NEVADA WOLF PACK (16-10, 8-4 WAC) vs. SAN JOSE ST. SPARTANS (13-13, 5-7 WAC)
GAME #27
Thurs., Feb. 25, 2010 - 7:07 p.m. PT - The Event Center (5,000) - San Jose, Calif.
TELEVISION: KAME-TV 21(live) & Comcast SportsNet California (tape delay on 2/26 at 5 p.m.)
Rich Cellini (play-by-play) & Dave Bollwinkel (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: San Jose State leads the all-time series 47-45.
LAST MEETING: Nevada has won the last five meetings between the two teams, most recently turning in a 96-67 win over San Jose State on Jan. 9 in Reno.
Coming off a 62-60 loss at Missouri State in Saturday's ESPN BracketBusters, the Nevada Wolf Pack (16-10, 8-4 WAC) returns to Western Athletic Conference play this week, traveling to San Jose State (13-13, 5-7 WAC) on Thursday night. Thursday's game at the Event Center in San Jose will tip off at 7:07 p.m. Pacific Time and will be televised locally by KAME-TV 21. It can also be heard live on Nevada's flagship radio station, ESPN 630 AM, with Ryan Radtke calling the action. Saturday's loss snapped Nevada's three-game overall winning streak, while the team has still won its last two WAC games and three of its last four. Thursday's contest at SJSU is the second of three consecutive road games for Nevada and part of five of seven away from home for the Wolf Pack which has turned in a 3-8 record on the road this season. The Wolf Pack stands in a tie for third place in the WAC with an 8-4 league mark. Following Thursday's game with the Spartans, the Wolf Pack heads to Honolulu to take the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors on Saturday, Feb. 27.
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.
BABBITT NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt has been named an ESPN the Magazine second-team Academic All-American, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Babbitt holds a 3.51 grade-point average and is majoring in pre-business administration. He leads the Wolf Pack and ranks in the top 30 in the country in scoring and rebounding this season. The preseason pick for Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, the Reno native and graduate of Galena High School earned Academic All-WAC honors last year.
"We are very proud of Luke Babbitt. This is a very hard award to achieve and for him to be our first Academic All-American is a great accomplishment for Luke and for our program," Nevada head coach David Carter said. "For a young man to be able to succeed at such a high level both academically and athletically is very unique, and being named an Academic All-American is something that Luke will be very proud of for years to come."
Babbitt is the first men's basketball player in the history of Nevada men's basketball to earn Academic All-America honors. He is the second Wolf Pack basketball player to do it after Chris Starr earned the honor as a member of the Nevada women's basketball team in 1986. The University of Nevada has had 14 student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors in the program's history.
To be eligible for the All-America team, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve, maintain a grade-point average of 3.30, have reached sophomore academic and athletic status and be nominated by his sports information director.
Earlier this season, Babbitt was named a first-team Academic All-District 8 university men's basketball first team, which made him eligible for the national ballot.
ON THE ROAD
Nevada has won 39 of its last 68 games away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center, including 33 road wins and six 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 21 of its last 43 regular-season road contests and 32 of its last 54. Nevada turned in an 8-5 road mark last season (6-2 in WAC play) and is 3-8 on the road (3-3 in WAC play) and 1-1 in neutral-site games this season, picking up its first win away from home with a 99-68 rout of Tulsa on Dec. 23 on a neutral court at the Las Vegas Classic. Since dropping its first five games away from home, the Wolf Pack has now won four of its last eight, including two of its last four WAC road games. Earlier this season, the team played three consecutive road games and four of five away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center. The stretch also included tough losses at UNLV on Nov. 18, VCU on Nov. 27 and No. 11/12 North Carolina on Nov. 29. During that three-game road stretch, Nevada racked up 5,731 travel miles.
In the last six seasons since the start of the 2004-05 campaign, the Wolf Pack has tallied a 49-28 record in road contests (.636 winning percentage). That includes a 35-12 record in WAC road games (.745). In 2006-07, the Wolf Pack 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.
