FRESNO ST. BULLDOGS (13-13, 6-6 WAC) vs. NEVADA WOLF PACK (15-9, 7-4 WAC)
GAME #25
Wed., Feb. 17, 2010 - 7:07 p.m. PT - Lawlor Events Center (11,536) - Reno, Nev.
TELEVISION: KAME-TV 21 & live streaming at www.nevadawolfpack.com (subscription fee)
Bob Akamian (play-by-play) & Len Stevens (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 6:30 p.m. PT
SERIES HISTORY: Nevada leads the series with Fresno State 44-36.
LAST MEETING: Fresno State has won the two last meetings between the two teams, most recently turning in an 87-77 victory over Nevada on Jan. 23 in Fresno.
Coming off an 88-80 overtime victory over Boise State on Saturday, the Nevada Wolf Pack (15-9, 7-4 WAC) wraps up its two-game homestand Wednesday night, taking on the Fresno State Bulldogs (13-13, 6-6 WAC). Wednesday's game will tip off at 7:07 p.m. and will be televised locally by KAME-TV. It can also be heard live on Nevada's flagship radio station, ESPN 630 AM, with Ryan Radtke calling the action. The contest with the Bulldogs ends a two-game homestand for the Wolf Pack, Nevada's only two home tilts in a stretch of five of seven on the road. Nevada has turned in an 11-1 record at home this season and has won its last three contests at Lawlor Events Center. The Wolf Pack has won its last two games overall and three of its last four and stands in fourth place in the WAC with a 7-4 league mark. Following Wednesday's game with Fresno State, the Wolf Pack heads out on the road for three consecutive games away from Lawlor Events Center, starting Saturday, Feb. 20 with its ESPNU BracketBusters matchup at Missouri State.
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.
JOHNSON THIRD WOLF PACK PLAYER NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nevada's Armon Johnson has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 8-14. The honor marks the second career WAC Player of the Week award for Johnson, while he is the third Wolf Pack student-athlete to earn the honor this season.
Johnson, a junior guard from Reno, Nevada (Hug HS), led Nevada to a pair of wins over Idaho and Boise State last week. At Idaho, Johnson scored a game-high 23 points, including Nevada's last six points with a game-tying three-pointer and game-winning layup and free throw with 2.9 seconds remaining. Johnson also tied a career high with two blocks against the Vandals, along with four assists and one steal. Johnson recorded 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the win over Boise State. He also dished out seven assists and collected a steal in the home victory. On the week, Johnson averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per game. He also shot 50 percent from the field on 16-of-32 shooting.
Sophomore Luke Babbitt was named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 4-10. The honor marks the third career WAC Player of the Week award for Babbitt.
Babbitt helped the Wolf Pack to a 2-0 record with wins over New Mexico State and San Jose State. Babbitt turned in 26 points with 11 rebounds in a 77-67 victory at New Mexico State on Jan. 4. He made 10-of-14 shots from the field, including all three of his three-point attempts. Babbitt tallied 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 96-67 win against San Jose State for his league-leading 11th double-double of the season. He also matched his career high with four assists and added a pair of steals. Babbitt connected on a perfect 11-of-11 shots at the free throw line against the Spartans. On the week, Babbitt averaged 23.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 58.3 percent from the field (14-24) and hit 87.5 percent of his free throw attempts (14-16).
Senior Joey Shaw was named the Verizon Wireless WAC Player of the Week for Nov. 16-22. The honor marked the first career WAC Player of the Week award for Shaw.
Shaw averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game that week. 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). On Nov. 18 at 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 Nov. 21 victory over Houston. He also tied his career mark with nine rebounds.
BABBITT NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Wolf Pack sophomore forward Luke Babbitt has been named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District 8 university men's basketball first team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Babbitt holds a 3.51 grade-point average and is majoring in pre-business administration. He will now be placed on the national ballot with the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America team being announced later this season. He looks to become the first Wolf Pack men's basketball student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors.
