University of Nevada Athletics

   

ABOUT THE FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS —  Fresno State improved to 8-10 on the season after defeating Seattle 86-56 on Monday to snap a four-game losing streak.  The Bulldogs are one game back of the Wolf Pack in sixth place in the WAC standings with a 3-4 record.  After starting conference play 3-0 FS has lost its last four WAC games.
    Head coach Steve Cleveland boasts an 224-199 record in his 14th season as a collegiate coach.  In his sixth season at FS he has a 86-91 mark and is 46-69 in eight WAC seasons.
    Sophomore center, Greg Smith (6-10) leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 10.7 per game and rebounding grabbing 6.9 per contest.  Smith’s 60 percent field goal percentage is third best in the WAC.  In the first meeting he had 15 points and nine rebounds.  Freshman guard Kevin Olekaibe (6-1) is second on the team in scoring at 10.6 per game and totaled 14 points in the Jan. 3 game.   Tim Steed, a 6-4 junior guard, scored 20 in the first meeting and is averaging 8.8 points per game on the season and 10.8 in WAC play.
    FS is scoring 65.1 points per game and allowing 62.  The Bulldog shoot 41 percent and opponents shoot 39 percent.  From behind the arc FS has connected on 29 percent of its attempts as have their opponents.   As a team they shoot 59 percent from the free throw line and opponents shoot 64 percent.  On the backboards they hold a slim 36.7-35.9 advantage. 

WINNERS OF THREE IN A ROW — Nevada has won a season-high three in a row which includes the team’s first road win of the season at Boise State, 69-67 on Jan. 15.  The Pack followed the BSU win with a pair of home victories over New Mexico State (90-71) and LA Tech (66-58).
    The Wolf Pack is outscoring their opponents by nearly 10 points per game in the stretch, 75-65.3.  From the field the Pack are shooting 50 percent and even more impressive holding opponents to 38 percent shooting.  From behind the arc Nevada has made 37 percent of its opportunities and opponents 34.  The Pack is plus 4.4 rebounds in the last three games, 36.7-32.3 having outrebounded BSU (36-29) and NMSU (42-29). 
    Four Pack players have averaged double figures during the stretch led by Deonte Burton’s 20 points per game and 69 percent shooting from the field.  Dario Hunt is scoring 16 points and grabbing 8.3 rebounds per game.  Malik Story is averaging 12 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest.  Olek Czyz is contributing 10.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in the last three games.

BURTON ON POINT— Freshman Deonte Burton put together a stretch of four outstanding games in a row averaging 20.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.8 steals while shooting 68 percent from the field, 63 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent from free throw line in leading the Pack to a 3-1 record.  He topped the team in scoring in all four games and three times posted games highs.
    The stretch started with a career-high 23 at Idaho, followed by 20 at Boise State, 22 versus New Mexico State and 18 against LA Tech.
    He has started all 20 games at point guard and is tied for second on the squad with Malik Story averaging 13.4 points per game.  His 3.7 assists per game are fourth in the WAC and he ranks in four other categories in the conference.  In WAC only action he ranks fourth in scoring at 17 points per game and appears in eight additional categories.
    Since WAC play began he has improved his 3-point shooting making 50 percent of his opportunities connecting on 13-of-26 attempts.  The team’s top free throw shooter at 76 percent he has made 87-of-114 chances.  On the year he is making 4.35 free throws per game.
    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 16 double figure scoring performances. 
    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 13 of the last 14 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 14 he also totaled nine points.

CZYZ AMONG WAC LEADERS — Junior forward Olek Czyz has been on a roll since WAC play began and is among the conference leaders in several statistical categories.  In WAC play Czyz is third in scoring at 17.1 points per game, third in field goal percentage at 63.2, first in 3-point field goal percentage making 52 percent of his attempts and tied for eighth making 1.86, 3-pointers per game.
    He put together three consecutive 20 point games to start the conference season and scored in double figures seven games in a row until finishing with six in the Pack’s last game versus LA Tech.  On the year he has scored in double figures in eight games.  He began 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.  The 26 points at Fresno State is the high by a Pack player this season. 
    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 11 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 13.8 points per game and shooting 56 percent from the field including 44 percent from behind the arc.
    In seven WAC games he is averaging 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and shooting 63 percent.  From the 3-point line he is shooting 52 percent making 13-of-25 attempts and at the free throw line is connecting on 67 percent of his opportunities.
    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 10 games he is averaging 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, is shooting 55 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range.

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 13.2 points and is tied for first in the WAC with 9.4 rebounds per game.  He has doubled his scoring output from last season when he averaged 6.5 points and seven rebounds per game.
    In the Pack’s 90-71 victory over New Mexico State he produced his seventh double-double of the season and eighth of his career with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
    At the free throw line he has made his last 16 shots and 18 of his last 21 attempts.  In the last 10 games he has made 40-of-51, good for 78 percent.
    After not reaching double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this year finishing with four versus Utah State (1/8) and five at Idaho (1/12) 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 had fouled out four games in a row; at FS, vs. USU, at Idaho, at BSU.
    His 9.4 rebounds are tied for tops in the WAC while his 3.8 offensive rebounds and 1.65 blocks per game lead the conference.  He ranks in three additional categories in the conference and in seven WAC play.  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.  Four of his five career 20 point games have come this season.
    Hunt has four double-doubles in the last nine 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.  
    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 15 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 15 times with two of those rebounding efforts tying for the honor.  On the year 12 of his rebounding totals were game highs.  Eight times he has grabbed 10 or more rebounds and three time missed reaching double figures finishing with nine. 

