University of Nevada Athletics

Exhibition game
Sat., Nov. 6, 2010 - 7:05 p.m. PT - Lawlor Events Center (11,536) - Reno, Nev.

TELEVISION:    Live internet streaming at www.nevadawolfpack.com (subscription fee)
RADIO:     None
SERIES HISTORY:    Seattle Pacific holds a 4-3 series lead with the Wolf Pack
LAST MEETING:    Nevada has won the last two games in the series, 89-80 on Dec. 19, 2002 and and 83-57 on Dec. 13, 2005.  The Pack is 3-0 versus the Falcons at home.

The University of Nevada (0-0) will play its first competition of the 2010-11 season on Saturday, Nov. 6 versus Seattle Pacific (1-0).  Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. on Saturday at Lawlor Events Center, and admission is $5 per person (all seats general admission). Nevada has won its last eight exhibition games, including last year’s 90-63 decision over Chico State on Nov. 10, 2009 at Lawlor Events Center.
    Under the direction of second-year head coach David Carter, the Wolf Pack returns just one starter and a total of six letterwinners from last year's 21-13 team. Junior forward Dario Hunt, a member of the 2010 WAC All-Defensive Team, returns after starting 33 of 34 games last season.

 

ABOUT THE SEATTLE PACIFIC FALCONS
Seattle Pacific returns three starters from last year’s team that posted a 22-6 record and made its sixth straight NCAA II Tournament appearance. Heading the list of returnees is senior point guard Chris Banchero (Seattle, Wash./O’Dea HS), the reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference and region Player of the Year. Banchero averaged 19.6 points and 2.9 assists while converting 52 percent of his shots from the field. A pair of front-line starters are back; senior Ryan Sweet (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap HS) and junior Jake Anderson (Burlington, Wash./Burlington-Edison HS). Sweet tallied 10.3 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game in 2010. Anderson averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds. The Falcons front line will be bolstered by the addition of two towering transfers from Division I schools. SPU added 6-foot-11 sophomore Andy Poling (Portland, Ore.) from Gonzaga and 6-10 junior Modou Niang (Richard Toll, Senegal) from Utah State.
    The Falcons opened the season with a 87-82 exhibition road victory at Eastern Washington on Tuesday night.  Bancher led the Falcons with 38 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and connected on 12-of-15 free throws.  Andy Poling and Sweet totaled 16 and 13 points respectively in the victory.
   
2010-11 WOLF PACK BASKETBALL TEAM NOTES

- Nevada returns one starter and a total of six letterwinners from last year's 21-13 team. Junior forward Dario Hunt, a member of the 2010 WAC All-Defensive Team, returns after starting 33 of 34 games last season. The Wolf Pack squad will also feature three players who redshirted last year, including Indiana transfer and sophomore guard Malik Story, Duke transfer and junior forward Olek Czyz and redshirt freshman guard Jerry Evans Jr., as well as seven other newcomers.

- This year's team will feature one senior, five juniors, four sophomores, one redshirt freshman and five true freshmen. The Wolf Pack's seven newcomers include juniors Illiwa Baldwin and Derrell Conner and true freshmen Devonte Elliott, Jordan Finn, Jordan Burris, Deonte Burton and Kevin Panzer.

- David Carter is in his second season as Nevada's head coach. Last year, he became just the second first-year Nevada head coach to win 20 games (Mark Fox is the other). Carter is joined on his staff by associate head coach Doug Novsek who is in his fifth year with the program and assistant coaches Keith Brown and Dennis Gates who are in their second years at Nevada.

- With its 21-13 record last year, the Wolf Pack turned in Nevada's seventh straight season with at least 20 wins. The team has now turned in a 169-65 record in the last seven seasons (.722 winning percentage, 2003-04 to present). The 2009-10 campaign marked the 12th 20-win season in school history.

- Last season, the Wolf Pack finished tied for second in the WAC with an 11-5 mark. Nevada has turned in a conference-best 90-26 record in WAC games over the last seven seasons (.776 winning percentage, 2003-04 to present).

- Nevada has earned eight consecutive postseason appearances, advancing to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament last season. That marked the team's first trip to the NIT since 2003 and the Wolf Pack's win at Wichita State in the NIT first round was its first postseason victory since 2007.

- Nevada has turned in a 101-19 record at Lawlor Events Center in the last seven years (.842 winning percentage since the start of the 2003-04 season) and has won 73 of its last 88 contests at Lawlor Events Center. The Wolf Pack has also won 33 of its last 39 WAC regular-season home games.

