Tag: Jazz Johnson

Week 7 DPI Rankings: Lobos Rising After Six-Game Streak

It was back to non-conference play last week for the Mountain West. Not everybody was in action—and some who were now wish they hadn’t been.

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Week 7 DPI Rankings: Lobos Rising After Six-Game Streak

The top two stand pat, but plenty of movement below

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

New Mexico, Boise State climbing in the latest DPI rankings for Week 7

It was back to non-conference play last week for the league’s affiliate members on the heels of the opening salvo to the long Mountain West season. Not everybody was in action—and some now wish they hadn’t been.

But it wasn’t all misery.

Some teams are making big strides, including one squad trying to make a move into the uppermost echelon of the MWC.

Below are the DPI rankings heading into the heart of Week 7. If you’re new to the rankings or just want a refresher, head here for a rundown of how the DPI is calculated. The ratings below reflect games played through Tuesday, December 17. As always, non-Division I games are not counted in the DPI.

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#1 — SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS

Last Week: #1

The Aztecs moved to the #1 spot in the Mountain West last week and with no games since their close shave against San Jose State, they haven’t moved much up or down. Brian Dutcher’s team is still undefeated and boasts one of the best defenses in the country. Malachi Flynn’s star turn has propelled SDSU into the national polls, along with the play of Matt Mitchell, Yanni Wetzell, and Jordan Schakel. If KJ Feagin can provide a little more offense, this team could really turn in a special season.

#2 — UTAH STATE AGGIES

Last Week: #2

It’s been a bit of a rough patch for the Aggies over the past few games. They still have one of the two best rosters in the league, but they aren’t quite living up to preseason expectations so far. After losing to Saint Mary’s and looking underwhelming in their first two Mountain West games, Utah State fell to BYU on Saturday in Salt Lake City. It was only their second loss, but it’s a missed opportunity for a good out-of-conference win to put on their NCAA Tournament resume.

#3 — NEW MEXICO LOBOS

Last Week: #4

The Lobos have won six straight after toppling New Mexico State and Grand Canyon since the last DPI rankings were posted here. Though they aren’t playing at the level of SDSU just yet, this patchwork roster of homegrown talent and incoming transfers has performed admirably in the early going. JaQuan Lyle has been everything that Paul Weir could have wanted and more. Oh, and Carlton Bragg is averaging a double-double. So far, so good.

#4 — NEVADA WOLF PACK

Last Week: #3

The Wolf Pack looked like they were starting to turn a corner over the past few weeks, winning five straight games on either side of Thanksgiving. But last week, Nevada was the second casualty of BYU’s surge, along with Utah State and UNLV. The offense had been clicking on all cylinders, but immediately downshifted from a 100-point performance against Air Force to a 42-point outing against the Cougars. That kind of volatility that makes it tough to trust Steve Alford’s club.

#5 — BOISE STATE BRONCOS

Last Week: #6

Leon Rice is getting things back on track in Boise, but outside of their win over BYU—before Yoeli Childs came back, of course—the Broncos haven’t really beaten anybody. It was another rocky showing for Boise State last week, with a midweek loss to Tulsa preceding a blowout win over Alabama State. Derrick Alston is averaging 21 points and Justinian Jessup is finding his form. But the starting five is not the problem here; Rice’s team suffers from a lack of depth.

#6 — COLORADO STATE RAMS

Last Week: #5

The Rams jumped out to a promising start, but they’ve lost three of their past four games, including both of their opening Mountain West bouts. Mixed in there was a 72-68 win over South Dakota State, and while the Jackrabbits are not a bad squad by any means, that they played CSU so closely gives a good indication of where the Rams are right now. Niko Medved’s team gave in-state rivals Colorado a run for their money, but ultimately fell 56-48 over the weekend.

#7 — AIR FORCE FALCONS

Last Week: #8

The defense still leaves a lot to be desired, but recently, the Falcons have been getting better results than they did during a rough November. The new month has been kinder to the cadets, with Air Force winning four of its past five (Note: Tuesday’s 99-42  win over Johnson & Wales is not counted in the DPI). AJ Walker has taken an important step forward as an offensive option. The sophomore was averaging 20 points per game over the past three games coming into Tuesday.