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 20 games.  Story is tied for second on the team averaging 13.4 points per game and is grabbing 3.5 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 10th in scoring (13.4 ppg), third in 3-point percentage (42.5%) and second in 3-point shots made (2.55 mpg) in the WAC.  In the latest NCAA rankings he is 23rd in 3-point field goal percentage.  On the year he has made 51-of-120 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 seven conference games he is averaging 13.6 points per game which is ninth in WAC play and is first making 2.71, 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 15 times including a career and game-high 21 at Houston.  Has scored in double figures in 13 of the last 16 games and totaled nine in each of the other three contests.
    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.

PACK GRAB FIRST ROAD WIN AT BSU — Nevada won its first road game of the season at Boise State on Jan. 6, 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.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES — Three players have combined to produce Nevada nine doubled-doubles on the season.  Junior forward Dario Hunt has seven while freshman Deonte Burton and junior forward Olek Czyz have one each.
    Hunt posted his seventh double-double of the season versus New Mexico State when he totaled 20 points and 12 rebounds.  Hunt’s sixth double-double of the season came at Fresno State when he scored 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.  He posted 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 357 points, an average of 17.9 ppg this season compared to 374 for its opponents, 18.7 ppg.  The Pack bench has outscored opponents in 10-of-20 games.  Nevada’s bench failed to score in double figures in five consecutive games until totaling 10 at Boise State.
    Unfortunately the Pack has turned the ball over 295 times which has led to 322 (16.1 ppg) opponent points while 234 turnovers for the opponents have resulted in 250 (12.5 ppg) points for Nevada.

YOUNG GUNS EQUAL 79% — Nevada has used six different lineups through 20 games but all have been dominated by young first-year players.  Freshman point guard Deonte Burton has started all 20 games as has sophomore transfer Malik Story and junior returner Dario Hunt.  Freshman Kevin Panzer has made 10 starts, Jerry Evans, Jr. eight, Jordan Burris six, Devonte Elliot three and Jordan Finn three.  Junior transfer Olek Czyz has started the last 10 games after sitting out a year under NCAA transfer rules after leaving Duke and became eligible on Dec. 17.
    Newcomers have scored 1099-of-1391 points on the season which equates to 79 percent of the offense.  Other than Hunt’s 13.2 points per game 10 of the top 11 scorers are first year players.

HUNT CLOSING IN ON FAZEKAS  — Junior forward Dario Hunt ranks second in school history with 166 blocks, 26 back of Nick Fazekas (2004-07) total of 192.  Hunt is averaging a WAC best 1.65 blocks per game. 
    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. 
    Hunt began the year fourth on the list but has passed both Jones and Matt Williams (1987-91) this season.  His 166 blocks has come in 88 games while Jones’ 142 were in 101 games and Fazekas’ 192 were accomplished in 131 contests.  Based on average Hunt’s 1.88 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.

HUNT CRACKS REBOUNDING TOP 10 — Junior forward Dario Hunt grabbed his 500th career rebound for the Wolf Pack at Washington earlier this season and after his five versus LA Tech has 572 career boards moving past Dave Weber’s (1972-74) 568 into 10th on the career list.  Next on the list is Greg Palm (1980-82) with 606.

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.

NEVADA ONE OF TOP WAC TEAMS OVER LAST SEVEN PLUS SEASONS
Over the last seven plus seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 176-78 record, the second-most wins of any WAC team during that time (.692 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 94 games, the most in that same time period.

WINNING AT LAWLOR  — Nevada has won 83 percent of its games over the past seven plus seasons posting a 107-22 record at Lawlor Events Center.  The Wolf Pack has posted a 53-9 WAC mark during that same stretch, a winning percentage of 85.

SLOW START  — Nevada is off to a slow start at 7-13 through 20 games this season.  The last Wolf Pack squad to start the season 7-13 was the 1998-99 team coached by Pat Foster. 
    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. 

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

WAC Sports Network To Televise Six Nevada Men’s Basketball Games —  The WAC Sports Network (WSN) announced its 12-game broadcast schedule today and six will feature the University of Nevada men’s basketball team.  Locally WSN games are televised on My 21 KAME-TV.
    The first of three Nevada WSN games during the month of January will be the contest at Fresno State on the third.  The Jan. 15 game at Boise State and Jan. 27 home game with Fresno State will also be televised in the first month of the year.
    The Pack’s game at San Jose State on Feb. 12 and the home contest with Boise State on Feb. 26 will give fans an opportunity to watch two games in February.  The Mar. 5 game at New Mexico State is the sixth game that will feature the Pack on the WSN.

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