University of Nevada Athletics

ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES —  New Mexico State (10-9, 4-1 WAC) has won three in a row and eight of its last 10 to improve to 10-9 overall and 4-1 in WAC play.  Currently the Aggies are alone in third place in the conference standings with the 4-1 record.  Third year coach Marvin Menzies is 70-49 overall directing the NMSU program and 35-16 in WAC play.
    Junior forward Troy Gillenwater (6-8) leads the Aggies in scoring at 18.7 points per game and rebounding grabbing 7.3 per contest.  In WAC play his 19.2 points per game is second in the league.  Hernst Laroche, a 6-1 junior guard, is second on team in scoring at 11.1 per game and is the Aggies top assist man at 4.6 per game.  The Aggies third player averaging double figures is freshman guard Christian Kabongo (6-4) at 10.4 points per game.
    NMSU is scoring 73 points per game while allowing 69.7.  From the field the Aggies shoot 45 percent, 34 percent from behind the arc.  Opponents are shooting 43 percent and just 31 percent from the 3-point line.  NMSU has connected on 67 percent of its free throws and opponents 66 percent.  On the backboards the Aggies hold a plus 2.2 advantage, 36.9-34.7.
   
ABOUT THE LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS —  Louisiana Tech (9-10, 0-5 WAC) has lost six in a row and eight of its last 10 games.  The 0-5 WAC record has the Bulldogs at the bottom of the conference standings.  In his fourth season head coach Kerry Rupp is 63-67 overall and 18-35 in WAC play.  LA Tech plays at WAC leading Utah State on Thursday before coming to Reno.
    The Bulldogs have two players averaging double figures led by senior guard DeAndre Brown’s 15.9 points per game and he also leads the team in assists averaging 2.8 per game.  Junior forward Olu Ashaolu (6-7) is scoring 14.2 points and grabbing a team-high 9.2 rebounds per game.  Sophomore forward Brandon Gibson (6-5) is chipping in 9.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
    Offensively the Bulldogs average 67.5 points and allow 69.1.  LA Tech is shooting 43 percent from the field as are their opponents.  From 3-point range the Bulldogs shoot 36 percent and opponents shoot 39.  LA Tech is making 65 percent of their free throws while opponents shoot 68.  The Bulldogs are winning the rebounding battle this season at plus three per game, 37.4-34.4.

CZYZ TOP SCORER IN WAC PLAY — Junior forward Olek Czyz has been on a roll since WAC play began.  Czyz put together three consecutive 20 point games to start the conference season then finished with 14 at Idaho and 11 at Boise State.  In WAC play Czyz continues to lead the conference in scoring at 19.8 points per game.
    He started WAC play scoring 23 versus Hawai`i, totaled 26 at Fresno State and 25 against Utah State.  All three point totals were game highs with the 23 against UH tying teammate Dario Hunt for the honor.  He set career highs with nine rebounds versus Utah State and 10 at Idaho which were also game highs.
    At Idaho his 14 point, 10 rebound performance marked his first double-double at Nevada.
    In addition to leading the conference in scoring he is second with a 66.7 field goal percentage in conference action.  He ranks in six categories in WAC only play.
    In eight games in the Silver & Blue since becoming eligible after sitting out one year under NCAA transfer rules, the Duke transfer is averaging a team-high 14.6 points per game and shooting 57 percent from the field including 43 percent from behind the arc.
    In the five WAC games he is averaging 19.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and shooting 66.7 percent.  From the 3-point line he is shooting 52 percent making 11-of-21 attempts and at the free throw line is connecting on 74 percent of his opportunities.
    The 26 points at Fresno State is the high by a Pack player this season.
    At Fresno State he made his first 10 field goals before missing two, 3-pointers in the last 2:14 of the game.  He finished 10-of-12 from the field which included 2-of-4 three pointers and was good on 4-of-5 free throws.
    Since being inserted into the lineup the last eight games he is averaging 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, is shooting 56 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range.
    He has scored in double figures the last six games and seven on the season with 10 versus Arizona State, 11 at Portland,  23 versus UH, 26 at Fresno State, 25 against Utah State, 14 at Idaho and 11 at BSU.

