June 8, 2016
RENO, Nev. – The University of Nevada men’s basketball team made a historical run to becoming the first Wolf Pack and Mountain West team to win a national postseason championship by capturing the 2016 College Basketball Invitational. The team finished the season 24-14 and tied for fourth in the MW. The Pack faithful showed their support which led to increased attendance in head coach Eric Musselman’s first year.
“The crowds were amazing last season,” Musselman said. “The players fed off the energy of the fans, especially during the run to the CBI Championship. The attendance increase showed the Pack fans enjoyed watching the team and the players responded with a tremendous effort each game. We look forward to their support again this season and even more fans at Lawlor.”
Nevada increased attendance by an average of 1,058 fans per game at Lawlor Events Center to rank 22nd among Division I schools and first in the MW. In 2014-15 Nevada averaged 5,496 fans and that number increased to 6,554 this past season. The Pack produced a 15 win improvement from nine wins to 24 to rank as the sixth most improved team nationally. The 15 game improvement was tied for the second most in 2015-16
The Wolf Pack posted a 16-3 record at home including five consecutive CBI wins at the end of the season to claim the championship. The largest crowd of the season and fifth largest ever at LEC, was the 11,341 fans that saw the Pack defeat intrastate rival UNLV 65-63. The 16 home wins at Lawlor is tied for second most in program history.
Overall Nevada ranked 80th in average attendance, just one fan behind Mississippi State’s 6,555 per game. A total of 124,535 Wolf Pack fans attended a home game this past season.
The MW ranked seventh among 32 conferences with an average of 7,162 fans per game and a total attendance of 1,361,722. In total over 32 million fans watched a college basketball last season.
-- @NevadaWolfPack --