The academic all-district team was selected by members of CoSIDA from the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Academic nominees must be at least a sophomore academically, contribute as a starter or significant reserve and maintain at least a 3.30 overall grade point average.
He is joined on the District 8 team by Kurt Cunningham of Boise State, Nedeljko Golubovic of Fresno State, Tyler Newbold of Utah State and Marc Trasolini of Santa Clara.
WINNING AT LAWLOR
The Wolf Pack has won 69 of its last 83 contests at Lawlor Events Center, dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season. Including an 11-1 record this year, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 97-18 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.843 winning percentage).
Nevada has also captured 30 of its last 36 WAC regular-season home games (.833) and 35 of its last 42 home games against WAC opponents (.833) counting the 2006 and 2009 WAC Tournaments (dating back to the 2005-06 season). 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 and New Mexico State last season marked its first back-to-back WAC home losses since falling to Louisiana Tech and SMU in January of 2002.
ABOUT THE FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS
Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Steve Cleveland (76-76 record in four-plus years at Fresno State), the Fresno State Bulldogs returned three starters and a total of six letterwinners from last year's 13-21 team. The Bulldogs finished ninth in the WAC last season with a 3-13 conference mark. Fresno State holds a 13-13 overall mark and is fifth in the WAC with a 6-6 league mark this season. The Bulldogs have won two of their last three games, most recently routing New Mexico State 83-64 on Feb. 11 and falling to Idaho 68-59 on Feb. 13 (both in Fresno).
Sophomore guard/forward Paul George (6-8, 210) leads Fresno State and ranks sixth in the WAC in scoring at 17.4 points per game. He missed four games this season with an ankle sprain but returned to score 30 points in the Bulldogs' victory over New Mexico State on Feb. 11. He is also the Bulldogs' top rebounder at 7.2 boards per game (ninth in the WAC). Senior forward Sylvester Seay (6-9, 225) is second on the team and ninth in the WAC at 15.3 points per game, while freshman center Greg Smith (6-10, 250) is adding 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds (10th in the WAC) per contest. Fresno State has been one of the best defensive squads in the WAC this season, checking in at second in scoring defense (66.2 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.425), blocks (4.35) and steals (7.73).
IN THE SERIES
Nevada holds a 44-36 advantage in the series with Fresno State. The Bulldogs have won the last two games in the series, both in Fresno, while the Wolf Pack has captured seven of the last nine games between the two teams and 13 of the last 18. Fresno State took this year's first meeting, winning 87-77 on Jan. 23 in Fresno, while the teams split last year's meetings with each squad winning at home. Nevada turned in a 65-60 victory over Fresno State on Jan. 17, 2009 in Reno, while Fresno State snapped Nevada's seven-game winning streak in the series with a 68-66 victory on Feb. 26, 2009 in Fresno. The Wolf Pack also holds a 24-15 advantage in games played in Reno and has won the last four contests and seven of the last eight here.
LAST TIME VS. FRESNO STATE
Greg Smith had 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as Fresno State held off Nevada for an 87-77 victory on Jan. 23 in Fresno, Calif.
Mike Ladd added 14 points, and Brandon Sperling had 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Bulldogs, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Luke Babbitt scored 29 points for Nevada, including 10 in a row as the Wolf Pack trimmed a 17-point deficit to five with 3:43 remaining.
But Smith's three-point play put Fresno State ahead 78-70 with 3:20 left, and Nevada got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Luke Babbitt scored 27 points and junior Armon Johnson added 24 as Nevada beat Boise State 88-80 in overtime Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.
Senior Joey Shaw added 16 points and a career-best 12 rebounds for the Wolf Pack.
Ike Okoye led Boise State with 32 points. Daequon Montreal added 18, including a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left in regulation that sent the game into overtime tied at 73.
In the extra period, Nevada led 77-76 with 3:19 remaining before going on a 10-2 run to put the game away. Babbitt had eight of the 10 points in the run, sealing the win with a pair of free throws with 51.8 seconds left.
