University of Nevada Athletics

VCU RAMS (18-8, 11-4 CAA) at NEVADA WOLF PACK (15-10, 8-4 WAC)

GAME #25
Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 - 6:02 p.m. PT - Lawlor Events Center (11,536) - Reno, Nev.

TELEVISION: ESPNU
 Trey Bender (play-by-play) & Mac McCausland (analyst)
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 6:30 p.m. PT
SERIES HISTORY: First meeting
LAST MEETING: First meeting

Coming off a 47-46 win at Hawai’i on Feb. 14, the Nevada Wolf Pack (15-10, 8-4 WAC) takes a step out of Western Athletic Conference play this week to compete in the ESPNU BracketBusters. The Wolf Pack plays host to the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (18-8, 11-4 CAA) on Friday, Feb. 20 at Lawlor Events Center. Friday’s game will tip off at 6:02 p.m. Pacific Time and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. It can also be heard on Nevada’s radio flagship, ESPN 630 AM, and affiliates throughout the state with Ryan Radtke calling the action. Nevada has won its last two games, both on the road, and is in second in the WAC standings with an 8-4 record. Heading into this week’s game with the Rams, the Wolf Pack looks to stay perfect in BracketBusters games at home and improve upon its 4-1 mark in the annual event which pits NCAA Tournament hopefuls (4-0 at home). Following Friday’s game with VCU, Nevada returns to WAC action, traveling to Fresno State on Thursday, Feb. 26.
 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.

NEVADA IN THE ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS
This year marks Nevada’s sixth appearance in the ESPNU BracketBusters, an event which was created in 2003 in conjunction with the Western Athletic Conference, ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences to match potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other. This year also marks the fifth time in Nevada’s six appearances that the Wolf Pack will play at home in the ESPNU BracketBusters, while the team has turned in a 4-1 record in its previous five BracketBusters appearances (4-0 at home).
 As part of the BracketBusters agreement, Nevada will travel to Richmond, Va., to play at VCU in 2008-09.
 The WAC will have three teams competing in this year’s ESPNU BracketBusters. Utah State will play at Saint Mary’s and Boise State will travel to Portland State with both of those games set for Saturday, Feb. 21. The other six WAC teams not selected to compete in the ESPNU BracketBusters will play non-conference opponents this weekend.

NEVADA IN BRACKETBUSTERS GAMES
Date Opponent Result
Feb. 21, 2004 Toledo W, 60-58
Feb. 19, 2005 Vermont W, 74-64
Feb. 17, 2006 Akron W, 88-61
Feb. 17, 2007 Northern Iowa W, 79-64
Feb. 23, 2008 at Southern Illinois L, 49-74
(first four appearances at Lawlor Events Center in Reno)

WINNING AT LAWLOR
The Wolf Pack has won 45 of its last 55 contests at Lawlor Events Center, including 20 of its last 28 home games dating back to last season. Including a 13-3 mark in 2007-08 and an 8-6 mark this year, the Wolf Pack has turned in an 81-15 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.844 winning percentage). Last year, Nevada’s loss to California on Nov. 28, 2007 snapped a 13-game home winning streak. The streak had been the longest active home winning streak in the WAC and the 12th-longest in the nation. Prior to the Cal loss, Nevada had not dropped a home contest since falling to UNLV on Dec. 9, 2006.
 Nevada has also captured 23 of its last 27 WAC regular-season home games and 26 of its last 31 home games against WAC opponents counting the 2006 WAC Tournament. A Jan. 19, 2008 loss to Boise State snapped the Wolf Pack’s 14-game winning streak in WAC home games, including a perfect 8-0 mark in 2006-07 and a 2-0 mark to start the 2007-08 season (finished 7-1). That 14-game win streak had dated back to January of 2006. Nevada’s losses to Louisiana Tech on Feb. 5 and New Mexico State on Feb. 7 marked its first back-to-back WAC home losses since falling to Louisiana Tech and SMU in January of 2002.