ABOUT THE SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS
Under the direction of fifth-year head coach George Nessman (50-99 record in four-plus years at SJSU), the San Jose State Spartans returned four starters and a total of six letterwinners from last year's 13-17 team. The Spartans finished tied for sixth in the WAC last season with a 6-10 conference mark. San Jose State holds a 13-13 overall mark this season and is sixth in the WAC with a 5-7 conference mark. The Spartans have dropped their last four WAC games. The team picked up a 77-66 win at Montana State on Saturday but fell to Seattle on a last-second three-pointer 90-88 in non-conference play on Monday night.
Junior guard Adrian Oliver (6-4, 210) leads the WAC with 22.8 points per game this season. Senior center Chris Oakes (6-10, 235) is averaging 11.2 points and paces the Spartans and ranks second in the WAC with 9.2 rebounds per contest. He also checks in at third in the league in field goal percentage at 60.0 percent. San Jose State ranks second in the WAC in three-point shooting at 40.0 percent, led by Oliver who is sixth in the WAC at 42.4 percent (39-92).
IN THE SERIES
San Jose State leads the all-time series with Nevada 47-45, while the Wolf Pack has gotten the best of the series recently, winning the last five games and 15 of the last 16 meetings between the two teams. Nevada won this year's first meeting, turning in a 96-67 victory on Jan. 9 in Reno, while the Wolf Pack won all three meetings with San Jose State last year, turning in an 80-68 victory on Feb. 12 in San Jose, an 89-66 decision on March 5 in Reno and a 78-68 victory in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals on March 12, 2009 in Reno. The Wolf Pack has also won six of the last seven games played in San Jose.
LAST TIME OUT VS. SAN JOSE STATE
Junior Armon Johnson had 23 points and sophomore Luke Babbitt 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace Nevada over San Jose State 96-67 on Jan. 9 in Reno.
Seniors Brandon Fields added 19 points and Joey Shaw 11 for the Wolf Pack, while Adrian Oliver had 20 points, C.J. Webster 15 and Chris Oakes 13 for the Spartans.
Nevada led by double digits for the entire second half. San Jose State was able to cut the lead to 10 points at 60-50 with 14:45 left in the game, but the Wolf Pack answered with a 15-6 run over the next six minutes to put the game away.
Nevada never trailed in the game, going ahead by double digits at 20-8 on a three-pointer by senior Ray Kraemer with 13:08 left in the first half. The Spartans could get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game.
LAST TIME OUT
Nafis Ricks hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left Saturday, helping Missouri State overcome a 10-point second-half deficit and beat Nevada 62-60 in a BracketBusters game.
The Bears trailed 55-45 when junior Armon Johnson scored on a dunk with 6:32 remaining. Missouri State tied the game at 57 with a 12-2 run that was capped by Will Creekmore's jump shot with 3:03 remaining. Creekmore had six points during the run.
Ricks scored the game-winner when he was fouled while rebounding a miss from teammate Adam Leonard as the Bears worked for the last shot.
Kyle Weems led Missouri State with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Creekmore and Leonard had 11 points each. Sophomore Luke Babbitt led Nevada with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson added 15 points.
NEVADA IN THE ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS
This year's contest at Missouri State marked Nevada's seventh appearance in the ESPN 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 marked just the second time in Nevada's seven appearances that the Wolf Pack played on the road in the event, while the team has turned in a 5-2 record in BracketBusters appearances. As part of the BracketBusters agreement, Missouri State will return the game with Nevada in the next two seasons.
