Nevada Wolf Pack
Mountain West (27-7, 15-3)
Nevada was expected to compete for another Mountain West Conference title, but a small step back from the team that earned a 12 seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament would not have been surprising. But Coach Eric Musselman’s team was consistent all year long and ended up going 15-3 in conference play. Now the Wolf Pack will hope for a better showing at the NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 11/13 Rhode Island (88-81), 11/21 Davidson (81-68), 2/14 at Boise State (77-72)
Bad Losses: 12/23 vs San Francisco (64-66), 1/24 at Wyoming (103-104), 2/7 UNLV (78-86)
Coach: Eric Musselman
Why They Can Surprise:
This team has the experience to compete with anybody. They have never been blown out of the gym and have kept the game close even in losses to teams like Texas Tech and TCU. The story should be the same in the tournament. Versatile forwards Caleb and Cody Martin are very tough to deal with on both ends of the floor. Caleb leads the team with 19.1 points and adds 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals. Cody is not a shooter like his brother, but he is an amazing all-around player who is averaging 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.5 blocks. Jordan Caroline and Kendall Stephens are the scoring threats on the perimeter. Caroline, a 6-7 wing, is not much of an outside shooter, but he is a threat. He scores most of his 17.9 points per game by attacking the basket. He also leads the team with 8.8 rebounds.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Lindsey Drew was averaging 8.1 points, 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds before a mid-February injury ended his season early. The Wolf Pack has not had much time to recover from his absence and the team’s depth is now very thin. Hallice Cooke stepped into a starting role and the Iowa State transfer at least has plenty of experience. However, that leaves Josh Hall as the only regular to come in off the bench. Like Caroline, Hall is a big 6-7 guard who can help fill in minutes in the frontcourt when the Martin’s need a break. Sooner or later though the lack of depth will catch up with Nevada.
Probable Starters:
Hallice Cooke, Senior, Guard, 4.9 ppg, 1.6 apg
Kendall Stephens, Senior, Guard, 13.2 ppg
Jordan Caroline, Junior, Guard, 17.9 ppg, 2.1 apg, 8.8 rpg
Caleb Martin, Junior, Forward, 19.1 ppg, 2.6 apg, 5.3 rpg
Cody Martin, Junior, Forward, 13.6 ppg, 4.6 apg, 6.3 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Key Role Players:
Josh Hall, Sophomore, Guard, 6.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 83.5 (17th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.3 (176, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.2 (55, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.9 (112, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.7 (32, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 40.1 (17, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 74.8 (57, 2)
Rebound Margin: 0.7 (177, 7)
Assists Per Game: 16.4 (29, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.1 (9, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Iowa State
2016 CBI First Round win over Montana
2016 CBI Quarterfinal win over Eastern Washington
2016 CBI Semifinal win over Vermont
2016 CBI Championship win over Morehead State
2012 NIT First Round win over Oral Roberts
2012 NIT Second Round win over Bucknell
2012 NIT Quarterfinal loss to Stanford
2010 NIT First Round win over Wichita State
2010 NIT Second Round loss to Rhode Island
2009 CBI First Round loss to UTEP
2008 CBI First Round loss to Houston
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Creighton
2007 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Memphis
2006 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Montana
*all team stats through 3/4