ABOUT THE VCU RAMS
Under the direction of third-year head coach Anthony Grant (70-23 record at VCU), Virginia Commonwealth University has turned in an 18-8 record this season and is tied for first in the Colonial Athletic Association standings with an 11-4 league mark. The Rams dropped their last game, a 69-65 decision at Old Dominion on Feb. 14, and have a home game against Delaware on Wednesday, Feb. 18 before heading to Nevada.
 Senior guard Eric Maynor (6-3, 175) leads VCU and the CAA and ranks 11th in the nation in  scoring with 22.6 points per game. He has made a team-high 53 three-pointers and is shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from three-point land (53-152). Maynor also checks in at 19th in the nation with 6.0 assists per contest. Sophomore forward Larry Sanders (6-10, 220) paces the Rams with 7.7 rebounds per game and is second on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per contest. He also checks in at 16th in the nation with 2.6 blocks per game. As a team, VCU is averaging 72.9 points per game and shooting 46.0 percent from the field. The Rams have made 36.5 percent of their attempts from long range (179-491). The team also ranks 39th in the country with 4.8 blocked shots per contest.
 VCU turned in a 24-8 record last season en route to its second consecutive CAA regular-season championship and earned a bid to the National Invitational Tournament. In 2006-07, VCU racked up a school-record 28-7 overall mark, won CAA regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
IN THE SERIES
Friday will mark the first meeting between Nevada and VCU. The Wolf Pack holds a 1-0 record against teams from the Colonial Athletic Association, downing Georgia State 76-55 on Nov. 21, 2004 in the Jim Thorpe Classic in Reno, Nev.

LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Armon Johnson made a spinning 7-foot jumper with 7.6 seconds left to lift Nevada to a 47-46 win over Hawaii Saturday, Feb. 14 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
 Hawaii took the lead with 9:04 to play on a pair of free throws by Hiram Thompson to make it 40-39.
 The Warriors held a 46-39 lead with 2:45 left, but Nevada scored the next eight points, capped by a 3-point play by Johnson with 1:10 left.
 After a Hawaii miss, Johnson drove the lane and spun around a defender before hitting his game-winner. It was the sixth lead change of the game.
 Johnson scored a game-high 25 points and whent 8-for-15 from the field. Freshman Luke Babbitt added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Wolf Pack.
 Bill Amis and Roderick Flemings led Hawaii with 10 points each.

FINDING ITS TOUCH
Nevada appears to be finding its shooting touch over the last few weeks and has shot 46.2 percent from the field in its last four games (123-266), up from its season percentage of 42.3 percent. The Wolf Pack made a season-best 62.3 percent of its field goal attempts Feb. 12 at San Jose State (33-53), including a blazing 66.7 percent in the first half (18-27). That bested its previous high of 53.4 percent Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State. Sophomore Malik Cooke is leading the squad and ranked ninth in the WAC in field goal percentage, knocking down 52.6 percent of his attempts this season (81-154), including an 8-of-9 effort Feb. 12 at San Jose State.
 The Wolf Pack is also shooting well from three-point land in recent games, connecting on 36.5 percent of its attempts (35-96) in the last six games. On the season, Nevada is shooting 29.1 percent from three-point land (118-406). The team has made at least seven three-pointers in four of its last six games, including an 8-of-14 effort Feb. 12 at San Jose State (.471). Junior Joey Shaw made a career-high 5-of-8 long-range attempts to lead the team vs. the Spartans. Nevada has notched its season high of 50 percent in three-point percentage twice this year with a 6-of-12 effort Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State and a 7-of-14 showing Jan. 29 at Utah State. Nevada tied its season high with nine three-pointers made and shot 47.4 percent from three-point land in its. Jan. 10 win at Louisiana Tech (9-19). Against the Bulldogs, Nevada got a career-high three treys from freshman Luke Babbitt (3-3), including the game-winner as time expired, while junior Brandon Fields made a season-best three (3-6) and senior Lyndale Burleson tied his career best with three (3-4).
 Babbitt is shooting 43.3 percent from three-point land this year (26-60), which would rank among the WAC’s leaders, but he falls short of the league minimum of 2.0 made per game. He has made all three of his attempts Jan. 29 at Utah State, tying his career best for three-pointers made, and was 2-of-2 Feb. 5 vs. Utah State. Cooke has made 46.7 percent of his three-point attempts (7-15).