NEVADA IN BRACKETBUSTERS GAMES
Date Opponent Result
Feb. 21, 2004 vs. Toledo W, 60-58
Feb. 19, 2005 vs. Vermont W, 74-64
Feb. 17, 2006 vs. Akron W, 88-61
Feb. 17, 2007 vs. Northern Iowa W, 79-64
Feb. 23, 2008 at Southern Illinois L, 49-74
Feb. 20, 2009 vs. VCU W, 71-70
Feb. 20, 2010 at Missouri State L, 60-62
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
Nevada leads the WAC in scoring offense and ranks 19th in the NCAA this season at 79.0 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 (11th in the NCAA), while junior Armon Johnson is eighth in the WAC at 16.6 points per game and senior Brandon Fields ranks 12th at 13.5 points per contest. Senior Joey Shaw is just out of the WAC's top 15 at 10.4 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. 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 17 times this year, including nine of the last 10 games and 15 of the last 18. Most recently, he scored 27 in a Jan. 13 victory over Boise State, 27 in a Feb. 17 win over Fresno State and 16 in Saturday's loss at Missouri 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 26 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 1,136 career points (15th 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 1,129 points in 124 career games (16th). Johnson scored his 1,000th career point Dec. 5 at Pacific and currently ranks 11th all time at Nevada with 1,337 points in 93 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 (11th in the NCAA) and first in the conference at 9.7 boards per contest (28th in the nation in rebounding). He also ranks second in the WAC in scoring and first in rebounding in conference games only, turning in 24.0 points and 9.7 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 eighth in the nation with 16 double-doubles and has had nine or more rebounds in all but six games this season. Babbitt has turned in a double-double in the last two games and eight of the last 12, most recently turning in 27 points and 12 rebounds in a Feb. 13 win over Fresno State and 16 points and 12 boards Saturday at Missouri State.
Babbitt has had 28 career games with at least 20 points (including 17 this year and 14 of the last 16 games) and has led the team in scoring 32 times in his young career (15 times last year and 17 this season). He has scored in double figures in 57 of 60 career games at Nevada, including all 26 contests this year. In the last 16 games, Babbitt is averaging 23.1 points per contest (370). 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 tied for fifth in the nation in three-point percentage, knocking down 49.0 percent of his long-range attempts (47-96). He has shot 50.8 percent in the last 15 games (32-63), 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. He also went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc Feb. 13 vs. Fresno State and went 2-of-2 Saturday at Missouri State.
Kraemer has made at least one three-pointer in 23 of 26 games this season, including 13 contests with more than one. He has already made 47 three-pointers this season, surpassing the 23 he had in his first two seasons combined.
At 44.3 percent for his career (70-158), 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 23rd in the nation in field goal percentage, knocking down 47.8 percent of its field goal attempts, compared to just 42.7 percent from the field last season. The Wolf Pack has shot 47.9 percent from the field in its last 15 games (483-1009), 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 26 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 13th in the WAC at 51.2 percent, and junior Armon Johnson checks in at 15th in the WAC at 50.3 percent.
Nevada has also checked in at 35.6 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 32nd in the nation this year with 5.35 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 6.00 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 sixth with 395 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 eighth in the WAC in scoring with 16.6 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 a Feb. 13 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 (ninth 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, while he scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. He pulled down seven rebounds Feb. 17 vs. Fresno State and eight Saturday at Missouri State
The WAC's leader last year, sophomore Dario Hunt is second in the league in blocked shots this year with 2.12 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 51 of 60 career games (23 of 26 contests this season) and has turned in 36 career games with more than one block, including six with five or more. Hunt has 122 blocks in his career (in 60 games, 2.03 per game), which already ranks tied for fourth 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 16-10 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
- The Wolf Pack has turned in a combined 51-18 record over the final two months of the season (February and March) in the last six years, including a 33-8 record in the month of February and an 18-10 mark in March (3-2 in February this season).
- Nevada trailed at the half for the third consecutive game, scoring a first-half season low 26 to fall behind 30-26 after the first period. The team is now 2-6 on the year when trailing at the half.
- With the loss at Missouri State, Nevada is now 9-8 in games decided by 10 points or less and 3-1 in contests decided by five points or less. The Wolf Pack has lost its 10 games this year by an average of just 7.4 points per contest (74).
