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The Nevada Wolf Pack Look to Repeat As MW Tournament Champions As The Top Seed.
It won’t be easy but the Nevada Wolf Pack have the talent and the coaching to repeat as Mountain West tournament champions.
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The Wolf Pack Will Begin There Quest To Repeat As Tournament Champions On Thursday In The Quarterfinals
The Mountain West tournament begins on Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas but for the Nevada Wolf Pack, their tournament begins on Thursday as they await the winner of the UNLV/Air Force game.
The Wolf Pack are the defending Mountain West tournament champions and their road to repeating will not be easy as they may face as many as four teams that could defeat the Wolf Pack in this tournament.
But according to TeamRanking.com, the Wolf Pack have a 30.93 percent chance of winning the Mountain West tournament which are the best odds of any team in the conference. And that makes sense as they are the best team in the conference and have the talent to repeat as tournament champions.
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Here are my three reasons why the Wolf Pack will repeat as Mountain West tournament champions:
The Wolf Pack have three of the best players in the Mountain West Conference
Nevada can lay claim to having three of the best players in the Mountain West with the Martin twins and Jordan Caroline.
Caleb Martin is the straw that stirs the drink for this Wolf Pack team as he was named the conference player of the year early this week. Caleb Martin this season has averaged 19 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 43 percent from three. His twin brother Cody is averaging 14 points per game and six rebounds a game as he is shooting 52 percent from the field and 30 percent from three.
Jordan Caroline is the glue that has holds this Wolf Pack team intact as he is second in the team in points per game at 17 points per game while averaging eight rebounds all the while shooting 47 percent from the field.
Despite the injury to Lindsey Drew and little depth on the roster, no team in the Mountain West can say that they have three of the best players in the conference on the floor at the same time. And that spells trouble for the teams in the Mountain West tournament.
Nevada has the best coach in the conference in Eric Musselman
What Eric Musselman has done in just three years as head coach of the Nevada Wolf Pack is incredible. Taking over a program that went 9-22 the season prior to his arrival, Musselman injected some much-needed life into the Wolf Pack program as they have gone from also-rans to a top-25 program
And despite a roster that has very little depth and dealing with nagging injuries to key players during the season, Musselman has been able to navigate thru those obstacles and guided the Wolf Pack to their second straight Mountain West regular season title with hopes of winning a second straight tournament title
The Mountain West conference is home to some good coaches but in this tournament, I like Nevada’s chances more with Eric Musselman leading the way.
The Wolf Pack are the most complete team in this Mountain West tournament
The Nevada Wolf Pack have the best scoring offense in the conference averaging 83.5 points per game. The Wolf Pack are third in the conference in field goal percentage at 47 percent and are tops in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage at 40 percent. On the defensive side, the Wolf Pack are just as good as they are third in the league in field goal percentage defense at 42 percent and first in the conference in 3-point field goal defense giving up only 31 percent from deep.
This Wolf Pack team is an excellent team with few if any flaws outside of a lack of depth and the presence of a true big man. For teams like San Diego State, New Mexico, Boise State or Wyoming to defeat Nevada in the conference tournament (SDSU and Wyoming have defeated Nevada, so it is not impossible) those teams must play close to an excellent game to defeat the Wolf Pack. These teams I just mentioned are good and can do it, but it won’t be easy as the Wolf Pack are just so very good.