Boise State led the entire first half, building a nine-point lead in the first five minutes en route to a 34-28 advantage at the break.
ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS
Nevada will travel to Springfield, Mo., on Saturday, Feb. 20 to take on the Missouri State Bears in the ESPNU BracketBusters. ESPN2 will televise the game at Missouri State's JQH Arena to a national audience with tip-off set for 2 p.m. Central Time (12 p.m. Pacific).
This year will mark Nevada's seventh 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 will mark just the second time in Nevada's seven appearances that the Wolf Pack will play on the road in the ESPNU BracketBusters, while the team has turned in a 5-1 record in its previous six BracketBusters appearances.
As part of the BracketBusters agreement, Missouri State will travel to Reno to play the Wolf Pack in 2010-11.
Four WAC teams will have televised games in this year's event, including Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State and Utah State. In addition to Nevada, Louisiana Tech will travel to play Northeastern on Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2, New Mexico State travels to play Pacific on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. PT on ESPNU, and Utah State will host Wichita State at 10 p.m. MT on ESPN2. The other five WAC teams that were not selected to compete in a BracketBusters television game will play non-conference opponents that day.
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
Nevada leads the WAC in scoring offense and ranks 15th in the NCAA this season at 80.0 points per game, up from its average of 70.6 ppg last year. 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 is second in the WAC at 21.6 points per game (12th in the NCAA), while junior Armon Johnson is seventh in the WAC at 16.5 points per game and senior Brandon Fields ranks 12th at 14.0 points per contest. Senior Joey Shaw is just out of the WAC's top 15 at 10.8 points per game.
Nevada turned in three of its top four scoring efforts of the season with 104 points in its Dec. 22 loss to BYU, 99 points in the following day's victory over Tulsa and 96 in its 96-67 win over San Jose State on Jan. 9. The team has averaged 80.7 points per game in its last 18 contests (1452). This season marks the first time since 1997-98 that the team has topped the century mark twice in the same year, while its two 100-point efforts are the top two scoring efforts in the WAC so far this season. The Pack's 96 points Jan. 9 vs. San Jose State were also the most for Nevada in a WAC game since the team's 98-85 win over New Mexico State on Feb. 28, 2008 in Reno.
Nevada's season-high 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.
The Wolf Pack has had four different players lead the team in scoring this year. Sophomore Luke Babbitt has paced the Wolf Pack in scoring a team-best 15 times this year, including the seven of the last eight games and 13 of the last 16. Most recently, he scored 27 in Saturday's victory over Boise State. He has also scored a season-high 29 points three times this year (Jan. 20 at Boise State, Jan. 23 at Fresno State and Dec. 17 vs. Eastern Washington).
Junior Armon Johnson has led the team in scoring six times, including a season-high 30 points Dec. 22 vs. BYU (also a team season high) and 23 in the Jan. 9 win over San Jose State. Most recently, he turned in 23 points, including the game-winning three-point play, Feb. 10 at Idaho. Johnson also 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. Senior Brandon Fields had 22 in a Nov. 18 loss at UNLV and 20 Dec. 12 vs. South Dakota State, while senior Joey Shaw turned in his career-best 26 in the Nov. 14 win over Houston.
Nevada has had at least four players in double figures for scoring in 16 of its 24 games this year, including two with five (Houston and BYU). The Wolf Pack had three players reach the 20-point plateau in each of those contests.
NEVADA'S 1,000-POINT SCORERS
With a free throw late in the second half Jan. 23 at Fresno State, sophomore Luke Babbitt became the 21st player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. Babbitt now has 1,093 career points (17th all time at Nevada) and is one of eight players in school history to reach the mark in only two seasons. Babbitt joins junior Armon Johnson and senior Brandon Fields in that elite club, marking the first time in school history that Nevada has members of the 1,000-point club on its roster in the same season.
With his 19 points on Jan. 9 vs. San Jose State, Fields reached the 1,000-point mark and now has 1,115 points in 122 career games (16th). Johnson scored his 1,000th career point Dec. 5 at Pacific and currently ranks 11th all time at Nevada with 1,303 points in 91 career games.