HUNT LEADING THE WAY — Junior forward Dario Hunt continues to lead the way in his third season at Nevada.  The 6-7 forward is averaging near a double-double, scoring 12.6 points and hauling down a WAC high 9.4 rebounds per game. 
    After not reaching double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this year finishing with four versus Utah State and five at Idaho he totaled 12 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds at Boise State.  In the USU game he did not grab a rebound for the first time in his career.   He has been plagued by foul trouble the last four games fouling out in each contest.
    His 9.4 rebounds, 3.94 offensive rebounds and 1.56 blocks per game lead the WAC and he ranks in three additional categories in the conference.  In conference only play his name appears in five categories.  In the latest NCAA statistics the 9.4 rebounds per game ranks 35th.
    For the first time in his career he had back-to-back 20 plus point games, finishing with 21 at Portland (12/27) and 23 versus Hawai`i (12/31).  He also scored a career-high 25 points versus San Francisco State this season.  Three of his four career 20 plus point games have come this season.
    In the Pack’s game at Fresno State he totaled 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to record his sixth double-double of the season which is second most in the WAC.  Hunt has three double-doubles in the last seven games and just missed a double-double in the Hawai`i game when he finished with a team-high nine rebounds to go along with his 23 points.   He has seven career double-doubles.
    In the San Francisco State game he scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds which were both game highs as he recorded his third double-double of the season.   He finished with five blocks, one off his career best against the Gators.
    Hunt led the Pack in scoring the first four games of the season and reached double figures in the first five.  It marked the first time in Hunt’s career that he has led the team in scoring in any contest and the first time he reached double figures in more than two consecutive games.  He has topped Nevada in scoring eight times with one being a tie with Olek Czyz, as both had 23 versus Hawai`i.  Three times he posted a game highs which includes the tie with Czyz.  On the year he has scored in double figures 13 times.
    He grabbed 12 or more rebounds in three consecutive games until finishing with seven against ASU.  Hunt topped the team in rebounding the first three games of the year and had a streak of leading the team in nine consecutive games snapped in the Utah State game.  On the year he has led the team in rebounding 14 times with two of those rebounding efforts tying for the honor.  On the year 11 of his rebounding totals were game highs.  Seven times he has grabbed 10 or more rebounds, six coming in the last 12 games and three time missed reaching double figures during that stretch finishing with nine.  All seven of his double figure rebounding efforts have been in the last 14 contests.
TELL ME A STORY — Indiana transfer Malik Story has been one of the top offensive weapons for Nevada in his first season in the Silver & Blue, starting all 18 games.  Story is second on the team averaging 13.8 points per game and is grabbing 3.4 rebounds per game.
    The Pack’s top long range shooter had his best game from behind the 3-point arc in the WAC opener versus Hawai`i making 6-of-11 attempts to account for all 18 of his points in the game.  The six, 3-pointers is the high by a Pack player this season and equals Brandon Fields’ high from last season when he connected on 6-of-10 at San Jose State on Feb. 25, 2010.
    He ranks ninth in scoring (13.8 ppg), fourth in 3-point percentage (42.9%) and second in 3-point shots made (2.69 mpg) in the WAC.  In the latest NCAA rankings he is 32nd in 3-point field goal percentage.  On the year he has made 48-of-112 attempts from behind the 3-point arc.  He has made a 3-point shot in every game but versus San Francisco State when he was 0-for-1 from behind the arc. 
    He ranks in four categories in the WAC and in conference only games.  In five conference games he is averaging 15 points per game which is ninth in WAC play and is first making 3.2, 3-pointers per game in league play.
    Story has produced two 20 point games this season with 21 at Houston (12/4) and 20 versus Portland State (12/20).  His lowest output was three versus Pacific, the second game of the season on Nov. 15.
    On the year he has scored in double figures 13 times including a career and game-high 21 at Houston.  He had a stretch of scoring in double figures in five games in a row snapped when he totaled nine at Fresno State but reached the mark the next three games.
    In 11 of the last 14 games he has reached double figures and totaled nine in the three other games during the stretch and eight in the previous game.
    He has led the team in scoring in four games; versus Boston University (14 pts), at Houston (21 pts), tied Deonte Burton for the honor in the UNLV game as both totaled 15 points, versus Arizona State (19 pts) and the Portland State (20 pts) outing.