#8 — FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS

Last Week: #10

Justin Huston finally got his team to a second Division I win on Saturday against Cal Poly. But the bigger story here is the seven losses that they have already incurred. Nate Grimes is doing exactly what was expected of him so far, averaging a double-double with 13.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per night. Guards Jarred Hyder and New Williams both have some good performances under their belts, but they haven’t been able to click at the same time. That needs to change.

#9 — UNLV RUNNIN’ REBELS

Last Week: #9

The Rebels didn’t play last week, so the bad taste of the 33-point loss to BYU back has been lingering for a week and a half. There have been a lot of close calls, with UNLV playing in four separate overtime games so far. They are shooting under 42% from the field and turning the ball over 15 times a night. Games against Pacific and Robert Morris this week offer TJ Otzelberger the chance to start making some headway in his first year at the helm.

#10 — WYOMING COWBOYS

Last Week: #7

Allen Edwards got his Cowboys out to a 3-3 start, but they have dropped five straight games, including their most recent defeat at the hands of Northern Colorado. The Bears didn’t just sneak past Wyoming, either—the Big Sky hopefuls handed the home team a 21-point drubbing at Arena-Auditorium. The defense has been fair to middling, but the offense has been dreadful thus far. The Cowboys are shooting under 50% on two-pointers and just over 30% on threes.

#11 — SAN JOSÉ STATE SPARTANS

Last Week: #11

There’s a bit of a running joke around here about which Spartan is most likely to transfer next year, since the sputtering Spartans have seen five double-digit scorers depart in the past three offseasons—including Brandon Clarke, who parlayed his post-SJSU star turn at Gonzaga into a budding NBA career. All jokes aside, Seneca Knight has separated himself as the Spartans’ top option, scoring 12.5 points per game. Hopefully the sophomore can remain an important building block for Jean Prioleau.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week to see who’s rising and falling in the Mountain West and be sure to visit the Dieckhoff Power Index daily for updated rankings on all 353 teams in Division I basketball.

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

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Nevada vs. Texas Southern: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Nevada vs. Texas Southern: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More Wolf Pack should be on high alert against pesky Tigers Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire With a big game this weekend, the Pack can’t afford to look past Texas …

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Nevada vs. Texas Southern: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Wolf Pack should be on high alert against pesky Tigers

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

With a big game this weekend, the Pack can’t afford to look past Texas Southern

GAME DETAILS

WHO: Nevada (7-4, 1-0 MWC) vs. Texas Southern (3-6, 0-0 SWAC)

WHEN: Wednesday, December 18 — 7:00 P.M. PT / 8:00 P.M. MT

WHERE: Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV

WATCH: Nevada Sports Net

LISTEN: TuneIn

ALL-TIME: This is the first meeting between the two schools.

ODDS: Nevada -15, per KenPom

GAME NOTES

The Wolf Pack’s five-game winning streak ended last week when BYU trounced Nevada in Provo, 75-42. And with another WCC foe on the horizon—a date with Saint Mary’s awaits on Saturday—Steve Alford can’t afford to let his team look past Texas Southern.

The Tigers made quite a name for themselves last year as a giant killer, knocking off Oregon, Baylor, and Texas A&M during the non-conference season. Though this year’s squad isn’t quite as good as last year’s, Johnny Jones is sure to have some tricks up his sleeve for his old employer.

Between his previous head coaching gig at LSU and his current job at Texas Southern, Jones served as associate head coach for Nevada in 2017-18. Despite his team’s headline-stealing upsets, Texas Southern fell short of the NCAA Tournament last season and had to settle for a CIT Semifinals appearance in March.

The Tigers have yet to recreate any of the magic from last season, stumbling out to a 3-6 start, which includes one victory over non-Division I opponent Concordia (TX). Outside of a close call in a 69-63 loss to Wichita State, the average margin in the Tigers’ five other losses is 27 points per game.