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 21.6 points per game (12th in the NCAA) and first in the conference at 9.5 boards per contest (33rd in the nation in rebounding). He also ranks second in the WAC in scoring and rebounding in conference games only, turning in 23.7 points and 9.5 boards per league tilt.
The Nevada southpaw turned in a season-high 29 points in a Dec. 17 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. He has also matched that season high twice recently, turning in 29 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field (including 2-of-2 from three-point land) and 11-of-11 shooting from the free throw line Jan. 20 at Boise State and scoring 29 on 11-of-19 shooting Jan. 23 at Fresno State.
Babbitt ranks tied for 12th in the nation with 14 double-doubles and has had nine or more rebounds in all but six games this season. Babbitt has turned in a double-double in six of the last 11 games, most recently adding 29 points and 10 rebounds Jan. 20 at Boise State and recording the same totals Jan. 23 at Fresno State.
Babbitt has had 27 career games with at least 20 points (including 16 this year and 13 of the last 14 games) and has led the team in scoring 30 times in his young career (15 times last year and 15 this season). He has scored in double figures in 55 of 58 career games at Nevada, including all 24 contests this year. In the last 14 games, Babbitt is averaging 23.4 points per contest (327). The preseason WAC Player of the Year, Babbitt was 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 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, 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 last year behind only Liberty's Seth Curry (20.2 ppg). 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.
KRAEMER LIGHTS IT UP FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Senior Ray Kraemer ranks second in the WAC and ranks 17th in the nation in three-point percentage, knocking down 47.3 percent of his long-range attempts (43-91). He has shot 48.3 percent in the last 13 games (28-58), including a 4-of-4 outing Jan. 13 vs. Utah State to match his career best for three-pointers made. He has drained a career-best four trey three times this season with 4-of-6 efforts Nov. 21 vs. Houston and Dec. 22 vs. BYU and the 4-of-4 showing vs. the Aggies.
Kraemer has made at least one three-pointer in 21 of 24 games this season, including 11 contests with more than one. He has already made 43 three-pointers this season, surpassing the 23 he had in his first two seasons combined.
At 43.1 percent for his career (66-153), he ranks second in career three-point percentage at Nevada, just behind Byron Strachan who made 45.0 percent (68-151) from 1986-88.
SHOOTING TOUCH
Nevada ranks second in the WAC and 17th in the nation in field goal percentage, knocking down 48.3 percent of its field goal attempts, compared to just 42.7 percent from the field last season. The Wolf Pack has shot 48.7 percent from the field in its last 13 games (435-893), including a 58.8-percent effort Dec. 22 vs. BYU and a 56.3-percent showing Dec. 23 vs. Tulsa.
The Wolf Pack has shot over 50 percent in 10 of its 24 games this season and holds a 9-1 record 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.
Nevada's roster features two players ranked in the WAC's top 15 for field goal percentage. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is ranked 12th in the WAC and 43rd in the nation at 52.7 percent, and junior Armon Johnson checks in at 15th in the WAC at 50.0 percent.
Nevada has also checked in at 36.0 percent from three-point land this season after shooting just 30.6 percent from long range a year ago. The Wolf Pack has made 50 percent of its three-point attempts six times this year (6-of-12 at UNLV, 11-of-22 vs. Houston, 9-of-18 vs. Tulsa, 9-of-18 Jan. 13 vs. Utah State, 7-13 Jan. 20 at Boise State, 10-20 Wednesday at ). The 11 three-pointers made vs. Houston marked the most for Nevada since it made 11 in a Feb. 9, 2008 win over Hawai'i.
ASSISTS MACHINE
Junior guard Armon Johnson leads the WAC and ranks 28th in the nation this year with 5.46 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 matched that career high with 12 assists in a Jan. 30 win over Hawai'i. He also had eight assists in a Dec. 17 victory over Eastern Washington and turned in nine assists Jan. 13 vs. Utah State. Johnson also leads the WAC with 6.18 assists per game in league play. Last year, Johnson turned in 11 points and 11 assists in a 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's 12 assists in the team's wins over Houston and Hawai'i are still the most by a WAC player so far this season.
