a freshman at 86.4 percent.
TIMEOUT LUNCHEONS
The remaining University of Nevada's Time-Out Luncheons with first-year Wolf Pack head men's basketball coach David Carter are set for Tuesday, Dec. 1, Wednesday, Jan. 6 and Monday, Feb. 1.
The luncheons will take place monthly at the Silver Legacy. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and the cost is $16 per person at the door.
The luncheons will feature a gourmet buffet prepared by the Silver Legacy, and the program includes game recaps and previews by Carter as well as appearances by other Wolf Pack coaches and staff. The room will be announced on the day of the luncheon.
For more information, call the Wolf Pack Athletics Department at 775-784-6900.
UP NEXT
Following Sunday's game at North Carolina, the Wolf Pack wraps up its three-game road stretch with a Dec. 5 contest at Pacific. Nevada returns to Reno on Dec. 8 to play host to Fresno Pacific. That marks the beginning of a season-long four-game homestand at Lawlor Events Center.
