WAGNER COLLEGE SEAHAWKS (1-8) at NEVADA WOLF PACK (5-4)
GAME #10
Sat., Dec. 19, 2009 - 7:05 p.m. PT - Lawlor Events Center (11,536) - Reno, Nev.
TELEVISION: Live internet streaming at www.nevadawolfpack.com (subscription fee)
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) & Len Stevens (color), pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. PT
SERIES HISTORY: First Meeting
LAST MEETING: First Meeting
Following a last-second 73-70 victory over Eastern Washington on Thursday night, the Nevada Wolf Pack (5-4) continues play in the HOOPTV Las Vegas Classic Saturday night with the Wagner College Seahawks (1-8). Saturday's game at Lawlor Events Center will tip off at 7:05 p.m. Pacific Time and can be heard on Nevada's flagship radio station, ESPN 630 AM, with Ryan Radtke calling the action. Nevada bring a season-long three-game winning streak into Saturday night's game and will end a four-game homestand. The Wolf Pack has turned in a perfect 5-0 record this year at Lawlor Events Center and has won 84.3 percent of its home games in the last five-plus years. Following Saturday's game, the Wolf Pack heads to the Orleans in Las Vegas for the final two rounds of the HOOPTV Las Vegas Classic Dec. 22-23. Nevada will take on BYU at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 22 and either Nebraska or Tulsa on Wednesday, Dec. 23.
Under the direction of first-year head coach David Carter, the Wolf Pack returned 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.
WINNING AT LAWLOR
The Wolf Pack has won 55 of its last 67 contests at Lawlor Events Center, including 30 of its last 40 home games dating back to the start of the 2007-08 season. Including a 13-3 mark in 2007-08, a 13-8 mark in 2008-09 and a 5-0 record this year, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 91-17 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.843 winning percentage).
Nevada has also captured 25 of its last 29 WAC regular-season home games and 30 of its last 36 home games against WAC opponents counting the 2006 and 2009 WAC Tournaments. 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's losses to Louisiana Tech on Feb. 5 and New Mexico State on Feb. 7, 2009 marked its first back-to-back WAC home losses since falling to Louisiana Tech and SMU in January of 2002.
ABOUT THE WAGNER COLLEGE SEAHAWKS
Under the direction of seventh-year head coach Mike Deane (91-95 record in six-plus years at Wagner), the Wagner College Seahawks returned one starter and a total of seven letterwinners from last year's 16-14 team. The Seahawks finished seventh in the Northeast Conference last season with am 8-10 conference mark. Wagner has turned in a 1-8 record so far this season, most recently opening HOOPTV Las Vegas Classic play with a 77-61 loss at BYU on Thursday night. The Seahawks got their lone victory of the year Dec. 12 at Saint Peter's 59-58.
Sophomore guard Chris Martin (5-10, 185) is leading Wagner in scoring this season with 13.4 points per game. He has also made a team-high 22 three-pointers. Senior center Michael Orock (6-7, 230) and freshman guard Ryan Conrad (5-11, 160) are adding 9.8 points per contest apiece. Orock is also the club's top rebounder, averaging 7.7 boards per game.
IN THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the first meeting between Nevada and Wagner, while the Wolf Pack holds a 1-0 record against teams from the Northeast Conference, downing St. Francis College in New York 70-62 during the 1949-50 season.
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 again in scoring and rebounding this year. He ranks second in the WAC with 19.3 points per game and third in the conference at 10.3 boards per contest (20th in the nation in rebounding). The Nevada southpaw turned in a season-high 29 points in Thursday's victory over Eastern Washington, just one point shy of his career best, including 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half. He pulled down nine rebounds in the game to lead the Pack but saw his stretch of seven consecutive double-doubles snapped. Babbitt is tied for third in the nation with seven double-doubles and has had nine or more rebounds in all but one game this year.
Babbitt turned in 27 points to go along with 13 rebounds Nov. 27 at VCU, scoring 23 of his 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the second half in Nevada's near comeback. He also had 14 points and a career-best 17 rebounds Nov. 21 vs. Houston and opened the year with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting in the team's Nov. 14 win over Montana State.
Babbitt has had 14 career games with at least 20 points (including three this year) and has led the team in scoring 18 times in his young career (15 times last year and three this season). He has scored in double figures in 40 of 43 career games at Nevada, including all nine 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.
