Nevada (9-10, 3-5 MW) at Fresno State (15-6, 5-3 MW)
Friday, Feb. 4, 2022 - 8 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. - SaveMart Center

TV: FS1 (PxP: Noah Eagle; Analyst: Casey Jacobsen)
Radio: ESPN 94.5 FM (PxP: John Ramey; Analyst: Ashlee Jones)

FRESNO, Calif. - Nevada hits the middle of its three-game road trip, heading to the San Joaquin Valley to wrap up the regular-season series against Fresno State.

Friday's contest is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start, and willbe broadcast on FS1, with Noah Eagle and Casey Jacobsen on the call.  The game will also be carried over the airwaves in Reno on ESPN Radio 94.5 FM and online through the Varsity Network app, with John Ramey and Ashlee Jones calling the action.

UP NEXT
Nevada then closes the trip Sunday afternoon, Feb. 6, at San Diego State (1 p.m., CBS Sports Network). The Pack then returns home to host Colorado State Tuesday at 8 p.m., before heading back out on the road to Utah State (Feb. 11)..

LAST TIME OUT
Nevada, short-handed Tuesday night at UNLV due to the absence of starters Grant Sherfield and Warren Washington, had its comeback effort fall short in the 69-58 loss to the Runnin' Rebels.

Trailing by 16 at halftime, Nevada stormed out of the break with a 17-6 start to the second half, pulling to within five at 48-43 with 11 minutes to play. But UNLV, which hit 12 3-pointers on the night, used the deep ball to go on a 10-2 run, get its lead back to 13, and keep the Pack at bay.

Kenan Blackshear scored a Nevada career-high 17 points in the contest, leading four Wolf Pack players in double figures.

SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
Fresno State (15-6, 5-3 MW) has won two of three since its 77-73 loss at Nevada, Jan. 21. The Bulldogs dropped an overtime decision at home to Boise State, Jan. 28, before defeating San José State, 73-43, Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs are led by the play of Orlando Robinson (19.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 50.7 FG pct.) and Anthony Holland (9.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 51.2 FG pct.).

GOING FOR THE SWEEP
Friday night's contest offers the Pack its first chance at a conference series sweep, as Nevada already has Jan. 21's 77-73 victory over the Bulldogs in its pocket.

In that contest, Grant Sherfield scored 17 points with seven assists and five rebounds, while Kenan Blackshear scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Will Baker went 6-for-7 from the field for 14 points. Nevada shot 56.0 percent (28-for-50) in the contest, and led by as many as 12 with 11 minutes to play.

INJURY UPDATE
Nevada was without two starters, point guard Grant Sherfield (foot) and forward Warren Washington (hand), Tuesday night at UNLV. Both will be gameday decisions ahead of Friday night's game at Fresno State.

For Sherfield, it was the first game he has missed in his Nevada career, snapping a run of 44-straight games. Tuesday night was Nevada second-straight game without Washington, who missed Jan. 29's game against Utah State after leaving Jan. 25's game at Colorado State due to injury.

PAINT DOMINATION LAST TIME AGAINST THE 'DOGS
A big reason for Nevada's success in its Jan. 21 victory over Fresno State was the Pack's play in the paint. Despite Fresno State having one of the conference's best bigs in Orlando Robinson, Nevada outscored the Bulldogs in the paint, 34-22, and got a combined 28 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the frontcourt trio of Will Baker (14 points, 6-for-7 shooting), Warren Washington (nine points, 3-for-4), and K.J. Hymes (five points, 1-for-2). Washington and Hymes combined to go to the free-throw line 12 times in the contest.

BLACKSHEAR FINDING HIS GROOVE
Junior guard/forward Kenan Blackshear had probably his best game in a Nevada uniform Tuesday at UNLV. Against the Runnin' Rebels, Blackshear scored 17 points, his highest in a Nevada uniform, and went 5-for-11 from the field with six rebounds.

The scoring total bested Blackshear's previous Nevada-best of 16 points, posted Jan. 21 against Fresno State. In that game against the Bulldogs, Blackshear went 6-for-9 from the field, including hitting both of this 3-point attempts, and grabbed five rebounds.