With his seven assists in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific, Johnson entered the Nevada career chart for assists and currently ranks seventh with 387 career assists. He has also become just the sixth player in Wolf Pack history to turn in 1,000 points and 250 assists in his career. 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. Johnson was on the preseason watch list for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award, which is annually presented to the top collegiate point guard in the country.
A 2009 first-team All-WAC selection, Johnson has led the Pack in scoring six times this year and checks in at seventh in the WAC in scoring with 16.5 points per game this season. He scored a season-high 30 points in the Dec. 22 game with BYU, his second career 30-point game and just three points shy of his career best of 33 last year vs. California. He has also turned four other 20-point games this year, including 22 points in the Nov. 21 win over Houston, a game-high 23 Jan. 9 vs. San Jose State, a game-best 23 Feb. 10 at Idaho and 24 in Saturday's overtime victory over Boise State.
HUNT COMING INTO HIS OWN
Sophomore forward Dario Hunt has continued to improve and is averaging 6.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game (eighth in the WAC) this season, up from 3.6 points and 4.4 boards per game last season. He 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 12 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 has since broken his career scoring high, turning in 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 free throw shooting Dec. 22 vs. BYU. He also pulled down nine boards in the game against the Cougars. He had 11 rebounds Jan. 2 at Louisiana Tech and added 12 points Jan. 4 at New Mexico State.
The WAC's leader last year, sophomore Dario Hunt is second in the league in blocked shots this year with 2.13 per game (46th in the NCAA), including a career-high matching six Jan. 13 vs. Utah State and again Jan. 30 vs. Hawai'i, five in the season opener vs. Montana State and three in five other games. He has blocked at least one shot in 49 of 58 career games (21 of 24 contests this season) and has turned in 34 career games with more than one block, including six with five or more. Hunt has 118 blocks in his career (in 58 games, 2.03 per game), which already ranks fifth 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.
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 15-9 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.
WOLF PACK NOTES
- Senior Joey Shaw turned in his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-best 12 rebounds in Saturday's win over Fresno State. He had come into Saturday's contest averaging just 2.9 rebounds per game in his previous eight contests.
- Nevada made 26 of 36 free throw attempts (.722) Saturday vs. the Broncos, season highs for both free throws made and attempted.
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt and junior Armon Johnson have come up big in the second half in each of the last two come-from behind wins for the Wolf Pack. Babbitt (12) and Johnson (13) combined to score all 25 of Nevada's points in the second half of the Feb. 10 win at Idaho, while the pair scored 39 of Nevada's 60 points in the second half and overtime on Saturday (Babbitt 22, Johnson 17).
- With the 88-80 win over the Broncos, Nevada improved to 1-1 in overtime games this season and 8-7 in games decided by 10 points or less. The Wolf Pack has lost its nine games this year by an average of just 8.0 points per contest (72).
- The Wolf Pack scored 88 points in Saturday's win, its most points in five games (since an 88-82 win at Boise State on Jan. 20). The team had averaged just 66.0 points per game in its previous three contests (198), down from its WAC-leading average of 80.0 ppg. The 65 points in its Feb. 6 loss at Utah State were a low for Nevada in WAC play this year.
- In addition to its 11-1 home mark, Nevada has put up some gaudy offensive numbers at Lawlor Events Center this season. The Wolf Pack is averaging 82.6 points per game and shooting 50.6 percent from the field in its 12 home games. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is averaging 21.0 points per home game, while junior Armon Johnson and senior Brandon Fields are adding 16.4 and 15.0 ppg, respectively. Johnson is shooting the ball particularly well at home, making 56.6 percent of his shots at Lawlor (81-143). He has also dished out 6.8 assists per home game. Senior Ray Kraemer is knocking down 49.0 percent of his three-point attempts at home (24-49), including a perfect 4-of-4 outing Jan. 13 vs. Utah State.