Nevada comes into Wednesday with a record of 7-4, though none of the losses are necessarily prohibitive to their longshot NCAA Tournament hopes. The biggest issue for their resume is that they don’t have any good wins. This game against Texas Southern won’t provide that opportunity, but there’s a big juicy chance waiting on Saturday when Nevada travels to San Francisco to take on St. Mary’s.

But even though Texas Southern hasn’t scored their marquee upset yet, that doesn’t put Nevada in the clear. The Wolf Pack’s shooters have to be on target, lest they suffer their first objectively bad loss of 2019-20.

GAME PLAN

On NEVADA’S POSSESSIONS…

The green light is on for the Wolf Pack under Alford. Per Sports-Reference, the team ranks 37th in the nation in three-point attempts—and more importantly, 13th in the country in three-point makes. Jazz Johnson, Lindsey Drew, and Nisre Zouzoua are all shooting over 40% on more than four long-range shots per game. Jalen Harris, meanwhile, leads the team in scoring and does most of his scoring inside the arc.

Nevada takes great care of the ball, averaging just 12 giveaways per game. So they don’t lose many possessions to carelessness, but because they shoot so many threes, there aren’t as many opportunities for second chances on the offensive boards. But if any team is going to let the Wolf Pack crash the glass, it’s Texas Southern, who has one of the worst defensive rebound rates in the nation.

ON TEXAS SOUTHERN’S POSSESSIONS…

The Tigers have really struggled on offense, even in comparison to their lowly defense. If Steve Alford is giving his squad a permanent green light, Johnny Jones has his team stuck on red. Texas Southern shoots a very low number of three-pointers, perhaps because they are connecting on well under 30% of them. Tyrik Armstrong is the team’s leading scorer, but he is going to get a lot of attention from Lindsey Drew and the rest of Nevada’s backcourt.

All that attention will likely expose what is perhaps Texas Southern’s biggest weakness: their turnovers. The Tigers average a giveaway on nearly a quarter of their possessions, which means Nevada might finally have a chance to force a few. The Wolf Pack are near the bottom of the ranks in defensive turnover rate. Nevada has been a good defensive rebounding team, while Texas Southern is nothing special on the offensive glass.

GAME PREDICTION

NEVADA 86, TEXAS SOUTHERN 68

After laying an egg last week, expect the Wolf Pack offense to be back in form at home against Texas Southern. The Tigers may keep up for a while, but Nevada should be able to run away with this one over the full forty minutes. And if they want to hang on to their slim chances at an NCAA Tournament bid, they had better fall prey to this trap game.

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

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Nevada puts their 5-game winning streak on the line at BYU

Nevada at BYU: Game Preview, Prediction, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More Wolf Pack look to continue their recent offensive explosion Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire With both teams fielding scorers aplenty, be ready for a shootout in …

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Nevada at BYU: Game Preview, Prediction, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Wolf Pack look to continue their recent offensive explosion

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

With both teams fielding scorers aplenty, be ready for a shootout in Provo

GAME DETAILS

WHO: Nevada (7-3, 1-0 MWC) vs. BYU (7-4, 0-0 WCC)

WHEN: Tuesday, December 10 — 7:00 P.M. MT / 6:00 P.M. PT

WHERE: Marriott Center, Provo, UT

WATCH: ESPNU

LISTEN: TuneIn

ALL-TIME RECORD: BYU leads the series, 13-7

ODDS: BYU -7, per KenPom

GAME PREVIEW

If it feels familiar to see BYU taking on a Mountain West foe, fret not. The Cougars really are on a tour through the conference, with tonight’s game against Nevada being the fourth of five total games against the league for Mark Pope’s side.

While the games against Boise State and San Diego State didn’t break the Cougars’ way, BYU looked like the best version of themselves over the weekend as they took down UNLV, 83-50. The win was a righting of the ship, as BYU was coming off an overtime loss to Utah on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Nevada’s offense went out and had themselves a monster week, scoring 98 against Santa Clara and 100 against Air Force.

The Wolf Pack have bounced back beautifully after a disappointing 2-3 start to the year. The season’s low point so far was a 20-point loss to Davidson. That loss looked—at the time—like it might signal a rough first year for new head coach Steve Alford, but Nevada has now won five straight games.

