University of Nevada Athletics

ABOUT THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY JACKRABBITS  — The Jackrabbits are off to 5-0 start this season after going 14-16 last year and were 10-8 in the Summit League which earned them a fifth place finish.  Four Jacks players average in double figures led by, 6-4 senior guard Clint Sargent’s 15.6 points per game with 6-3, sophomore guard Nate Wolters close behind at 15.2 per contest.  Chad White a 6-6 redshirt freshman guard is averaging 11.6 per game off the bench.  Junior forward Griffin Callahan is the fourth player in double figures at 10.6 per game and also tops the team averaging 5.4 rebounds per game.  Jordan Dykstra, a 6-8, freshman forward, has started four games on the season and is second on the team in rebounding at 5.2 per game and chips in 6.2 points per outing. 
    The Jacks average 80.6 points per game while allowing 61.8 on the season.  From the field South Dakota State is shooting 46 percent but is even better from behind the 3-point arc at 49 percent making 49-of-99 attempts.  The Jacks are a perfect 3-0 at home and 2-0 away from Frost Arena.  The Wolf Pack is the fourth of seven consecutive home games at Frost Arena.

SLOW START  — Nevada is off to a slow start posting a 1-4 record to begin the 2010-11 season.  The last Wolf Pack men’s basketball team to begin the season 1-4 was the 1999-2000 squad that started the year 1-6 under first-year head coach Trent Johnson.  The 1999-2000 squad went 9-20 on the year.

REBOUNDING EDGE — After being outrebounded by double figures the first two games of the season the Wolf Pack have won the battle of the boards the last three outings.  Montana held a 11 rebound advantage over the Pack and Pacific was plus 10 on the boards.  Nevada outrebounded Pepperdine 35-34 then held a plus 10 advantage on George Washington and grabbed 15 more than Boston University.

YOUNG GUNS— Nevada has used two different lineups the first five games of the season but it is still dominated by young players.  Three freshmen have started in each of the five games along with a sophomore and a junior.  Freshman point guard Deonte Burton has started all five games as has sophomore transfer Malik Story and returner Dario Hunt.  Freshmen Devonte Elliott and Jerry Evans Jr. were starters the three games of the season but two other freshmen Kevin Panzer and Jordan Burris started the last two games. 
    Newcomers have scored 242-of-322 points on the season which equates to 75 percent.  After Hunt’s 14.6 points per game the next nine players in scoring average are new to the team this year.

BURTON ON POINT— Freshman point guard Deonte Burton produced his first double-double in a Nevada uniform and the first of the season for a Pack player with 10 points and 11 assists in Nevada’s 76-75 loss to Pepperdine.  The 11 assists are the high by any player in the WAC this season.  The last double-double by a guard also came in a one-point loss when Armon Johnson totaled 13 points and 10 assists in an 80-79 setback at home to New Mexico State on Mar. 12, 2010 in the first game of the WAC Tournament. 
    Last season Luke Babbitt led the Pack with 16 double-doubles and Johnson totaled two while Dario Hunt and Joey Shaw had one each.
    Burton scored in double figures in the first three games of his Pack career.  Something that was not accomplished by six former Pack players that went on to NBA careers; Johnson, Luke Babbitt, Nick Fazekas, Ramon Sessions, JaVale McGee or Kirk Snyder.  He struggled in the two games in Washington, D.C. scoring two points versus George Washington and six against Boston University going a combined 1-for-18 from the field.  He did not have an assist for the first time in a game this season versus BU.
    Burton scored 17 in the season opening 81-66 victory over Montana then finished with 10 versus Pacific and Pepperdine.  The 6-1 guard is third on the squad averaging 9.0 points per game and tops the team with 4.6 assists per outing. 

RAINING THREES  — Nevada has made 30-of-85 (35%), 3-point field goals on the season with six different players connecting on a shot from behind the arc.  Sophomore Malik Story leads the way making 13-of-23 (57%) on the season.  Twice Story has made four, 3-pointers in game going 4-of-7 vs. Montana and 4-of-5 vs. Pepperdine.  Jordan Burris (5-for-13), Kevin Panzer (5-for-12), Deonte Burton (4-for-20), Jerry Evans, Jr. (1-for-7) and Derrell Conner (2-for-5) have also connected from behind the arc.  Last season, senior Brandon Fields made 6-of-10, 3-pointers at SJSU on Feb. 25 which was the high for 3-pointers made in a game by an individual.
    The Pack made 10-of-19 (53%) in the Montana game, went 3-of-13 (34%) vs. Pacific and made 9-of-19 (47%) vs. Pepperdine.  Last week in Washington, D.C. Nevada went a combined 8-of-34 (24%) making 4-of-16 at George Washington and 4-of-18 versus Boston University.