JOHNSON NAMED A CANDIDATE FOR THE BOB COUSY AWARD
Junior guard Armon Johnson is among the candidates for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford Financial Services, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts announced Dec. 17.
The annual award, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes college basketball's top point guard. 73 candidates have been nominated for the 2010 award. Nominations were solicited from all Division I, II and III schools across the country.
With a jumper with 12:30 to go in the second half Dec. 5 at Pacific, Johnson scored his 1,000th career point to become the 19th player in school history to reach that milestone. In his two-plus years and 76 games in the Silver and Blue, Johnson has scored 1,052 points (17th all time at Nevada). He also became just the sixth player in Wolf Pack history to turn in 1,000 points and 250 assists in his career. Johnson already has 307 career assists and ranks 10th in the Nevada career record book.
Only Nevada standouts Marcelus Kemp, Pete Padgett, Darryl Owens Kevin Soares and Matt Williams have previously scored at least 1,000 points and dished out 250 or more assists as members of the Wolf Pack.
A 2009 first-team All-WAC selection, Johnson has led the Pack in scoring in three of the last five games and checks in at ninth in the WAC in scoring with 16.2 points per game this season. He has turned in a pair of 20-point games this year, including a season-high 22 points in the Nov. 21 win over Houston.
In the last five games, starting with 20 points Nov. 29 at North Carolina, Johnson has averaged 17.2 points per game and shot 56.5 percent from the field (39-69). That included a 9-of-12 effort for 19 points Dec. 8 vs. Fresno Pacific and 7-of-11 for 17 points Dec. 12 vs. South Dakota State.
The list of candidates for the Bob Cousy Award will be narrowed down to a final 20 by Jan. 1, final 10 by Feb. 1, and final five by March 1. A Hall of Fame appointed screening committee will be narrowing down the candidates from 20 to 10 to 5 prior to the Blue Ribbon Selection Committee evaluating the final five candidates and ultimately choosing the winner. These Hall of Fame committees are made up of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, Sports Information Directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the 2010 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford will be presented at the Hall of Fame's Class Announcement on Monday April 5 in Indianapolis as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.
NEVADA'S 1,000-POINT SCORERS
Rk. Name Games Blks
1 Nick Fazekas, 2004-07 131 2,464
2 Marcelus Kemp, 2004-08 134 1,939
3 Edgar Jones, 1975-79 101 1,877
4 Alex Boyd, 1967-70 73 1,731
5 Terrance Green, 1999-2003 119 1,646
6 Pete Padgett, 1972-76 104 1,642
7 Ric Herrin, 1989-93 109 1,512
8 Darryl Owens, 1986-89 82 1,504
9 Kirk Snyder, 2001-04 84 1,404
10 Garry Hill-Thomas, 2000-04 124 1,340
11 Kevin Soares, 1988-92 116 1,261
12 Nap Montgomery, 1964-66 N/A 1,249
13 Ken "Tree" Green, 1981-83 57 1,212
14 Mike Gray, 1977-79 55 1,125
15 Matt Williams, 1987-91 113 1,062
16 Dwayne Randall, 1984-86 58 1,060
17 Armon Johnson, 2007-pres. 76 1,052
18 Marvin Buckley, 1972-74 N/A 1,039
19 Faron Hand, 1994-97 64 1,034
ASSISTS MACHINE
Junior guard Armon Johnson is leading the Wolf Pack in assists for the third consecutive season and ranks first in the WAC and 44th in the nation this year with 5.67 assists per game this year. The leftie dished out a career-best 12 assists Nov. 21 vs. Houston for his second career double-double and had eight assists in Thursday's victory over Eastern Washington. 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). His 12 assists win over Houston are the most by a WAC player so far this season, while Johnson also checks in at eighth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50).
With his seven assists in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific, Johnson entered the Nevada career chart for assists. He currently ranks 10th with 307 career assists, moving past Kyle Shiloh who dished out 293 assists in his career from 2004-07.
SHAW BRINGS CONSISTENCY
Senior Joey Shaw is turning in one of the most consistent seasons of any member of the Wolf Pack so far this year. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game and is third on the squad with 5.9 boards per contests. Both marks put him just out of the WAC leaders. Shaw has scored in double figures in six of nine games this season and led the team with a career-high 26 points Nov. 21 vs. Houston. His nine steals (including a career-best three Thursday vs. Eastern Washington) are tied for first on the team, while his 18 assists and six blocked shots are both tied for second on the team.