BURTON ON POINT— Freshman Deonte Burton put together his best two offensive games of the season the last two times out, leading the Pack with a career and game-high 23 at Idaho then followed that with a game-high 20 at Boise State.  Burton combined to shoot 62 (13-of-21) percent from the field, 56 (5-of-9) percent from the 3-point line and 75 percent (12-of-16) from the free throw line in the two games. 
    He has started all 18 games at point guard in his first season at Nevada and is tied for third on the squad and 10th in the WAC with teammate Dario Hunt averaging 12.6 points per game. 
    Since WAC play began he has improved his 3-point shooting making 8-of-19 attempts which equates to 42 percent which ranks ninth in WAC only games. In the last 12 games has averaged just over five free throws made per game and is shooting 79 percent making 62-of-79 from the line.
    His 15 points versus UNLV tied Malik Story for team-high honors and marked the first time he has led the team in scoring.  On the year he has produced a team-high 14 double figure scoring performances. 
    He leads the team averaging 3.44 assists per game which is fourth in the WAC and his 1.55 assist to turnover ratio is also fourth in the conference.  The Pack’s top free throw shooter at 77.4 percent he is tied for 10th in the league.  He ranks in five categories in the WAC and in conference only action ranks in seven.
    He 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 Pack 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, the first game of the WAC Tournament. 
    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.  Burton scored 17 in the season opening 81-66 victory over Montana then finished with 10 versus Pacific and Pepperdine.
    After scoring in double figures the first three games of the season Burton struggled failing to reach double digits the next three contests averaging 5.7 per outing.  He has since reached double figures in 11 of the last 12 games which included a stretch of nine in a row until finishing with nine in the Utah State game.   The nine game stretch of double digit scoring is the longest by a Pack player this season.  In the game prior to the last 12 he also totaled nine points.
   
HUNT BLOCKS JONES LOOKING FOR FAZEKAS  — Junior forward Dario Hunt ‘s five blocks in the San Francisco State game gave him 144 in his career and moved him past Edgar Jones (1975-79) into second place on the career list.  The five blocks was one off his career high of six that has occurred three times with the last coming versus Hawai`i on Jan. 30, 2009.  He has since added 17 more blocks giving him 161 in 86 career games played.
    Hunt began the year fourth on the list but has passed both Jones and Matt Williams (1987-91) this season.  Next on the chart is Nick Fazekas (2004-07) who totaled 192 during his four seasons.  His 161 blocks has come in 86 games while Jones’ 142 were in 101 games and Fazekas’ 192 were accomplished in 131 contests.  Based on average Hunt’s 1.87 per game is best among the three at the top of the list.  Fazekas averaged 1.5 blocks per game and Jones 1.4 during their careers.
    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.

YOUNG GUNS EQUAL 80% — Nevada has used five different lineups through 18 games but all have been dominated by young first-year players.  Freshman point guard Deonte Burton has started all 18 games as has sophomore transfer Malik Story and returner Dario Hunt.  Freshman Kevin Panzer has made 10 starts, Jordan Burris six, Jerry Evans, Jr. five, Devonte Elliot three and Jordan Finn three.  Junior transfer Olek Czyz has started the last eight games after sitting out a year under NCAA transfer rules after leaving Duke.
    Newcomers have scored 991-of-1235 points on the season which equates to 80 percent of the offense.  Other junior Dario Hunt’s 12.6 points per game 10 of the top 11 scorers are first year players.