BABBITT OPENS ROOKIE CAMPAIGN STRONG
Winner of two WAC Player-of-the-Week awards this season, freshman Luke Babbitt has opened his first season in the Silver and Blue in strong fashion, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding this season. The McDonald’s High School All-American is averaging 16.2 points per game and ranks fifth in the WAC as well as fifth among the nation’s freshmen in scoring. Babbitt is also leading the Pack in both categories in conference play, checking in at fourth in the WAC with 17.0 points and second with 7.7 rebounds per conference contest.
 He has turned in seven 20-point games this season, including a career-best 24 points Jan. 31 at Idaho and 23 Feb. 5 vs. La Tech. He has also scored 22 points three times and has led the team in scoring in 11 of 25 games, including six of the last 14. He has been in double figures for scoring in all but two contests this year and hit the game-winning three-pointer as time expired for 15 points in the Jan. 10 win at Louisiana Tech.
 Babbitt checks in at fourth in the WAC with 7.4 rebounds per contest. He has led the Wolf Pack in rebounding 13 times this season (including six of the last 11 games), most recently pulling down six boards Feb. 5 vs. La Tech. He has turned in five games with 10 or more rebounds, including a career-best 13 boards Jan. 17 vs. Fresno State. Babbitt also leads the Wolf Pack with five double-doubles, including 24 points and 10 rebounds Jan. 31 at Idaho. 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.
 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. Wit 405 points on the year, he is also closing in on Nevada’s freshman scoring record of 457 points set by Edgar Jones in 1975-76.

NATION’S TOP FRESHMEN SCORERS IN 2008-09
Name, School PPG
1. Seth Curry, Liberty 20.6
2. Sylven Landesberg, Virginia 18.0
3. Mike Rosario, Rutgers 17.0
4.   Tyreke Evans, Memphis 16.9
5.   Luke Babbitt, Nevada 16.2
6. Paul George, Fresno State 15.4
7. Afam Muojeke, Wyoming 15.0
8. Willie Warren, Oklahoma 14.9
9.  Courtney Fortson, Arkansas 14.6
 Keith Gabriel, VMI 14.6
11.   Samardo Samuels, Louisville 12.2
12.   Alex Young, IUPUI 11.5

NEVADA’S ALL-TIME TOP FRESHMAN SCORERS
Name, Year Points
1. Edgar Jones, 1975-76 457
2. Nick Fazekas, 2003-04 429
3. Pete Padgett, 1972-73 416
4. Luke Babbitt, 2008-09 405
5. Terrance Green, 1999-00 402
6. Armon Johnson, 2007-08 379
7. Ric Herrin, 1989-90 273

HUNT SETS NEVADA ROOKIE RECORD FOR BLOCKED SHOTS
With 58 blocked shots already this season, freshman Dario Hunt has set Nevada’s freshman single-season record, passing the 44 rejections that Wolf Pack great Nick Fazekas had in his rookie campaign in 2003-04. Hunt leads the WAC and ranks 28th in the country with 2.32 blocks per game overall, while he also paces the WAC with 3.00 blocks per league game. He has already climbed into third on Nevada’s single-season chart with his 58 rejections. Hunt blocked a career-best six shots in a Jan. 31 win at Idaho, besting his previous high of five Jan. 8 at New Mexico State and Feb. 7 vs. New Mexico State. He has blocked at least one shot in 22 of 25 games this year, including 19 with two or more.
 As a team, Nevada leads the WAC and ranks 22nd in the nation with 5.20 blocked shots per game with a season high of 12 Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State. In conference play, the Wolf Pack leads the league with 5.92 blocks per game. In the last five games, Nevada has blocked an average of 7.4 shots per game, including nine Feb. 12 vs. the Spartans.