- The Wolf Pack scored 2,703 points last year to break the school record for points scored, besting the mark of 2,632 that the Wolf Pack had in its 2006-07 campaign. In 2009-10, Nevada led the WAC and ranked 14th in the nation in scoring, averaging 79.5 points per game. That marked the most points per game since the 1991-92 squad averaged 84.0. Nevada reached 100 points in three games last year, which was the most since the 1991-92 team did it four times.

- Nevada also surpassed its school records for field goals made (983) and attempted (2040) in 2009-10, surpassing the 31-year old mark of 950 field goals by the 1978-79 squad and 1,991 attempts the 2003-04 team put up. The team made 48.2 percent of its field goal attempts to rank second in the WAC and 17th in the NCAA last season.

- Former Nevada players Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson were selected in the first and second rounds of the 2010 National Basketball Association Draft. Babbitt was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round as the 16th overall pick and immediately traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, while Johnson went to the Blazers as the 34th overall pick. Babbitt and Johnson are the fifth and sixth Wolf Pack players to be drafted in the last seven years.  The 2010 WAC Player of the Year and Associated Press honorable-mention All-American, Babbitt ties for the highest draft pick in Nevada history with Kirk Snyder who was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 16th overall pick in 2004 and is the third first-round pick in school history. That also marked the third time in school history and second time in the last four years that Nevada has had two players drafted in the same year. Johnny High (Phoenix Suns) and Edgar Jones (Milwaukee Bucks) were both drafted in the second round in 1979, while Nick Fazekas (Dallas Mavericks) and Ramon Sessions (Milwaukee Bucks) went in the second round in 2007.
   
SIX ESPN TV GAMES IN 2010-11
The 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 telecas

WINNING AT LAWLOR
The Wolf Pack has won 73 of its last 88 contests at Lawlor Events Center, dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season. Including a 15-2 record this year and wins in seven of its last eight home games, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 101-19 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.842 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 this 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.

2009-10 YEAR IN REVIEW

Turning in the program’ s seventh consecutive 20-win season and earning its eighth consecutive postseason invitation, the Nevada Wolf Pack finished the 2009-10 season with a 21-13 overall record. Under the direction of first-year head coach David Carter, the team finished in a tie for second in the Western Athletic Conference standings with an 11-5 conference mark, the seventh straight season that the Wolf Pack has finished in the top two in the WAC. Nevada won eight of its last 12 games to end the season and earned its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament since 2003. Nevada also ranked in the top 15 in the nation in scoring and field goal percentage and broke school single-season marks for scoring and field goals made and attempted.

WOLF PACK EARNS EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE POSTSEASON BID
The Wolf Pack earned its eighth consecutive postseason invitation and made its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament since 2003 (fourth NIT bid overall). The Wolf Pack’s string of eight postseason appearances dates back to a 2003 NIT bid followed by four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2004-07 and a pair of College Basketball Invitational appearances in 2008 and 2009. The sixth-seeded Wolf Pack opened NIT play with a 74-70 victory at third-seeded Wichita State on March 17, 2010, delivering the Shockers’ first home loss of the year, before falling at second-seeded Rhode Island 85-83 on March 22. The win over Wichita State marked Nevada’s first postseason victory since opening the 2007 NCAA Tournament with an overtime win over Creighton, while the team has now won its opening round postseason game for the fourth time in seven years.

NEVADA ONE OF TOP WAC TEAMS OVER LAST SEVEN YEARS
Over the last seven seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 169-65 record, the second-most wins of any WAC team during that time (.722 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 six seasons:

Overall Record (Pct.)                  WAC Record (Pct.)
1.  Utah State 176-56 (.759)       1.  Nevada 90-26 (.776)
2.  Nevada 169-65 (.722)         2.  Utah State 60-20 (.750)
3.  Boise State 128-96 (.571)      3.  Boise State 64-69 (.481)

NEVADA NOTCHES SEVENTH STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASON
With its March 11, 2010  victory over Idaho, Nevada notched its seventh consecutive 20-win season and the 12th 20-win campaign in school history. Wolf Pack head coach David Carter also became the second first-year head coach in school history to reach the 20-win mark (Mark Fox was the other with a 25-7 record in 2004-05). Nevada has won at least 20 games in each of the last seven years dating back to 2003-04.
    With its 21-13 mark in 2009-10, Nevada also turned in a school-record nine consecutive winning seasons dating back to the 2001-02 campaign (three under former Pack head coach Trent Johnson, five under Fox and one under Carter). The previous long stretch was six from 1986-87 to 1991-92.