And though it shouldn’t diminish the accomplishment too much, none of those wins came against likely NCAA Tournament participants. Bowling Green is probably the most likely of the five, to give some context.

But they’ve got a chance to reel in a big fish when they travel to Provo.

The Cougars have had their struggles, to be sure. The losses to Boise State and Utah aren’t great. But BYU has also beaten Houston, Virginia Tech, and UCLA on the year, in addition to the haymaker they landed on UNLV.

Long story short, BYU can play.

Thankfully, so can Nevada.

The combination of Jalen Harris, Jazz Johnson, and Lindsey Drew is starting to mesh really well. They’ve demonstrated the ability to take turns carrying the scoring load, with the trio combining for eleven 20-point games so far.

Most recently, it’s been Harris taking the lead. The former Louisiana Tech guard has been lighting it up. He’s averaging 24 points per game over the last three contests, including a 31-point performance against Air Force on Saturday. Harris is making a very strong case for All-MWC honors in the early going—and could even find his way into the POY conversation.

If you’re a fan of high-scoring basketball, look no further. This game pits two effective offenses and against two pedestrian defenses. BYU has gone for 83 or more points in its last three games. Nevada has scored more than 84 in three of its past four.

This could end up being the most exciting games of the evening.

BY THE NUMBERS

On Nevada’s offensive possessions…

Steve Alford should continue to ride the horse that got him to this five-game winning streak, putting the ball in the hands of his guards early and often. The Wolf Pack have been an excellent shooting team and they protect the ball as well as just about anyone in the country. But their shooters are going to have to get it right on the first try, because BYU has been great at limiting second-chance opportunities by opposing offenses. Also, don’t expect Nevada to get much from the line, as the Cougars don’t foul much.

On BYU’s offensive possessions…

The performance against UNLV was exactly what this BYU offense wants to do night in and night out. We know that the Cougars have shooters galore, but having the dominant interior presence of Yoeli Childs back should take their efficiency into uncharted waters. Johncarlos Reyes and KJ Hymes haven’t been terrible in the low post for the Wolf Pack, but Childs might be the best post player they’ll face all year (apologies to Neemias Queta). Aside from contesting his shots, Nevada will also need to limit second-chance points better than they’ve done so far on the season.

DPI PROJECTION: BYU 79.87, NEVADA 79.56

Normally I would round the scores off, but I think it’s important to show just how close these two are. The system is projecting this to be a wildly even game, with less than half a point separating the two teams. In the end, though, the DPI projects that the Cougars will defend their home court. But Nevada has every chance in the world to win this game.

If the Wolf Pack have any hope at an at-large bid—a slim prospect, most likely— they need to seize this opportunity on the road.

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

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Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Four

Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Four Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Four. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Who is in the running for Player of the Year? The staff at the Mountain …

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Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Four

Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Four.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Who is in the running for Player of the Year?

The staff at the Mountain West Wire wanted to do something a little different this year. We are going to keep track of the top performers from teams around the Mountain West throughout the year and vote on who had the best performances that week. 

How It Works: 

Each person will award 15 points in total to five players and should award it as so:

1st place (Player of the week): 5 pts

2nd place: 4 pts

3rd place: 3 pts

4th place: 2 pts

5th place: 1 pt

The player with the most points total will be our player of the week and we will keep track of the point totals every week so that the player who has the most at the end of the year will receive the Mountain West Wire Player of the Year award. Just copy the players below and type your names above it like we do for the pick them docs we get and award your points. 

Now some guys made the list and others didn’t. A big thing to think about was consistency throughout the week. Something that hurt some guys was having a decent game one day and a bad one the other day. Guys who made the list had a great game one day and a good one on other days, or good games both days.

This column will come out on Sunday nights or Monday mornings depending on how late some games finish on Sundays. 

The order for the Fourth week is as follows:

1. Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (5 Points)

11 Points, 3 Assists and 2 Steals against Tennessee State

21 Points, 3 Assists and 2 Steals against Creighton

28 Points, 4 Assists and 3 Steals against Iowa

Malachi Flynn helped put the San Diego State on the national radar after key performances during a successful Turkey Week for the Aztecs. Brian Dutcher’s team received votes in both the AP (89) and Coaches (19) top-25 polls this past week after wins against Tennessee State, Creighton and Iowa to become the 2019 Continental Tire Las Vegas International Champions while Flynn earned tournament MVP honors.