Shaw is also shooting the ball well and ranks among the WAC leaders in field goal percentage (12th at 52.1 percent) and free throw percentage (T15th at 77.8 percent). He also checks in at 37.1 percent in three-point percentage (13-35), just out of the WAC rankings.
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
Nevada leads in the WAC in scoring offense and ranked 27th in the NCAA this season at 80.3 points per game, up from its average of 70.6 ppg last year. While it is still early in the season, the 80.3 points per game would be the most since the 1991-92 Wolf Pack squad averaged 84.0 points per contest.
Four Wolf Pack players are averaging in double figures for scoring this season, and three are ranked in the WAC's top 15. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is leading the team and ranked second in the WAC at 19.3 points per game, while junior Armon Johnson is ninth at 16.2 points per game and senior Brandon Fields ranks 10th at 14.8 points per contest. Senior Joey Shaw is just out of the WAC's top 15 at 12.0 points per game.
The Wolf Pack has had four different players lead the team in scoring in its first nine games this year. Sophomore Luke Babbitt paced the team with 26 points in the season-opening win over Montana State, had 27 Nov. 27 at VCU and turned in a season-high 29 Dec. 17 vs. Eastern Washington. Fields had 22 in a Nov. 18 loss at UNLV and 20 Saturday vs. South Dakota State, Shaw turned in his career-best 26 in the Nov. 14 win over Houston and Johnson paced the Pack in three straight games with 20 points Nov. 29 at then No. 11/12 North Carolina, 18 Dec. 5 at Pacific and 19 Dec. 8 vs. Fresno Pacific.
The Wolf Pack has had at least four players in double figures for scoring in seven of its nine 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.
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 has averaged 84.7 points per game in its last three contests, including its second-highest point total of the year in its Dec. 12 92-72 victory over South Dakota State. The Wolf Pack has also turned in its top two margins of victory recently, downing Fresno Pacific by a season-high 22, 89-67, on Dec. 8 and notching another 20-point victory in the Dec. 12 contest.
SHOOTING TOUCH
Nevada continues to rank among the WAC leaders in field goal percentage, knocking down 47.5 percent of its field goal attempts (second in the WAC). The team shot 42.7 percent from the field last season.
The Wolf Pack has shot over 50 percent in four of its nine games this season and is a perfect 4-0 in those games. Nevada shot a sizzling season-high 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 has made a season-high 50 percent of its three-point attempts twice this year (6-of-12 at UNLV and 11-of-22 vs. Houston). The 11 three-pointers made vs. the Cougars marked the most for Nevada since it made 11 in a Feb. 9, 2008 win over Hawai'i.
Senior Joey Shaw is ranked 12th in the WAC in field goal percentage at 52.1 percent. Senior Ray Kraemer checks in at second in the WAC in three-point percentage at 48.3 percent, knocking down 14-of-29 long-range attempts. Kraemer 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. He also went 3-of-5 from beyond the three-point line in Nevada's season-opening win over Montana State and again Dec. 8 vs. Fresno Pacific. Senior Brandon Fields also tied his career high with four three-pointers made Nov. 21 vs. the Cougars. Kraemer (T12th, 1.56) and Shaw (T15th, 1.44) are also ranked among the conference leaders in three-pointers made per game. Shaw made 3-of-4 three-point attempts Dec. 8 vs. Fresno Pacific.
HUNT HAS BREAKOUT WEEKEND
Sophomore forward Dario Hunt had the best weekend of his young Wolf Pack career, averaging 11.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in Nevada's East Coast swing to VCU and North Carolina. He turned in his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds Nov. 27 at VCU (both career highs). Two nights later, he set another career high for scoring with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and nearly missed his second career double-double with nine rebounds Nov. 29 at No. 11/12 North Carolina. Hunt is averaging 5.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game (ninth in the WAC), up from 3.6 points and 4.4 boards per game last season.
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 5-4 in his first year as the Wolf Pack's mentor. He became 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
Sophomore Luke Babbitt scored 29 points and senior Brandon Fields hit a game-winning three-pointer with 4.3 seconds left to lead Nevada over Eastern Washington 73-70 on Thursday night at Lawlor Events Center in the opening round of the HOOPTV Las Vegas Classic.
