Why Nevada Will Sneak Away With The Mountain West Tournament
Can the Wolf Pack win it all?
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Steve Alford‘s group an unlikely champ?
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Nevada has had a roller-coaster season, to say the least. The Wolf Pack were picked to finish third in the preseason Mountain West poll. Nevada instead went on to go 12-17 on the season, 6-12 in the Mountain West conference to finish eighth in the conference. Nevada saw a step back from last season from Desmond Cambridge, while Texas transferred Will Baker less than lived up to the preseason hype.
Grant Sherfield has been forced to should most of the scoring load this season and at times, even the All-Mountain West player struggled to carry the burden offensively. A couple of areas Nevada can hang their hat on are forcing turnovers on defense and passing the ball, leading to assists. The Wolf Pack ranks in the top three in the conference in assists and steals.
2022 Mountain West Tournament Bracket, TV Schedule Announced
While the Wolf Pack may have had a season most fans want to forget, there is still basketball to be played this season. Nevada looks to make a run at the Mountain West Tournament and could surprise a few fan bases in the process. Here are three reasons why Nevada could shock the field and win the automatic bid Mountain West bid to the NCAA March Madness Tournament.
Grant Sherfield leading Nevada can do some real damage
The 6’2 junior guard averages a little less than 19 points per game and leads the Wolf Pack with six assists per game. However, Sherfield has proved countless times in the past that he has the ability to score 30-plus points in a game. Sherfield even has the ability to string multiple 30-point games in a row, which is a good recipe to string together wins in March.
A finally healthy Nevada team can make waves
Along with a player being dismissed early in the season and a COVID pause in January, the Wolf Pack have faced the injury hurdle multiple times late in the season. Warren Washington was out for longer than a month with a hand injury and Grant Sherfield was sidelined multiple weeks with a foot infection. Both players are back and the team is healthy once again. While Nevada is coming off of four straight losses, this is a team that has actually played well as of late. The Wolf Pack can finally go back to their full gameplan with their entire squad healthy and can unleash the true potential they hold.
Experienced coaching
While many fans might be upset with how the coaches have handled the season, head coach Steve Alford and lead assistant Craig Neal have a great deal of experience when it comes to playing in conference tournaments. Alford and Neal coached at New Mexico previously and won two Mountain West Conference championships during their time with the Lobos. The coaching duo knows what it takes to win in March and could make adjustments to propel Nevada to a conference championship.
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