Nevada (12-7, 7-5 MW) vs. Boise State (14-2, 10-1 MW)
Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 - 6 p.m.
Reno, Nev. - Lawlor Events Center
TV: FS1 (PxP: Tim Neverett, Analyst: Doug Gottlieb)
Radio: ESPN Radio 94.5 FM (PxP: John Ramey, Analyst: Len Stevens)
Game Notes | Watch | Listen | Live Stats

RENO, Nev. - Nevada (12-7, 7-5 MW), fresh off of a series sweep of UNLV, has a quick turnaround as it hosts first-place Boise State in a two-game set at Lawlor Events Center.

The series opens Friday at 6 p.m., with the finale set for Sunday at 1 p.m. Both contests will air on FS1, with Tim Neverett and Doug Gottlieb on the call. The series will also be broadcast in Reno on ESPN Radio 94.5 FM with John Ramey and Len Stevens calling the action.

UP NEXT
The Wolf Pack makes its penultimate road trip of the conference season next week, heading to the Bay Area to face San Jose State in a two-game series. The games against the Spartans are set for Saturday, Feb. 13 and Monday, Feb. 15.

THE PACK BOUNCES BACK (AGAIN)
For the second time in this Mountain West campaign, Nevada bounced back from being swept in a series to doing the sweeping in the following series.

Two tough losses at Wyoming on Jan. 22 and 24 led to the Pack coming home and dominating in-state rival UNLV for a pair of wins to get back over .500 in Mountain West play. The previous time the Pack had been swept in a Mountain West series, Jan. 7 and 9 at San Diego State, Nevada rebounded to sweep Fresno State at Lawlor on Jan. 15 and 17.

SCOUTING BOISE STATE
Boise State (14-2, 10-1 MW) comes to Reno sitting atop the Mountain West standings but off of a series at Colorado State in which it suffered its first conference defeat.

The Broncos, which will have seven days off between games when Friday's opener tips off, rebounded from a 78-56 loss in the opener in Fort Collins to capture the finale, 85-77. Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year Derrick Alston leads the Broncos with 16.5 points per game and 35 3-pointers. Alston paces five Broncos averaging double figures in scoring, as newcomers Abu Kigab (13.5 ppg) and Devonaire Doutrive (10.6 ppg) supplement the scoring of returners Marcus Shaver, Jr. (13.8 ppg) and RayJ Dennis (10.5 ppg).

SERIES WITH BOISE STATE
Nevada leads the all-time series against the Broncos, 48-28, entering this weekend's series. The Pack had won eight-straight against the Broncos before having that run snapped in the last meeting, a 73-64 defeat in Boise on Feb. 1, 2020.

Nevada has beaten Boise in each of the past four meetings at Lawlor, dating back to the 2016-17 campaign. Head coach Steve Alford is 5-1 all-time against Boise State, and head-to-head against Bronco head coach Leon Rice.

EIGHT IS NOT ENOUGH
Beating your rival is a significant confidence booster, and Nevada has to be feeling good heading into this weekend's series with Boise State after sweeping UNLV by a combined 39 points Sunday and Tuesday. The wins ran the Pack's winning streak in the series with UNLV to eight.

The Pack hit 14 3-pointers and shot the Runnin' Rebels out of the gym in Sunday's 89-60 victory, then used defense and a 19-2 closing run to grind UNLV down in a 72-62, series-clinching win.

A YOUNG TEAM LEARNING TO WIN
Nevada in 2020-21 is a team without a scholarship senior, and with a number of newcomers to the roster. A big challenge with a youthful roster is teaching young players how to win close games and execute in crunch time. Despite the Pack having five losses in conference play, none of those defeats have come by more than seven points, and the five decisions have come by a combined total of just 21 points, an average margin of defeat of 4.2 points. Also, in those five losses, the Pack has had a lead or been tied in the final three minutes four times (Jan. 22 at Wyoming is the only exception).

Tuesday against UNLV, the Pack trailed, 30-26, at halftime, and fell behind, 33-26, early in the second half,m but came back for the 72-62 victory. It marked the first time this season that Nevada had come back to win after trailing at the break, as the Pack had been 0-5 overall and 0-4 in Mountain West play this season when behind at halftime.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Nevada's bench had itself a series in the sweep of UNLV, scoring a combined 67 points and posting FG/3FG/FT percentages of 57.1/52.9/90.0.

The Pack bench was led by sophomore forward Zane Meeks, who scored a career-high 19 points in Tuesday's win, and averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds for the series while shooting 60.0 percent and 44.4 percent from deep, and redshirt sophomore forward KJ Hymes (10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 66.7 FG percentage), who scored a career-high 16 points Sunday and matched a career best with four blocks Tuesday.

On the year, the Nevada bench averages 18.9 points per game, and has contributed at least 20 points in a game on nine occasions, with two games of at least 30 points (30 against Pacific on Nov. 30, 39 against UNLV on Jan. 31).

SHERFIELD IN THE NATIONAL, MW STAT RANKINGS
Sophomore point guard Grant Sherfield has been one of the Mountain West's hottest performers since conference play resumed over New Year's Weekend. The Fort Worth, Texas, native has averaged 20.7 points, 5.90 assists, and 3.7 rebounds, while posting FG/3FG/FT percentages of 43.8/34.5/91.0 over the 10 games since Dec. 31.

Sherfield is also all over the Mountain West stat rankings in conference games. Through 12 conference games, Sherfield leads the MW in free throws made (64) and attempted (71), ranks second in scoring (18.8 ppg), assists per game (6.00 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.88), and free-throw percentage (90.1), seventh in steals per game (1.33 spg), and eighth in field-goal percentage (42.9).

Nationally, Sherfield ranks sixth with 108 assists, sixth in free throws made (97), and 11th in free-throw attempts (111) through Feb. 2. His 653 minutes played also rank eighth in the country.