Tag: USC basketball

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 VS USC: Game Preview, TV & Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds & More

Nevada VS USC: Game Preview, TV & Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds & More Nevada returns to action on Saturday night in Reno to face off against another Pac-12 team. This time it is the 3-0 USC Trojans. Contact/Follow @BrandonGBlake & @MWCwire Can …

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Nevada VS USC: Game Preview, TV & Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds & More

Nevada returns to action on Saturday night in Reno to face off against another Pac-12 team. This time it is the 3-0 USC Trojans.

Contact/Follow @BrandonGBlake & @MWCwire

Can The Wolf Pack Defeat USC For A Second Straight Year?

WHO:  Nevada Wolf Pack (2-1) vs. USC Trojans (3-0)

WHEN: Saturday November 16th  — 8:00 PM PT

WHERE: Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV

TV:  CBS Sports Network

STREAM: Get a one-week trial of FuboTV.

RADIO: Radio link for the Nevada Wolf Pack | Radio link for the USC Trojans

SERIES RECORD: USC leads series 2-1

ODDS: Not Available

The Nevada Wolf Pack return to action on Saturday night when they host the visiting USC Trojans. The game will tip-off at 8pm and will be on the CBS Sports Network. The Wolf Pack are taking on the Trojans for the second straight season on the hardwood. The last time Nevada played USC was last season when the Wolf Pack defeated the Trojans in LA 73-61.

Nevada is coming off a 80-73 victory over Texas-Arlington on Tuesday night in Reno. In the victory over the Mavericks, junior guard Jalen Hurts had a good performance. In his first full game back after missing the Loyola Marymount game, Harris scored 24 points (20 of those points came in the second half) to help Nevada pull away from Texas-Arlington.

Jalen Hurts was not the only Nevada player who had a good night on Tuesday. Wolf Pack guards Nisre Zouzoua and Jazz Johnson scored 16 points a piece and Lindsey Drew scored seven points and tallied eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in the win on Tuesday night. 

The Wolf Pack will need those contributions from its top players when they take on the Trojans who are 3-0 to start the season. On paper, the Trojans have the look of a team that could possibly contend for a Pac-12 championship this season with their roster of talent.

The Trojans top players to watch for is freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu leads the Trojans in points (17.3ppg), rebounds (10.3rpg) and blocks (3.3bpg)  in the early part of the season. Okongwu is joined in the front court by senior forward Nick Rakocevic who is averaging 14 points per game and nine rebounds per game for the Trojans.

Together Okongwu and Rakocevic make up a talented front court for the Trojans. For the Trojans in the backcourt, the player to watch for is senior guard Jonah Mathews. Mathews is averaging close to 12 points per game and shooting 33 percent from the three for the Trojans. 

USC is bringing in a talented and undefeated team to the Lawlor Events Center on Saturday to take on the Wolf Pack. It will be interesting to see if Nevada is up to the challenge when they take on the Trojans.

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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 …

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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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