NEVADA AT BYU PREVIEW
RENO, Nev. – Winners of five in a row Nevada (7-3) plays at BYU (7-4) on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. PT. The Game will air on ESPNU. The Wolf Pack defeated BYU last season 86-70 in Reno. The Cougars have won their last two games and are 3-1 at home.
The Cougars are led by first-year head coach Mark Pope. Yoel Childs averages a double-double scoring 21 points and grabbing 10.5 rebounds per game. Jake Toolson (15.3 ppg), TJ Haws (12.6 ppg) and Alex Barcello (10.6) are also scoring in double figures.
Nevada has a balanced attack as four players a scoring in double figures led by senior
Jazz Johnson's 18.3 points per game. Junior
Jalen Harris tops the Pack in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and assists (4.4 apg) with his 17.8 points second. Johnson and Harris are second and third respectively in scoring in the MW. L
Lindsey Drew is scoring 13.4 points per game and is second just slightly behind Harris at 4.4 assists per game. Senior
Nisré Zouzoua is fourth on the team averaging 10.7 points per game after reaching double figures in five of the last six games.
THE SERIES
BYU leads the series 13-7.
ON THE AIR
ESPNU will carry the game with Eric Rothman on play-by-play and Sean Farnham working as the analyst.
The game can be heard on 94.5 FM in northern Nevada with John Ramey calling all the action. Online the game is available at TuneIn.com
Important links to follow the Wolf Pack:
Online audio:
Live stats:
Twitter:
@NevadaHoops
HARRIS LEADING THE PACK
Junior
Jalen Harris has scored in double figures in the last six games including a career and team season-high 31 points at Air Force. The 31 points is tied for the second most points by a player in the MW this season. He scored 22 of the points in the first half.
Harris leads the Pack in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and assists (4.4 apg). His 17.8 points per game is second on the team and third in the MW. The assists numbers rank third in the MW and the rebounds is eighth.
Four times in the last five games he has scored 20 or more points including the 31 points at Air Force. In the win over Santa Clara he posted his first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. His game-high eight assists left him two shy of a triple double.
In four games he posted game highs in points, four times he posted a game-high in assists and three times posted a game-high in rebounds.
From the field he is shooting 43.2 percent and 36.2 percent from behind the arc. At the free throw line he has made his last 19 free throws and overall is shooting 87.5 percent.
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.
WOLF PACK WINNERS OF FIVE IN A ROW
Nevada has its last five games all by double figures. The Wolf Pack swept its way to the 2019 Paradise Jam Championship with a 74-60 victory over Fordham, downed Valparaiso 84-59 in the semifinals and knocked off Bowling Green 77-62 in the title game. The largest margin of victory came in the fourth win as Nevada defeated Santa Clara 98-67. At Air Force the Pack made it five in a row scoring 100 points for the first time this season in a 100-85 road victory. It was the team's first true road win of the season. In the last two games Nevada has scored 198 points.
The Pack did not trail in three of the five games; Fordham, Valpo and SCU. In the BGSU game Nevada trailed for just 41 seconds, 2-0 before a 3-pointer put them ahead to stay 3-2. At Air Force the Pack trailed for 33 seconds, 2-0 before an 8-0 run put them ahead to stay.
In the five games Nevada is averaging 86.6 points and is holding opponents to just 66.6 points. From the field the Pack is shooting 48.9 (150-of-307) percent and 47.7 (63-of-132) percent from behind the arc. Opponents are shooting 37.7 percent overall and just 23.7 percent on 3-pointers.
Jalen Harris is averaging 22.8 points, seven rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
Jazz Johnson is scoring 18.4 points per contest and is shooting 58.8 percent from behind the arc making 20-of-34. Nizré Zouzoua is contributing 11.4 points per game and has made 12-of-23 3-pointers. Freshman
Zane Meeks is scoring 10 points per game and is making 41.7 (10-of-24) percent on his 3-point attempts.
JOHNSON KNOCKING DOWN THE 3S
Wolf Pack senior
Jazz Johnson has been knocking down the 3-pointers at a high rate this season having made 37-of-77. The 37 made 3-pointers and 3.7 made per game leads the Mountain West. The 37 made 3s is second in NCAA I and 3.7 made per game is seventh. His 48.1 percent shooting from behind the arc is 18th in the country and second in the MW.
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. He has made a 3-pointer in each game this season and three or more in eight contests.
Johnson leads the Pack and is second in the MW averaging 18.3 points per game. Four times he has scored 20 or more points; 20 vs. LMU, 26 vs. USC, 25 vs. BGSU and 20 vs. SCU. In the USC, BGSU and SCU games the point totals were game highs.
He ranks in the top 50 in five NCAA statistical categories. Johnson has scored 1,285 points in his career with 740 coming in his two years at Portland.
ZOUZOUA PROVIDING SPARK OFF THE BENCH
Senior
Nisré Zouzoua has provided a spark off the bench in his second year in the program. Zouzoua is fourth on the team averaging 10.7 points per game and is third dishing out 1.9 assists per game.
In five of the last six games Zouzoua has scored in double figures and five times on the season. He scored nine points in each of the first two games of the season which were then Nevada career highs. Against UT Arlington he nearly doubled that netting 16 points, making 6-of-8 shots from the field of which 3-of-5 were from behind the arc.
At the Paradise Jam he averaged 11 points per game. He scored 11 points in the win over Fordham and 15 in the victory against Valparaiso.
FIRST WEEK OF MW PLAY COMPLETE
The first week of Mountain West is complete and four teams are undefeated. San Diego State, Utah State and New Mexico State are all 2-0. Nevada and UNLV are 1-0 having played just one conference game each and both received a bye the opening week.
Boise State and Air Force are 1-1. SJSU, Colorado State, Wyoming and Fresno State are all 0-2.
The next games in MW play is set for Jan. 1.
THE LAST TIME OUT
HARRIS SCORES 31 TO LEAD NEVADA OVER AIR FORCE 100-85
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP)
Jalen Harris scored a career-high 31 points and Nevada scored its most points of the season Saturday in a 100-85 win over Air Force in its Mountain West Conference opener.
Lindsey Drew scored 15 points,
Jazz Johnson had 14,
Zane Meeks 13 and Nisre Zouzoua 12 for the Wolf Pack (7-3, 1-0), which made 13 of 23 3-pointers in winning its fifth straight.
Trailing 53-42 at halftime, Air Force tied it a 68 on Sid Tomes' free throws with 10:03 to play, but got no closer. Drew hit two 3-pointers in a 13-0 run and the Wolf Pack led by as many as 19 from there.
Nevada scored a season-high 47 points in the second half and Air Force scored a season-high 42 points in the first half.
Lavelle Scottie scored a season-high 23 points and had eight rebounds for the Falcons (4-6, 1-1). A.J. Walker scored a career-high 21 points and Caleb Morris had 12 points.
Nevada plays Brigham Young on the road on Tuesday. Air Force takes on Denver on the road next Saturday.
UP NEXT: Texas Southern
The next home game is Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. versus Texas Southern (3-6). The Texas Southern Tigers are 3-6 under former Nevada associate head coach Johnny Jones. Former Wolf Pack director of operations Brandon Chambers is an assistant coach on Jones' staff. The Tigers have played seven of their nine games away from home and have gone 1-6. Texas Southern will be coming off an 11-day break between games.
To purchase tickets call 775-348-PACK or go to NevadaWolfPack.com.