ALL-WAC SELECTIONS
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt was named the 2010 WAC Player of the Year, marking the fifth time that a Nevada student-athlete has been named the WAC Player of the Year in the 10 years that Nevada has been a member of the WAC. Babbitt is the first Wolf Pack player to win the award since Nick Fazekas was named the WAC Player of the Year for the third consecutive season in 2007. The 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year, Babbitt was also named to the 2010 All-WAC first team for the second year in a row and became the fourth Wolf Pack player to be named conference player of the year in school history.
    Junior Armon Johnson earned 2010 second-team honors after being a first-team All-WAC selection in 2009 and the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2008. Sophomore forward Dario Hunt rounded out Nevada’s all-league selections, being named to the WAC All-Defensive Team for the first WAC honor of his career.

BABBITT FIRST ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt was named a 2010 ESPN the Magazine second-team Academic All-American, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. A two-time Academic All-WAC honoree, Babbitt held a 3.51 grade-point average as a pre-business administration major. He became the first men’s basketball player in the history of Nevada men’s basketball to earn Academic All-America honors and just the second Wolf Pack basketball player to do it after Chris Starr earned the honor as a member of the women’s basketball team in 1986.

BABBITT TURNS IN OUTSTANDING SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt turned in one of the finest campaigns in school history as a sophomore in 2009-10. The WAC Player of the Year, AP honorable-mention All-American, all-district selection and second-team Academic All-American led the Wolf Pack in scoring and rebounding for the second consecutive season. He ranked second in the WAC and ninth in the nation with 21.9 points per game and 8.9 boards per contest (51st in the NCAA). He also led the WAC in scoring and finished third in rebounding in conference games only, turning in 23.7 points and 8.9 boards per league tilt.

WINNING AT LAWLOR
The Wolf Pack has won 73 of its last 88 contests at Lawlor Events Center, dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season. Including a 15-2 record in 2009-10 and wins in seven of its last eight home games, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 101-19 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.842 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).

OFFENSIVE RECORDS FALL IN 2009-10
Led by WAC Player of the Year Luke Babbitt, the Wolf Pack basketball team’s prolific offense broke several Nevada single-season records in 2009-10.
    Nevada scored 2,703 points in 2009-10 to break the school record for points scored, besting the mark of 2,632 that the Wolf Pack had in its 2006-07 campaign. The Wolf Pack led the WAC and ranked 14th in the nation in scoring, averaging 79.5 points per game. That marked the most points per game since the 1991-92 squad averaged 84.0. Nevada reached 100 points in three games this year, which was the most since the 1991-92 team did it four times.
    The Wolf Pack also surpassed its school records for field goals made (983) and attempted (2040) in 2009-10, surpassing the 31-year old mark of 950 field goals by the 1978-79 Nevada squad and 1,991 attempts the 2003-04 team put up. The team made 48.2 percent of its field goal attempts to rank second in the WAC and 17th in the NCAA.
    Babbitt led the team, finished second in the WAC and ranked eighth in the NCAA with 21.9 points per game in 2009-10, the most for a Wolf Pack player since Darryl Owens averaged 22.7 in 1988-89. Babbitt also shattered Nevada’s single-season scoring record, finishing with 743 points to pass the 721 Nick Fazekas had in 2005-06. He also set the school single-season records for free throws made with 199 and free throw percentage at 91.7 in 2009-10 and made his final 34 free throw attempts of the season to claim the school record of consecutive free throws made from Todd Okeson (28 consecutive in 2003-04).

CARTER HAS SUCCESSFUL FIRST SEASON AT HELM
Nevada’s Nov. 14, 2009 win over Montana State gave Nevada head coach David Carter his first career victory, and he finished his first year as the Wolf Pack’s mentor with a 21-13 overall record. 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, and is just the second first-year Nevada coach to win 20 games (Mark Fox is the other, 25-7 in 2004-05).

BABBITT, JOHNSON TAKEN IN 2010 NBA DRAFT
Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson were selected in the first and second rounds of the 2010 National Basketball Association Draft. Babbitt was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round as the 16th overall pick and immediately traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, while Johnson went to the Blazers as the 34th overall pick. Babbitt and Johnson are the fifth and sixth Wolf Pack players to be drafted in the last seven years.  Babbitt tied for the highest draft pick in Nevada history with Kirk Snyder who was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 16th overall pick in 2004 and became the third first-round pick in school history. It also marked the third time in school history and second time in the last four years that Nevada has had two players drafted in the same year. Johnny High (Phoenix Suns) and Edgar Jones (Milwaukee Bucks) were both drafted in the second round in 1979, while Nick Fazekas (Dallas Mavericks) and Ramon Sessions (Milwaukee Bucks) went in the second round in 2007.