Fields finished with 17 points and junior Armon Johnson had 12 for the Wolf Pack, which improved to 5-0 at home this season.
Mark Dunn had 15 points, Kevin Winford scored 13 and Glen Dean had 13 points and 10 assists for the Eagles, who overcame an eight-point deficit with 6:21 left to tie it 70-70 with 1:22 left on a 25-foot 3-pointer by Benny Valentine.
Neither team could score on its ensuing possessions.
The Wolf Pack called timeout with 12 seconds left, and Johnson found Fields on the right baseline for an open 3-pointer for the winner.
Dean's 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.
WOLF PACK NOTES
- The contest-cinching three-pointer that senior Brandon Fields hit to with 4.3 seconds left in Thursday's game marked the first game-winning field goal for Fields in his Nevada career. He had been 0-of-5 from three-point land in the game before nailing the shot.
- 6-9 sophomore forward Keith Olson will likely see the first action of his Wolf Pack career in Saturday's game vs. Wagner. He has been ineligible due to NCAA rules after transferring from Northern Arizona. A Gardnerville, Nev., native and Douglas High School graduate, Olson will give the Wolf Pack four local players on its roster.
- All 11 of the Wolf Pack players who saw action in the Dec. 12 win over South Dakota State scored at least two points, including freshman Keith Fuetsch who scored the first four points of his career. Ten of 11 players scored in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific. The Wolf Pack got two of its three highest bench scoring outputs recently, including a season-high 26 bench points in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific and 22 in the Dec. 12 victory over South Dakota State. Nevada also got 23 bench points in its Nov. 21 victory over Houston. Senior Ray Kraemer is Nevada's leading scorer off the bench, turning in 6.0 points per game.
- Freshman Marko Cukic has continued to improve in the last four games, averaging 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds and making 8-of-12 field goal attempts during that stretch. He turned in season highs with six points on 3-of-3 shooting and five rebounds Dec. 5 at Pacific and bested those marks in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific with seven points and six boards.
- Nevada continues to lead the WAC in rebounding with 41.3 boards per contest and features five players averaging 3.8 rebounds or better this season, including two ranked in the WAC's top 10. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is third in the WAC with 10.3 rebounds per game, while sophomore Dario Hunt checks in at ninth in the WAC at 7.6 boards per contest. Senior Joey Shaw is just out of the WAC rankings at 5.9 boards per contest, followed by senior Brandon Fields and junior Armon Johnson are also pulling down 4.9 and 3.8 rebounds per game, respectively. 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 Nov. 27 at VCU.
- Nevada has outrebounded its last four opponents and six of its last seven after being outrebounded in its first two games. The team turned in a 50-45 advantage Nov. 27 over VCU and outrebounded Houston 57-27 on Nov. 21 in Reno. The 57 boards marked a season high for the Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack outrebounded Eastern Washington 33-29 on Thursday, improving to 4-2 this year when outrebounding its opponents.
- The Wolf Pack is pacing the WAC and ranked 34th in the nation with 5.33 blocked shots per game after leading the conference in the category with 4.79 per tilt last season. The WAC's leader last year, sophomore Dario Hunt is second in the league in blocked shots this year with 2.56 per game (32nd in the NCAA), including five in the season opener vs. Montana State and three in four of the last five games. He has blocked at least one shot in 37 of 43 career games (all nine this season) and has turned in 28 career games with more than one block, including four with five or more. Hunt has 90 blocks in his career (in 43 games, 2.09 per game), which already ranks seventh 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 15 in free throw shooting. Babbitt is third in the WAC and ranks 31st in the nation at 90.2 percent from the line this year (37-41), including a 10-of-10 effort Nov. 18 at UNLV. Shaw is at 77.8 percent (21-27) on the year, good for 15th in the WAC. Babbitt led the WAC in free throw percentage and ranked 24th in the country last year as a freshman at 86.4 percent.
UP NEXT
Following Saturday's game with Wagner, the Wolf Pack will travel to the Orleans in Las Vegas to finish the HOOPTV Las Vegas Classic, taking on BYU on Tuesday, Dec. 22 and either Nebraska or Tulsa on Wednesday, Dec. 23. The team returns to Lawlor Events Center on Monday, Dec. 28, playing host to the Portland Pilots.