This Aztec team is on the rise and Flynn has been a key part of the success that Brian Dutcher’s squad is having in his third year in charge of the Aztecs.

2. Justin Bean, sophomore forward Utah State (4 Points):

24 Points, 9 Rebounds and 2 Steals against Saint Mary’s

3. Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (3 Points):

25 Points, 5 Rebounds and 3 Assists against Bowling Green

4. Sam Merrill, senior guard Utah State (2 Points):

23 Points, 6 Rebounds and 2 Steals against Saint Mary’s

5. Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (1 Point):

20 Points, 6 Rebounds, 7 Assists and 2 Steals against Bowling Green

Current Overall Point Totals:

JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (8 Points)

Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (6 Points)

Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (6 Points)

Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (6 Point)

Lindsey Drew, senior guard Nevada (5 Points)

Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (5 Points)

Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (4 Points)

Justin Bean, sophomore forward USU (4 Points)

Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (4 Points)

Amauri Hardy, junior guard UNLV (4 Points)

Alphonso Anderson, junior guard USU (3 Point)

Jordan Schakel, junior guard SDSU (2 Points)

Donnie Tillman, junior forward UNLV (2 Points)

Past Weeks:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 

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Nevada Loses Second In A Row On The Road At Davidson: 91, 71

Game Recap: Nevada 71, Davidson 91 Turnovers cost the Wolf Pack against a hot shooting Wildcats team. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Hot handed Davidson gives Nevada it’s second loss in a row. An earlier game then most of us were used to …

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Game Recap: Nevada 71, Davidson 91

Turnovers cost the Wolf Pack against a hot shooting Wildcats team.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Hot handed Davidson gives Nevada it’s second loss in a row.

An earlier game then most of us were used to west of Texas, the Wolf Pack traveled to North Carolina to take on the Davidson Wildcats at home. The Wildcats were picked to finish second in the Atlantic-10 this season and were looking for their second straight win on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats couldn’t miss and went a combined 55% from the field and 46% from behind the three point line. Guessing who would lead the Wildcats in scoring was tricky, and they didn’t disappoint.

But in the end it was junior guard Kellan Grady who ended an impressive night with 24 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. But the all conference guard had help, and that help came from sophomore forward Luka Brajkovic who chipped in 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The third member of their triple threat scoring attack on Tuesday was reigning A-10 player of the year Jon Axel Gudmundsson who ended the night with 18 points. Those three combined for more than half of the teams final score, but knocking down shots was only half of the battle, the Wildcats also forced 21 turnovers.

Nevada left John M. Belk arena with their second straight loss and the aforementioned turnovers and poor shooting attributed to that. The Wolf Pack managed to knock down over half of their field goals but went 5-15 from three. Making half of your field goals could hardly be looked at as a bad thing but when you turn the ball over 21 times, you forfeit possible scoring opportunities and Davidson took advantage of those turnovers and scored.

Lindsey Drew had maybe the best shooting performance of Nevada’s scoring guards going 5/9 on the night but that only equated to a team high 14 points. Jazz Johnson and Jalen Harris both added 13 points, but Harris had the better night on the stat sheet going 6/10 from the field and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. We knew this Nevada team would have some growing pains with an almost completely new roster and new coaching staff this year, and forecasted this a bit in an article posted before the season started below.

But the Wolf Pack made shots, they just gave their opponent the ball back more times then they got it back and killed possible scoring possessions in the process. Scoring isn’t the main issue, and one bright spot in this game was senior guard Nisre Zouzoua who had 13 points and went 6/6 from the free throw line.

He has shown some life off of the bench in a couple of games this season. On a team who has very little scoring capability outside of Drew, Harris and Johnson. Now this game had it’s components to work on, but this was also a tough game many of us covering the conference were anticipating and the Wolf Pack just couldn’t come away the win.