ON THE HUNT  — Junior forward Dario Hunt moved past Matt Williams (1987-91) into third place on Nevada’s career blocks list with the 136th of his career that came in the Pepperdine game.  Hunt accomplished the feat in just 71 games while Williams’ total of 135 came in 113 contests. He picked up his 137th in the Boston University game on Nov. 23 leaving him five back of Edgar Jones’ (1975-79) 142 blocks that was accomplished in 101 games.  Nick Fazekas (2004-07) tops the chart with 192 in 131 games.  Hunt has two of the top four block seasons in school history with 67 during 2008-09 season ranking third and his 66 last year is fourth.  The 67 is the freshman record at Nevada.

HUNT LEADING THE WAY  — Junior forward Dario Hunt led the Pack in scoring the first four games of the season and led the team in rebounding in the first three games and four of five games on the year.  It marked the first time in Hunt’s career that he has led the team in scoring in any contest.  Hunt started the year with 18 points and seven rebounds in the 81-66 Montana victory.  In the Pacific game he totaled 12 points and eight rebounds then scored 16 points and hauled down eight rebounds vs. Pepperdine.  At George Washington he totaled 16 points and his seven rebounds were second to Devonte Elliott’s 14.  In the Boston University contest he posted his second career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.  On the season he tops the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and rebounding at 8.0 per contest.

7,782 AND COUNTING — Nevada will travel 7,782 miles to play five games after opening the season with an 81-66 home victory over Montana on Nov. 13.  The Wolf Pack flew 388 miles each way to Los Angeles for a total of 776 miles to play Pacific and Pepperdine at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. 
    Next up was a road trip east of 2,275 miles to Washington, D.C. to take on George Washington and Boston University in the consolation bracket of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.  Returning to Reno was another 2,275 for a total of 4,550 miles.  The fifth game is a road trip to Brookings, S.D. to play South Dakota State which is a flight of 1,228 miles, times two to account for the return home so add 2,456 miles for the total trip.  The team will travel a combined 7,782 miles before playing a second game at Lawlor Events Center on Dec. 4 with UNLV.  After the UNLV game is a 3,080 mile round trip to Houston to play the Cougars.  This all before Western Athletic play gets underway with trips to Hawai`i (5,130 miles round trip) and Louisiana Tech (3,180 miles round trip) in the future.
    The last Nevada team to start the season with so many road games was the 1963-64 team that began the season with six road games to start the year and went 1-5 away from Reno.  Three of those contests were played in Alaska and one was at Montana.  The 2005-06 team played four-of-five games to start the season on the road and won all four on the way to a 25-9 record.

DOUBLE DIGITS — Nevada had at least two players score in double figures the first three games of the season but Dario Hunt was the only player to score double figures with 16 at George Washington (11/22).  Malik Story (16 pts) and Hunt (10 pts) scored double figures the next game versus Boston University as at least two Wolf Pack players has scored in double figures in four-of-five games this season
    The Pack put three in double digits in the Montana game and four scored in double figures versus Pepperdine.  Hunt has scored in double figures in all five games while Story and Deonte Burton have accomplished the feat three times each.  Jordan Burris was the fourth player in double figures in the Pepperdine game scoring 15 points off the bench. 
    Burton produced a double digit assist game with 11 against Pepperdine.  Devonte Elliott’s 14 rebounds versus George Washington and Hunt’s 10 are the only other double figure stats of the season.

NEVADA 0-4 IN 2010 DICK’S SPORTING GOODS NIT SEASON TIP-OFF  — Nevada went 0-4 in the 2010 Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.  The Wolf Pack lost 64-53 to Pacific and 76-75 to Pepperdine in the two games played at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, Nov. 15-16.  The next week the Pack lost at George Washington 58-56 and 66-57 to Boston University in the two games played at GW’s Smith Center in Washington, D.C.  Overall Nevada is 1-5 in the preseason NIT going 1-1 in the 2003 event defeating Vermont 69-49 at home then falling 93-79 at #1 Connecticut.