- Prior to Saturday's loss at Missouri State, Nevada had come from behind to win each of its last three games. The Wolf Pack trailed 43-37 at the half but held Fresno State to 27 points on 23.1 percent shooting in the second half (6-26) in Wednesday's win. The Wolf Pack has trailed at halftime and come back to win in each of the last two games, including last week's overtime win vs. Boise State where the team overcame a 34-28 halftime deficit. In the Feb. 10 win at Idaho, Nevada trailed 59-54 with 5:01 to play but rallied for the 67-66 victory.
- The Wolf Pack matched its season low from the free throw line, making just 50 percent of its attempts (7-14) Saturday at Missouri State.
- Nevada has shot 73.3 percent from the free throw line in its last five games (80-109) 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 and junior Armon Johnson have come up big in the second half in each of the last four games for the Wolf Pack, combining to score 110 of Nevada's 156 second-half points in the last four contests (70.5 percent). 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 Feb. 13 vs. Boise State (Babbitt 22, Johnson 17). In Wednesday's win, Babbitt and Johnson had 29 of the team's 37 second-half points. Babbitt scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the second half vs. the Bulldogs, while Johnson had 14 of his 19 on 6-of-10 shooting in the final 20 minutes. Saturday at Missouri State, Johnson scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half.
- Senior Joey Shaw turned in his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-best 12 rebounds in the Feb. 13 win over Boise State. He had come into that contest averaging just 2.9 rebounds per game in his previous eight contests.
- The Wolf Pack scored 88 points in its Feb. 13 win over Boise State, its most points in five games (since an 88-82 win at Boise State on Jan. 20). The team has averaged just 70.0 points per game in its last six contests (420), down from its WAC-leading average of 79.0 ppg. The 65 points in its Feb. 6 loss at Utah State were a low for Nevada in WAC play this year.
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt ranks second in the WAC and ninth in the nation at 89.8 percent from the free throw line this year (141-157), 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 Feb. 13 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 88.0 percent of his career free throw attempts (293-333) 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 37.6 boards per game but has averaged just 35.1 rebounds per contest in WAC play. The team has pulled down only 34.1 rebounds per game in its last nine contests (307).
- Nevada has been outrebounded in nine of its last 10 games and tied Fresno State in rebounding on Jan. 23 in the only other game in that stretch. Prior to the last 10 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 28th in the nation with 9.7 rebounds per game, while sophomore Dario Hunt checks in at ninth in the WAC at 7.2 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 13.5 points per game this season (third on the team and 12th in the WAC), up 4.5 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. Fields has been in a bit of shooting slump in the last three games, making just 5-of-32 field goal attempts (3-of-16 from three-point land).
- The Wolf Pack leads the WAC and ranks 53rd in the NCAA with 4.69 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 41st in the nation with 2.12 blocked shots per game and had six blocks in the Jan. 30 win over Hawai'i.
- In addition to its 12-1 home mark, Nevada has put up some gaudy offensive numbers at Lawlor Events Center this season. The Wolf Pack is averaging 81.9 points per game and shooting 50.1 percent from the field in its 13 home games. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is averaging 21.5 points per home game, while junior Armon Johnson and senior Brandon Fields are adding 16.6 and 14.4 ppg, respectively. Johnson is shooting the ball particularly well at home, making 56.7 percent of his shots at Lawlor (89-157). He has also dished out 6.5 assists per home game. Senior Ray Kraemer is knocking down 50.0 percent of his three-point attempts at home (26-52), including a perfect 4-of-4 outing Jan. 13 vs. Utah State.
- 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. Olson has missed the last five games with a sprained knee.
- 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.
UP NEXT
Following Thursday's game at San Jose State, the Wolf Pack ends its three-game road trip at Hawai'i on Saturday, Feb. 27. Nevada will wrap up the regular season with home games against New Mexico State (March 4) and Louisiana Tech (March 6), while the WAC Tournament is set for March 11-13 at Lawlor Events Center in Reno.