What’s next: The Wolf Pack face the Fordham Rams in the first game of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday at 3:15 PM EST/12:15 PM PST. The Rams are currently undefeated but the Wolf Pack will be their first real test of the season. The Ram’s have some capable scorers and rebounders in their front court, make sure to check out the summary of this game and more about the Rams and other possible opponents in the Paradise Jam in our Future hoops foes article below.  

 

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Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Two

Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Two Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Two. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Who is in the running for Player of the Year? The staff at the Mountain …

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Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Two

Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Two.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Who is in the running for Player of the Year?

The staff at the Mountain West Wire wanted to do something a little different this year. We are going to keep track of the top performers from teams around the Mountain West throughout the year and vote on who had the best performances that week.

How It Works: 

Each person will award 15 points in total to five players and should award it as so:

1st place (Player of the week): 5 pts

2nd place: 4 pts

3rd place: 3 pts

4th place: 2 pts

5th place: 1 pt

The player with the most points total will be our player of the week and we will keep track of the point totals every week so that the player who has the most at the end of the year will receive the Mountain West Wire Player of the Year award. Just copy the players below and type your names above it like we do for the pick them docs we get and award your points. 

Now some guys made the list and others didn’t. A big thing to think about was consistency throughout the week. Something that hurt some guys was having a decent game one day and a bad one the other day. Guys who made the list had a great game one day and a good one on other days, or good games both days.

This column will come out on Sunday nights or Monday mornings depending on how late some games finish on Sundays. 

The order for the second week is as follows:

1. JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (5 Points):

     31 Points, 5 Rebounds, and 5 assists against Wisconsin-Green Bay

     18 Points, 5 Rebounds and 2 steals against McNeese St. 

2. Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (4 Points):

     21 Points, 19 Rebounds, and 5 Assists against Omaha

     17 Points, 7 Rebounds, and 1 Block against Loyola Marymount

3. Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (3 Points):

     16 Points, 2 Rebounds and 1 Assist against UT-Arlington 

     26 Points, 4 Rebounds and 1 Assist against USC

4. Donnie Tillman, junior forward UNLV (2 Points):

     17 Points, 8 Rebounds, and 3 Assists against California 

     18 Points, 7 Rebounds, and 1 Assist against UCLA

5. Alphonso Anderson, junior guard USU (1 Point)

     15 Points, 6 Rebounds and 4 Steals against Denver

     21 Points, 6 Rebounds and 3 Assists against North Carolina A&T

Current Overall Total Point Count:

JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (5 Points)

Lindsey Drew, senior guard Nevada (5 Points)

Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (4 Points)

Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (4 Points)

Amauri Hardy, junior guard UNLV (3 Points)

Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (3 Points)

Jordan Schakel, junior guard SDSU (2 Points)

Donnie Tillman, junior forward UNLV (2 Points)

Alphonso Anderson, junior guard USU (1 Point)

Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (1 Point)

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Trojan’s Front Court Depth Too Much For Nevada, As Wolf Pack Fall 76-66

Game Recap: USC 76, Nevada 66 26 Points From Jazz Johnson Not Enough As Wolf Pack Loses To USC At Home. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Nevada suffers second loss of the season at home to USC. This game should have been circled on Nevada …

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Game Recap: USC 76, Nevada 66

26 Points From Jazz Johnson Not Enough As Wolf Pack Loses To USC At Home.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Nevada suffers second loss of the season at home to USC. 

This game should have been circled on Nevada fan’s calendars for a while now. Aside from maybe fellow Pac-12 member Utah’s game to start the season, Saturday’s game against the Trojans of Southern California was one of the tougher games on the Wolf Pack’s schedule.

Jalen Harris went into Saturday’s game pumped up after a 24 point performance in his first full game back in almost two years on Tuesday night. But that three-headed attack turned into a solo scoring effort, as senior guard Jazz Johnson led the team in scoring with 26 points on the night but failed to receive much help.

The Wolf Pack shot about 32% from the field as a team and only one other player besides Johnson scored in double figures. That was senior guard Lindsey Drew who despite having 12 points, 6 rebounds and five assists, has had a bit of an off week compared to week one of the season. Junior guard Jalen Harris scored 9 points going 3/19 from the field and 1/8 from three-point range. Nevada struggled against a larger team with a deeper bench but made it competitive enough to close the gap to ten as time expired.

