NEVADA VS. SANTA CLARA PREVIEW

RENO, Nev. – After playing four games on a 10-day road trip the University of Nevada (5-3) men's basketball team returns to Lawlor Events Center on Wednesday night to host the 8-1 Santa Clara Broncos at 7 p.m.  The Wolf Pack returns to LEC after winning its last three games to capture the 2019 Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands by an average of 18 points per game.

Santa Clara has won five in a row and won the Cable Car Classic at home last weekend with three double figure victories.  Four SCU players are averaging doubles figures led by Trey Wertz' 11.6 points per game.  Guglielmo Caruso (11.3 ppg), DJ Mitchell (10.7 ppg) and Tahj Eaddy (10.3 ppg) are also averaging double figures for the Broncos. Mitchell's 5.4 rebounds per outing tops the team.

Nevada is led by four players scoring in double figures with senior Jazz Johnson's 18.6 points per game  topping the team and it also ranks second in the Mountain West.  Jalen Harris is scoring 16.1 points and grabbing a team-high 6.1 rebounds per outing.  Senior Lindsey Drew is tied with Harris dishing out a team-high 4.3 assists per game and his also contributing 13.9 points per game.  Senior Nisré Zouzoua is the fourth Pack player averaging double figures at 10.4 points per game.  

THE SERIES
Santa Clara leads the series 34-28.  Nevada has won the last four games in the series.  The Pack won the last meeting 93-63 at Santa Clara on Nov. 15, 2017.

ON THE AIR

Nevada SportsNet will carry the game with Alex Margulies providing the play-by-play and Keith Fuetsch providing the color commentary.  The game will be streamed live at NevadaWolfPack.tv

The game can be heard on 94.5 FM in northern Nevada with John Ramey calling all the action and Len Stevens working as the analyst.  Online the game is available at TuneIn.com

Important links to follow the Wolf Pack:
Online audio:
Online video stream:
Live stats:

Twitter: 
@NevadaHoops
@NevadaWolfPack

NEVADA WINS 2019 PARADISE JAM
    The University of Nevada captured the 2019 Paradise Jam championship winning three games by double figures.  The Wolf Pack won the three games by an average of 18 points per game.  The Pack did not trail in the first two games and for a total of 41 seconds in the championship game 2-0 before going in front to stay 3-2.
    Head coach Steve Alford became the first coach to lead a team to two Paradise Jam titles.  In 2012 his then New Mexico squad won the championship.
    Nevada open with a 74-60 victory over Fordham followed by a lopsided 84-59 win over Valparaiso.  In the title game the Pack defeated Bowling Green 77-62.
    Junior Jalen Harris and senior Jazz Johnson were named to the all-tournament team.  Harris earned MVP honors after averaging 22.3 points, six rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.  He was also selected as the game MVP in all three Pack victories.
    Johnson scored a game-high 25 points in the title game and made 7-of-10 from behind the arc.  In the three games he averaged 19.3 points and made 60 percent of his 3-pointers (15-of-25).  Nizré Zouzoua also scored in double figures contributing 11 points per game.

HARRIS NAMED PARADISE JAM MVP
    Junior Jalen Harris was selected as the 2019 Paradise Jam MVP after helping the Wolf Pack to the title.  Harris was named the game MVP in each of the Pack's three games.  He scored 20 or more points in each game and posted games high highs with 22 vs. Fordham and 25 vs. Valparaiso.
    In the three games he averaged 22.3 points, six rebounds and 6.3 assists.  He had 19 assists and just three turnovers.
    Four times he has scored 20 or more points this season and is second on the squad averaging 16.1 points per game.  The 16.1 points per game is sixth in the MW.  His 6.1 rebounds per game tops the team and his 4.3 assists is tied with Lindsey Drew for first.
    Harris injured his foot in the season opener with Utah playing just 8 minutes and missed the LMU game.  He returned to the lineup against UT Arlington and scored a game-high 24 points in the victory.
    
JOHNSON KNOCKING DOWN THE 3S
    Wolf Pack senior Jazz Johnson has been knocking down the 3-pointers this season having made 32-of-68.  The 32 made 3-pointers and 4.0 made per game leads the Mountain West and ranks third in NCAA I.  His 41.7 percent shooting from behind the arc is 32nd in the country.
    At the Paradise Jam he made 60 percent of his 3-pointers connecting on 15-of-25 in three games.  In the title game he made 7-of-10.  The seven made tied his career-high that also occurred at Air Force last season and is tied for the most made by a player in the MW this season.
    Johnson leads the Pack and is second in the MW averaging 18.6 points per game.  Three times he has scored 20 or more points; 20 vs. LMU, 26 vs. USC and 25 vs. BGSU.  In the USC and BGSU games the point totals were game highs.
        He ranks in the top 50 in five NCAA statistical categories.  
    He has scored 1,251 points in his career with 740 coming in his two years at Portland.

LAST TIME OUT: HARRIS NAMED MVP AS NEVADA WINS 2019 PARADISE JAM 
    SAINT THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands: The University of Nevada (5-3) won the Paradise Jam on Monday night with a dominating 77-62 victory over Bowling Green (5-2) at the University of the Virgin Islands' Sports and Fitness Center.  With the victory, first-year Wolf Pack head coach Steve Alford became the first coach to win two Paradise Championships.  Alford led his 2012 New Mexico team to the championship.
    The Pack trailed for the first time in the tournament 2-0 but just 41 seconds later junior Jalen Harris' 3-poiner put Nevada ahead to stay 3-2 in the title game.  The Pack built a 10-point advantage with 13:47 to go in the first half and with 1:40 to go it ballooned to 20-points, 39-19.  The Pack took an 18-point advantage into the locker room.
    Nevada pushed the lead to 22 points early in the second half but the Falcons cut it to 11 with 7:45 to play.  The Pack answered with a 3-pointer by Jazz Johnson, one of his career high tying seven in the game.  Each time BGSU closed the gap the Wolf Pack had an answer.  It seemed to be either Harris or Johnson putting the dagger in the Falcons as Nevada won by 15 at the end of the night.
    Johnson scored a game-high 25 points, one off his season high of 26 and two of his career high of 27 last season at Air Force when he first made seven 3-pointers.  Harris had his third 20-point game of the tournament and dished out a game-high seven assists.  Senior Lindsey Drew posted the Pack's first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.  It is Drew's third career double-double.

UP NEXT: at Air Force - 

Nevada travels to Air Force (3-5) on Saturday to begin Mountain West play.  The game will air on AT&T SportsNet at 11 a.m. PT.  

The Falcons open MW play on Wednesday at Wyoming before hosting the Wolf Pack on Saturday.

The Pack continues on to play a non-conference game at BYU on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. PT. ESPNU will be carrying the game.