NEVADA SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS
Name, Year Games Blocks
1. Edgar Jones, 1977-78 27 96 (3.6 per game)
2. JaVale McGee, 2007-08 33 92 (2.8)
3. Dario Hunt, 2008-09 25 58 (2.3)
4. Greg Palm, 1981-82 28 55 (2.0)
5. Nick Fazekas, 2004-05 32 51 (1.6)
6. Nick Fazekas, 2005-06 33 49 (1.5)
7. Nick Fazekas, 2006-07 32 48 (1.5)
 Greg Palm, 1980-81 26 48 (1.8)

WIPING THE GLASS
The Wolf Pack has outrebounded 13 of its last 14 opponents, including a 30-28 advantage Feb. 12 at San Jose State, and is now 11-6 on the year when outrebounding its opponents. Nevada was outrebounded at Hawai’i on Saturday 35-30, marking the first time in 13 games that its opponent had won the battle of the boards. Nevada outrebounded Idaho 44-32 on Jan. 31, and the +12 advantage vs. the Vandals was the second-highest rebounding margin for the Wolf Pack this season, surpassed only by a 14-board advantage Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State (52-38).
 On Jan. 8 at New Mexico State, Nevada was down 27-17 in the rebounding battle at the half but outboarded the Aggies 34-16 in the final 25 minutes on Jan. 8 (51-43 in the game). The 51 rebounds were one shy of the team's season high of 52 Dec. 9 vs. Sonoma State.
 As a team, Nevada leads the WAC in rebounding offense with 37.2 boards per game and ranks third in offensive rebounding with 12.40 offensive boards per contest. In WAC games, Nevada is also pulling down a league-best 37.9 rebounds per game.
 Freshman Luke Babbitt is the team’s top rebounder, checking in at fourth in the WAC with 7.4 boards per game and second with 7.7 rebounds per league tilt. He pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds Jan. 17 vs. Fresno State and has tallied 12 in two other games this year (at Montana State and at New Mexico State). Sophomore Malik Cooke ranks second on the team and 10th in the WAC with 6.2 rebounds per contest, including a career-best 12 boards Jan. 31 at Idaho. Cooke is Nevada’s best offensive rebounder this season, checking in at third in the WAC with 2.76 offensive rebounds per game this year, and is averaging 6.7 boards per contest in league play (second on the team and eighth in the WAC). Cooke turned in his first career double-double with 12 points and a then career-best 10 rebounds Jan. 22 vs. Hawai’i and has been in double figures for rebounds four times this season.

JOHNSON TURNS IT ON
Sophomore Armon Johnson is now second on the team and seventh in the WAC with 15.2 points per contest.  The preseason WAC Player of the Year has paced the team in scoring nine times this year, most recently scoring 25 of Nevada’s 47 points and hitting the game-winning shot Saturday at Hawai’i. He also had 27 points Feb. 5 vs. La Tech and turned in a career-high 33 points on Dec. 20 at California. In the last six games, Johnson has scored 18.2 points per game (109 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, 14 of 20 in the second half and overtime Jan. 8 at New Mexico State and 16 of 25 in the final 20 minutes Jan. 15 vs. Boise 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 in the second half Dec. 2 at Colorado State, 14 of 16 in the final 20 minutes Dec. 14 vs. Southern Illinois and 18 of 27 in the second half Feb. 5 vs. Louisiana Tech.
 Johnson is also leading the team in assists for the second year in a row. He ranks fifth in the WAC with 4.12 assists per game this year and is fourth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.75, 103 assists and just 59 turnovers). He turned in seven assists with no turnovers in the Dec. 17 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff as well as the Jan. 10 win at La Tech and has had just one turnover in eight other games this season (most recently three assists and one turnover Jan. 31 at Idaho). 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.

FOX MOVES INTO THIRD IN ALL-TIME WINS AT NEVADA
With Nevada’s 69-65 win Jan. 31 at Idaho, Nevada head coach Mark Fox moved into sole possession of third on the Wolf Pack’s all-time wins list, passing Sonny Allen (114-89 record in seven seasons from 1980-87). Fox holds a 117-40 career record in his five seasons at the helm of the Wolf Pack program (.745 winning percentage). He is the first coach in school history to lead his squad to four consecutive 20-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances, while his winning percentage ranks first among all of Nevada’s head coaches.
 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.