One big issue for me going into Saturday was USC’s front court dept. Not only is there freshman Isaiah Mobley and Nick Rakocevic, but leading scorer, rebounder and blocker Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu is a bulldozer at 6’9 245, but even he had a though night against the Wolf Pack. Okongwu finished with 11 rebounds and a block but only scored 6 points on 3/8 shooting.

Senior Nick Rakocevic led the Trojans with 24 points and 11 rebounds followed by graduate transfer Daniel Utomi who had 12 points and 4 rebounds. This was the biggest test of the season so far for Steve Alford‘s squad and they played well against a deeper PAC-12 team, though this was a perfect example of this Wolf Pack team playing through depth and chemistry issues in Alford’s first season.

 Up Next: The Wolf Pack take on the Davidson Wildcats in North Carolina on Tuesday at 7:00PM EST/4:00PM PST. The Wildcats are 1-2 on the season but were predicted to finish 2nd in the Atlantic 10 and bring back reigning Atlantic 10 player of the year Jon Axel Gudmundsson. Look for it to be a battle of the back courts on Tuesday, as Davidson has another two-way threat in junior guard Kellan Grady.

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Nevada Wolf Pack Top UT-Arlington in Jalen Harris’ Return, 80-73

A Jalen Harris Return Was Just What The Doctor Ordered. Recap: Nevada 80, Texas-Arlington 73 Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Jalen Harris’ presence was definitely felt as Nevada gets a win against UT-Arlington. After almost two years away …

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

A Jalen Harris Return Was Just What The Doctor Ordered.

Recap: Nevada 80, Texas-Arlington 73

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Jalen Harris’ presence was definitely felt as Nevada gets a win against UT-Arlington.

After almost two years away from the game Jalen Harris got to play his first full game of basketball on Tuesday night in the Lawlor Events center against a scrappy UT-Arlington Mavericks squad, and he didn’t disappoint. The former Louisiana Tech Bulldog has been a heralded transfer sitting on the bench in Reno since back under the last coaching staff. Many have waited to see Harris on the court and for those of us who watched the season opener anxiously against Utah, we felt a bit cheated.

Harris left that game in the first half and didn’t return going scoreless on 0-4 shooting and wore a boot on his right foot the remainder of the night. 

After undergoing X-ray testing last week which came back negative for any kind of broken bones, Harris was scheduled to undergo MRI testing this week. But surprised fans by showing up in the starting line up tonight against the Mavericks.

The junior guard led this Wolf Pack team with 24 points while grabbing 9 rebounds. His scoring provided a much needed break for senior guard Lindsey Drew (7 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists) who was our Mountain West Wire Player of the Week.

Nevada needed another scoring option to go a long with Lindsey Drew and Jazz Johnson, who scored 16 points going 5-11 from the field Tuesday night. Having Harris as a reliable third scoring option changed the offensive dynamic on the court and relieved Johnson and Drew of having to create scoring opportunities for themselves.

Help also came from senior guard Nisre Zouzoua who had a season high 16 points on 6-8 shooting and junior forward Robby Robinson helped out with 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Texas-Arlington looked good in the first half, keeping the game close and exchanging the lead throughout the second half. Radshad Davis led the Mavericks with a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds. Big man Jabari Narcis had 11 points on the night, which included 3 three pointers to go a long with 9 rebounds. Sunbelt preseason first-team guard Brian Warren had a tough night going 1-12 from the field ending up with 5 points. 

Steve Alford’s squad still seems to be getting use to each other’s play in live game situations and some guys are getting used to playing at the division one level. But they are doing a great job making adjustments during games and are 2-1 on the season. With Harris back and other players stepping up, it is going to be fun watching this team grow this season.

Next up: The Wolf Pack hosts Southern California on Saturday at home before heading on the road to face Davidson in North Carolina next week. The Trojans boast a fantastic freshmen front court and will be the biggest test of the season for the Wolf Pack thus far. 

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