- Nevada has shot 76.7 percent from the free throw line in its last three games (56-73) after shooting just 63.4 percent from the charity stripe in its previous three (64-101). That stretch included a season-low 50.0 percent (9-18) in its Jan. 13 overtime loss to Utah State.
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt ranks second in the WAC and 12th in the nation at 89.4 percent from the free throw line this year (127-142), including a 10-of-10 effort Nov. 18 at UNLV, 11-of-11 showings Jan. 9 vs. San Jose State and Jan. 20 at Boise State and an 8-of-8 effort Saturday vs Boise State. His miss in the second half Jan. 4 at New Mexico State snapped a stretch of 22 straight made free throws for him. Last year, Babbitt led the WAC in free throw percentage and ranked 24th in the country last year as a freshman at 86.4 percent.
- Babbitt has made 87.4 percent of his career free throw attempts (279-318) and ranks second in career percentage at Nevada behind only Jimmy Carroll (.881, 1996-98).
- The Wolf Pack still ranks second in the WAC with 37.7 boards per game but has averaged just 35.1 rebounds per contest since starting WAC play. The team has pulled down only 33.6 rebounds per game in its last seven contests (235).
- Nevada has been outrebounded in seven of its last eight games and tied Fresno State in rebounding on Jan. 23 in the only other game in that stretch. Prior to the last eight games, the team had outrebounded its previous 11 opponents. Nevada is 9-4 when outrebounding its opponent this season.
- Nevada has two players ranked in the WAC's top 10 in rebounding. Sophomore Luke Babbitt leads the WAC and ranks 33rd in the nation with 9.5 rebounds per game, while sophomore Dario Hunt checks in at eighth in the WAC at 7.3 boards per contest. 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 then career-best nine by senior Joey Shaw and Hunt (both since broken) and a career high-matching seven by junior Armon Johnson.
- Fields is turning in 14.0 points per game this season (third on the team and 12th in the WAC), up 5.0 ppg from his average of 9.0 last year. He tied his career best with four three-pointers made Jan. 23 at Fresno State and Jan. 30 vs. Hawai'i.
- The Wolf Pack leads the WAC and ranks 56th in the NCAA with 4.63 blocked shots per game after leading the conference in the category with 4.79 per tilt last season. Nevada blocked a season-high 11 shots Jan. 13 vs. Utah State with sophomore Dario Hunt matching his career best with six rejections and sophomore Luke Babbitt setting a career high with four blocks. Hunt checks in at second in the WAC and 46th in the nation with 2.13 blocked shots per game and also had six blocks in the Jan. 30 win over Hawai'i.
- Sophomore Keith Olson saw the first action of his Wolf Pack career Dec. 19 vs. Wagner, turning in five points on 2-of-4 shooting and pulling down four rebounds in 11 minutes. The Gardnerville, Nev., native and Douglas High School graduate transferred to Nevada from Northern Arizona and sat out the first semester due to NCAA rules.
- Sophomore London Giles turned in a career-high six assists in 10 minutes of action in the Dec. 17 Wagner game, while senior Brandon Fields matched his career high with five. The pair accounted for 11 of Nevada's 19 assists in the contest.
- The contest-cinching three-pointer that senior Brandon Fields hit to with 4.3 seconds left in its Dec. 17 victory over Eastern Washington 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.
- 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 6.3 points per game.
- Freshman Marko Cukic 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.
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt was on the preseason watch list for the Wooden Award, marking the fourth time in five seasons that Nevada has had a player considered for that prestigious award with Marcelus Kemp making the preseason 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.
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Following Wednesday's game with Fresno State, Nevada will take a break from WAC play for the ESPNU BracketBusters, heading to Springfield, Mo., to take on Missouri State on Saturday, Feb. 20 in a nationally televised game on ESPN2. The team returns to WAC play Feb. 25 and 27, traveling to San Jose State and Hawai'i.