NEVADA’S WINNINGEST COACHES (by wins)
Name (Years) Career Record (Win. Pct.)
1.  Jake Lawlor (1942-43, 45-49) 201-159 (.558)
2.  Jack Spencer (1959-72) 123-199 (.382)
3.  Mark Fox (2004-pres.) 117-40 (.745)
4. Sonny Allen (1980-87) 114-89 (.562)
5. Len Stevens (1987-93) 91-79 (.535)
6.  Pat Foster (1993-99) 90-81 (.526)

SUCCESS AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Nevada ranks second in the WAC in free throw percentage this season, knocking down 72.4 percent of its attempts from the line (415-573). 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). The team has been over 80 percent at the line four times this year, most recently knocking down 85.7 percent of its attempts Feb. 12 at San Jose State (6-7).
 Freshman Luke Babbitt is shooting 82.3 percent from the line (93-113) to rank fourth in the WAC, including all eight of his attempts Dec. 14 vs. Southern Illinois and Dec. 27 vs. Idaho State. Sophomore Armon Johnson checks in at sixth in the WAC at 79.2 percent (95-120), including a perfect 7-for-7 night Feb. 5 vs. La Tech and 5-of-5 outing Feb. 12 at San Jose State. Johnson has made 95.2 percent of his free throw attempts in the last four games (20-21), including an 8-of-9 effort Saturday at Hawai’i.
 Junior Ray Kraemer has made 23-of-26 of his free throw attempts on the year (.885) and would lead the WAC, while junior Joey Shaw is shooting 76.6 percent (36-47) which would rank ninth, but both players fall short of the league’s 2.0 minimum per game.

WOLF PACK NEWS & NOTES

- Including five games this year (5-0 record), Nevada has won 57 of its last 59 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 Dec. 9, while the team allowed Hawai’i just 46 last week in Honolulu.

- Nevada has held its last three opponents to just 58.7 points per game.

- The Wolf Pack’s 47 points Saturday at Hawai’i were a season low and were the fewest points for the Wolf Pack since a 58-40 loss at Hawai'i on Dec. 29, 2001. The 47 points were also the fewest points in a Nevada victory since a 19-17 win at Saint Mary’s on Jan. 10, 1976.

- The team’s season low in scoring came just one game after turning in 80 points in its Feb. 12 win at San Jose State, which was Nevada’s season high for WAC play and the most points for the Wolf Pack since an 87-58 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 17.

- The Wolf Pack and head coach Mark Fox have turned in a combined 42-13 record over the final two months of the season (February and March) in the last five years, including a 28-5 record in the month of February and a 14-8 mark in March.

- The Wolf Pack holds 4-6 mark on the year when trailing at the half, most recently rallying from a 27-24 margin to down Hawai’i 47-46 on Saturday night. Nevada also trailed 46-39 with 2:48 to play against the Rainbow Warriors but held Hawai’i scoreless the rest of the way en route to the 47-46 victory. Sophomore Armon Johnson scored six of Nevada's eight points in the Wolf Pack's 8-0 run over the final 2:48 of that game, including the game-winner with 7.6 seconds left. On Jan. 8 at New Mexico State, Nevada trailed 40-31 at halftime before downing the Aggies 79-71 in overtime, while on Jan. 10 at Louisiana Tech, Nevada was down 35-24 at the half and trailed 45-30 with 16:36 to play in the game before rallying for the victory.

- Freshman Dario Hunt led the team and tied his career high with nine rebounds Saturday at Hawai’i. It marked the fourth time this year that he has paced the team in rebounding and the third consecutive game. Hunt has turned in 7.3 boards per game in the last three contests, up from his season average of 4.7 rebounds per game (third on the team).

- After holding Hawai’i to just 34.0 percent shooting in Saturday’s win (16-47), Nevada now ranks second in the WAC in field goal percentage defense, allowing its opponents to shoot just 41.4 percent.

- Junior Joey Shaw led four Wolf Pack players in double figures for scoring with a career-best 23 points off the bench Feb. 12 at San Jose State, the second time this year that he has led the team in scoring and his second 20-point effort of the season. That game also marked the fifth time this season that Nevada has had four players in double figures for scoring. In addition to 23 from Shaw, sophomore Malik Cooke tied his career high with 17 points, while sophomore Armon Johnson and freshman Luke Babbitt each added 13 points.

