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Mountain West Tournament: Here Is How Nevada Can Win The Tournament

Here are five reasons why the Nevada Wolf Pack can win the 2020 Mountain West tournament. 

Contact/Follow @BrandonGBlake & @MWCwire

Can Nevada Win The Mountain West Tournament? Here Is How They Can Win It.

The Nevada Wolf Pack will start their run in the 2020 Mountain West tournament on Thursday as they will face the winner of the Wyoming and Colorado State game. The Wolf Pack finished with a 19-11 record and finished second in the Mountain West conference with a 12-6 record. 

Nevada is looking to win their second Mountain West tournament championship in program history. To achieve that goal, they will more than likely need to defeat talented squads like Utah State and San Diego State to win the Mountain West title.

Here are my five reasons why the Nevada Wolf Pack can win the 2020 Mountain West Tournament this week:

 

Jalen Harris

The 2019-2020 Mountain West Newcomer of the Year has been stellar for the Wolf Pack this season. Harris is the primary reason why the Wolf Pack finished second in the Mountain West this season despite a new head coach and player turnover from the previous season.

During conference play, Harris is averaging 25 points six rebounds and close to four assists a game. Along with those stats, Harris is shooting 49 percent from the field and 41 percent from the three point line. During conference play, Harris recorded five games where he scored 30 or more points per game. 

Harris and his play has propelled Nevada near the top of the Mountain West standings in the regular season. Nevada will need Harris to continue to play at a high level for the Wolf Pack to win the Mountain West tournament. 

 

Three point shooting

The Nevada Wolf Pack are a very good offensive basketball team and they are a great three point shooting team.

As a team, Nevada is shooting 38.4 percent from the three-point line this season which is best in the conference. The Wolf Pack boasts five players that are shooting 37 percent or better from the three point line this season. Jazz Johnson is leading the team in that category as he is shooting 41.9 percent from three which is good for fourth in the Mountain West. 

If Nevada as a team can continue to shoot the three-ball well in this upcoming Mountain West tournament, then they will have a very good chance to win the tournament and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. 

The play of Jazz Johnson

Along with Lindsey Drew and Jalen Harris, Jazz Johnson’s play is key if Nevada is to win the Mountain West tournament. 

This season, Johnson is averaging 15.9 points per game and is shooting 41.9 percent from the three point line. Johnson has the ability to have a big game for the Wolf Pack as he scored 34 points back on January 4th against Boise State.

Johnson’s contributions for the Wolf Pack this season has earned him second team All Mountain West honors. Johnson and the 2020 Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year winner Nisre Zouzoua are going to need to continue to provide Nevada with the scoring punch if the Wolf Pack are to win the Mountain West tournament.

 

The play of Lindsey Drew

The senior guard has been in Reno for a while and was a part of the Wolf Pack’s recent success under previous head coach Eric Musselman. Drew, who missed more than a year of playing time due to a ruptured Achilles he suffered back in 2018, returned to action this season and has been a solid presence for Nevada.

Drew is averaging 11 points, six rebounds and four assists per game this season. Along with a solid stat line, Drew does provide excellent defense for the Wolf Pack as he was just named to the All-Mountain West Defensive team.

For Nevada to win the Mountain West tournament title, they will need Lindsey Drew to continue his solid offensive play and his stellar defense to power the Wolf Pack into the NCAA tournament. 

Heading into the MW Tournament, Nevada is Playing Good Basketball

Despite the loss to San Diego State on Saturday night in Reno, the Wolf Pack are coming into the Mountain West tournament playing very good basketball this late in the season.Nevada has won six of its last seven games and in their last 11 games, Nevada has a 8-3 record.

 

The Wolf Pack are playing their best basketball at the right time of the season. If Nevada continues to play this type of quality basketball in the Mountain West tournament, the Wolf Pack could be winning the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. 

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