SIX ESPN TV GAMES IN 2010-11 — University of Nevada men’s basketball games will air on ESPN’s family of networks six times this season.  The Wolf Pack will make three appearances on ESPNU, two games will air on ESPN2 and one will be a regional ESPN telecast.
    Home games on Dec. 17 with Arizona State, Dec. 31 versus Hawai`i and Jan. 8 with Utah State will be shown on ESPNU.  Road games at Idaho on Jan. 12 and at Utah State Feb. 2 can be seen on ESPN2.  The Feb. 24 Idaho at Nevada game will be a regional ESPN telecast.

WINNING AT LAWLOR  — The Wolf Pack has won 74 of its last 89 contests at Lawlor Events Center, dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season. The Pack went 15-2 last year and has won eight of its last nine home contests which includes the season opening win over Montana.  The Wolf Pack has turned in a 102-19 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.843 winning percentage).
    Nevada has also captured 33 of its last 39 WAC regular-season home games (.846) and 39 of its last 47 home games against WAC opponents (.830) counting the 2006, 2009 and 2010 WAC Tournaments (dating back to the 2005-06 season).
    In addition to its 15-2 home mark, Nevada put up some gaudy offensive numbers at Lawlor Events Center last season. The Wolf Pack averaged 82.9 points per game and shot 50.6 percent from the field in its 17 home games. Sophomore Luke Babbitt averaged 22.6 points per home game, while junior Armon Johnson and senior Brandon Fields added 15.5 and 14.5 ppg, respectively. Johnson shot the ball particularly well at home, making 55.7 percent of his shots at Lawlor (107-192). He also dished out 6.8 assists per home game. Senior Ray Kraemer knocked down 52.2 percent of his three-point attempts at home (35-67), including a perfect 4-of-4 outing Jan. 13 vs. Utah State.

RECORD AT LAWLOR EVENTS CENTER (since 2003-04)
Year         Overall  WAC Play
2003-04    15-0    9-0
2004-05    13-4    7-2 (also 0-1 in WAC Tournament)
2005-06    17-1    7-1 (also 3-0 in WAC Tournament)
2006-07    15-1    8-0
2007-08    13-3    7-1
2008-09    13-8    5-3 (also 2-1 in WAC Tournament)
2009-10    15-2    7-1 (also 1-1 in WAC Tournament)
2010-11      1-0       0-0
Totals       102-19   51-8 (54-11 with WAC Tournament)

BREAKING DOWN THE PACK  — The Nevada bench has scored 95 points this season compared to 68 for its opponents.  The Wolf Pack hold a 43-26 advantage on fast break opportunities and has outscored opponents 122-94 in the paint through five games.

NEVADA ONE OF TOP WAC TEAMS OVER LAST SEVEN PLUS SEASONS
Over the last seven plus seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 170-69 record, the second-most wins of any WAC team during that time (.711 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 90 games, the most in that same time period. The top three teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last seven plus seasons:

Overall Record (Pct.)                   WAC Record (Pct.)
1.  Utah State 180-57 (.759)     1.  Nevada 90-26 (.776)
2.  Nevada 170-69 (.711)             2.  Utah State 60-20 (.750)
3.  Boise State 133-96 (.581)    3.  Boise State 64-69 (.481)

WOLF PACK PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN WAC  — Nevada has been picked to finish third in the Western Athletic Conference by both the league’s coaches and media.  The Wolf Pack received 47 points in the coaches’ polls to finish behind Utah State and New Mexico State.  In the media poll the Pack totaled 190 points to again rank behind Utah State and New Mexico State.

2010-11 PRESEASON WAC COACHES’ POLL
Rank    Team  (1st Place Votes)    Pts
1.     Utah State (8)                   64
2.     New Mexico State (1)          55
3.     Nevada                                       47
4.     Boise State                       36
4.     Fresno State                     36
6.     San Jose State                  32
7.     Louisiana Tech                  24
8.     Idaho                              19
9.     Hawai'i                             11

2010-11 PRESEASON WAC MEDIA POLL
Rank    Team  (1st Place Votes)    Pts
1.     Utah State (19)                259
2.     New Mexico State (8)        237
3.     Nevada (2)                              190
4.     San Jose State (1)           135
5.     Fresno State                   133
6.     Boise State                     129
7.     Louisiana Tech                116
8.     Idaho                              78
9.     Hawai'i                             73