- Sophomore Malik Cooke has tied his career best for scoring twice this year, most recently turning in 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting Feb. 12 at San Jose State. He also scored 17 Jan. 3 vs. Idaho, which was 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 vs. the Vandals. He ranks third on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per tilt.

- Nevada’s Feb. 5 game with La Tech marked the third time this year that the Wolf Pack has had two players score at least 20 points (at Colorado State and at New Mexico State were the other two games). Sophomore Armon Johnson led the team with 27 points, the second-most points of his career, while freshman Luke Babbitt added 23 points, just one off his career high of 24 set on Jan. 31 at Idaho. Babbitt was 9-of-11 from the field, including both of his three-point attempts, and made all three of his free throw attempts Feb. 5 vs. La Tech.

- Sophomore Malik Cooke nabbed five of Nevada’s nine steals Jan. 31 at Idaho, one short of his career high of six Dec. 6 vs. UNLV. Cooke ranks second in the WAC with 1.84 steals per game and tied for first with 2.00  thefts per conference game. Cooke has had at least one steal in 19 of 25 games this season, including 12 with two or more. Cooke also added four steals Dec. 31 vs. No. 1 North Carolina and again Jan. 22 vs. Hawai’i. 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. As a team, Nevada is second in the WAC with 7.12 steals per contest.

- In WAC play, Nevada leads the conference in rebounding offense and ranks fourth in scoring offense, averaging 68.9 points and 37.9 rebounds per league game. The Wolf Pack also ranks second in the WAC in offensive rebounds in conference play (13.25).

- Nevada is third in the WAC in turnover margin at +1.20 and ranked 46th in the country with just 12.4 turnovers per game, including a season-low six Feb. 5 vs. La Tech and Nov. 15 at Montana State. Senior Lyndale Burleson has the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the squad at 2.18 (48 assists and just 22 turnovers) and would rank second in the WAC but falls short of the minimum of 3.0 assists per game. Burleson has not turned the ball over in 10 of 25 contests this season.

- The Wolf Pack is getting 67.4 percent of its scoring (1164 points) and 64.0 percent of its rebounding (595 rebounds) from its freshmen and sophomores this season.

-  The Wolf Pack bench is averaging 21.0 points per game this season (526 points), and Nevada holds an 11-4 record when its bench outscores its opponent’s. Juniors Brandon Fields and Joey Shaw are Nevada’s leading scorers off the bench this year, averaging 8.6 and 7.8 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 has led the team in scoring four times this season, most recently tying freshman Luke Babbitt for the squad lead with 19 points in a Jan. 22 win over Hawai’i. He paced the team in scoring three times all of last year. Fields 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 and had 19 Jan. 3 vs. Idaho.

- Junior Ray Kraemer scored seven points in just five minutes Jan. 22 in the win over Hawai’i, making his only field goal attempt (a three-pointer) and knocking down all four of his free throw attempts.

- 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 15-10). 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 5 YEARS
Over the last five seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 142-49 record, tied for the most wins of any WAC team during that time (.743 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 76 games, the most in that same time period. The top three teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last five seasons:

Overall Record (Pct.)  WAC Record (Pct.)
1.  Nevada 142-49 (.743)   1. Nevada 76-20 (.792)
     Utah State 142-44 (.763)  2. Hawaii 47-48 (.495)
3. Hawaii 95-79 (.546)  3. Fresno State 43-50 (.462)

ON THE ROAD
Nevada has won 34 of its last 53 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 29 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 17 of its last 30 regular-season road contests and 28 of its last 42 and turned in a 7-9 road mark last season (7-4 this year, 5-1 in WAC play). 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 45-20 record in road contests (.692 winning percentage). That includes a 31-9 record in WAC road games (.775).

UP NEXT
Following Friday’s game with VCU, Nevada returns to conference play on Thursday, Feb. 26, traveling to Fresno State. The Wolf Pack plays host to league-leading Utah State on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Lawlor Events Center.