Nevada (14-7, 9-5 MW) at Utah State (14-7, 11-4 MW)
Friday, Feb. 26, 2021 - 6 p.m. PT
Logan, Utah - Dee Glen Smith Spectrum
TV: FS1 (PxP: Daron Sutton; Analyst: Doug Gottlieb)
Radio: ESPN 94.5 FM (PxP: John Ramey)

RENO, Nev. - Nevada (14-7, 9-5 MW) plays its first games in nearly three weeks when it takes the floor Friday in the series opener at Utah State.

The Pack, which has not played since Feb. 7's 73-62 victory over Boise State,  will look to extend its season-best four-game winning streak as this weekend's series at Utah State gets underway Friday. Both games in Logan will be broadcast on FS1, with Friday's opener set for a 6 p.m. PT tip and Sunday's finale tipping at 4 p.m. PT. The series will also be broadcast in Reno on ESPN Radio 94.5 FM with John Ramey calling the action.

UP NEXT
The Wolf Pack will play two rescheduled games next week, beginning Wednesday, March 5, at San Jose State (time TBA), and concluding Friday, March 7, at home against Colorado State (6 p.m.).

BACK FROM LONG BREAKS
While Friday will mark Nevada's first game in 19 days, it is not the first time in recent seasons that the Pack has returned to action after a double-digit gap in terms of days.

Earlier this season, the Pack had 11 days between contests, from Dec. 20-31, returning from the holiday break with a 68-54 win over New Mexico in Lubbock, Texas. Last season, Nevada also went 11 days between games over its holiday break, returning to action with a 67-61 victory over Colorado State on Jan. 1, 2020, after havling last played Dec. 21 in a 68-63 loss to Saint Mary's. In 2018-19, the Pack again was victorious after a long break, beating Akron, 68-62, on Dec. 22, 2018, 10 days after a 72-68 win over South Dakota State.

RESCHEDULE UPDATE
While the Pack had four games total postponed (series with San Jose State and Colorado State) from Feb. 13-22, the Mountain West announced on Feb. 23 that, among the slate of games to be made up from March 1-7, Nevada will play twice.

After concluding this weekend's series at Utah State, Nevada will head to the Bay Area for a single game at San Jose State, on Wednesday, March 3 (time TBA), then return home to host Colorado State Friday, March 5, at 6 p.m.

SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State (14-7, 11-4 MW) returned from a 13-day hiatus of its own last week, being swept at Boise State. The Aggies dropped the opener, 79-70, Feb. 17, before falling, 81-77, in the finale two days later.

The Aggies, which have dropped four of its past six after a 9-0 start to conference play, are led by the play of Neemias Quetas (14.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 62 blocks) and Marco Anthony (11.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg).

LET IT RIDE
Nevada comes into this weekend's series at San Jose State on a season-best four-game winning streak, following sweeps of UNLV and Boise State.

A win in Friday's opener would give the Pack its first five-game run since winning six in a row from Feb. 4-25 of last year.

MR. CLUTCH
Sophomore point guard Grant Sherfield has created quite the highlight reel of clutch shots and moments over just 21 games in a Nevada uniform.

In the series opener against Boise State on Feb. 5, Sherfield scored the final four Wolf Pack points, capping it with the game-winning fadeaway with 2.9 seconds left for the 74-72 win. It marked the third time this season that Sherfield has hit a game-winning or game-tying shot for the Pack in the game's final 10 seconds.

Along with Feb. 5's winner, Sherfield hit the game-winning 3-pointer with six seconds left in Nevada's 69-66 win at Nebraska on Nov. 26. Jan. 9 at San Diego State, Sherfield hit another triple with six seconds left to tie the game at 67-67, before the Aztecs'  Trey Pulliam hit a buzzer-beater to steal the win.

WHAT A WEEK FOR GRANT SHERFIELD
Sophomore point guard Grant Sherfield had himself one of the finest weeks in a long time for a Wolf Pack player, being named Mountain West Player of the Week as Nevada went 4-0 against UNLV and Boise State from Jan. 31-Feb. 7.

Sherfield averaged 20.5 points and 9.25 assists with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.29 over the four wins. He also posted FG/3FG/FT percentages of 50.0/42.9/92.9.

Incredibly, Sherfield just got better with each passing game of the week. He opened the stretch with a 15-point, 11-assist double-double in Jan. 31's 89-60 win over UNLV, then added 18 points in the series clincher two days later. And, against then-first place Boise State, he went to another level, posting a pair of 20-point performances, capped by a career-high 29 in Feb. 7's 73-62 victory. In the opener, Sherfield had another points-assists double-double, passing out a career-best 14 assists to go with 20 points, the final two of which came on a fadeaway with 2.9 seconds to play, providing the winning margin in the 74-72 victory.

SHERFIELD MAKING ALL-AMERICA, MW PLAYER OF THE YEAR CASES
Grant Sherfield's debut season at Nevada has been one for the ages, and has brought with it a strong case for both All-America and Mountain West Player of the Year honors.

Sherfield, who was granted immediate eligibility in September after transferring from Wichita State, has scored 18.9 points with 6.19 assists per game, and 11 20-point performances.

In Mountain West-only games, through Feb. 22, Sherfield leads the conference in scoring, assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio, and free-throw percentage. All four of those figures also rank first among Mountain West newcomers, as well, making him a top candidate for both the conference's player and newcomer of the year awards.