HUNT LOOKING TO CRACK REBOUNDING TOP 10 — Junior forward Dario Hunt grabbed his 500th career rebound for the Wolf Pack at Washington earlier this season.  Hunt entered the game needing 11 rebounds to reach the 500 plateau but finished with 14 and added 13 points.
    He needs 13 rebounds to move into a tie with Dave Webber (1972-74) for 10th on the Pack career list.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES — Junior forward, Dario Hunt posted his sixth double-double of the season at Fresno State scoring 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.  Hunt had back-to-back double-doubles with 21 points and 14 rebounds at Portland after scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds at Washington.  In his career he has seven double-doubles to his credit.
    Hunt’ third double-double of the season came against San Francisco State when he scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.  His first of the year was a 10 point, 10 rebound effort in the Boston U game.  Against UNLV he totaled 14 points and grabbed 13 boards.
    Junior forward Olek Czyz posted his first double-double at Nevada scoring 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds at Idaho.
    Freshman point guard, Deonte Burton produced the Pack’s first double-double of the season.  Burton’s came versus Pepperdine on Nov. 16 when he totaled 10 points and 11 assists.  It was the first double-double of his career.  The 11 assists is the high in the WAC this season.
BREAKING DOWN THE PACK  — The Nevada bench has scored 325 points, an average of 18.1 ppg this season compared to 341 for its opponents, 18.9 ppg.  The Pack bench has outscored opponents in nine-of-18 games.  Nevada’s bench failed to score in double figures in five consecutive games until totaling 10 in the last game at Boise State.
    Unfortunately the Pack has turned the ball over 266 times which has led to 297 (16.5 ppg) opponent points while 209 turnovers for the opponents have resulted in 214 (11.9 ppg) points for Nevada.

PACK GRAB FIRST ROAD WIN AT BSU — Nevada won its first road game of the season at Boise State on Saturday, downing the Broncos 69-67.  The Pack was 0-7 in true road contests and 0-3 in neutral site game this season heading into the BSU game.  Dating back to last season Nevada had lost 11 in a row away from Reno.

SLOW START  — Nevada is off to a slow start at 5-13 through 18 games this season.  The last Wolf Pack squad to start the season 5-13 was the 1999-00 team coached by Trent Johnson. 
    Nevada snapped its seven-game losing skid defeating San Francisco State, 78-64 on Dec. 11.  The Wolf Pack opened the season with an 81-66 home victory on Nov. 13 but went on to drop seven in a row, six were played away from Lawlor Events Center and the seventh was versus top 25 UNLV.   The seven-game skid was the longest since the 2000-01 team dropped eight in a row. 

15,768 AND COUNTING — Nevada has flown 15,108 miles to play 10 games this season away from Reno and drove another 660 round trip to Fresno, Calif. to play the Bulldogs.  The Wolf Pack flew 7,782 miles to play five games between its first home contest on Nov. 13 with Montana and a second home game on Dec. 4 versus UNLV.
    In breaking down the flights, 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 2010 Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off on Nov. 15-16.
    Next 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, Nov. 22-23.  Returning to Reno was another 2,275 for a total of 4,550 miles.  The fifth game was a road trip to Brookings, S.D. to play South Dakota State on Nov. 30, which is a flight of 1,228 miles, times two to account for the return home so add 2,456 miles for the entire trip.  The team traveled a combined 7,782 miles before playing its second home game at Lawlor Events Center on Dec. 4 with UNLV.  A trip to Houston, Texas to play the University of Houston on Dec. 6 added another 3,080 miles. 
    Nevada made two trips to the Pacific Northwest to play at Washington, 1,144 miles round trip and 878 miles to play at Portland.   The Pack flew 1,423 miles to play at Idaho and Boise State.
    This is 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.

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.