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NCAA Tournament Schedule And Preview : No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 10 Texas
The Nevada Wolf Pack will travel to Nashville to face off against Texas in the South Region on Friday on TBS,
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Nevada Begins Their NCAA Tournament Run Against Texas on TBS.
It was announced on Sunday during the TBS Selection Show that the Wolf pack will be in the field of 68 as they will face the Texas Longhorns of the Big 12 Conference on Friday afternoon.
This is the second straight trip to the NCAAs for the Wolf Pack who won the Mountain West regular-season championship for the second straight season but fell in the Mountain West tournament to San Diego State on Friday night.
The Wolf Pack are just one of five mid-major schools in this year’s tournament to get an at-large bid thanks to their 27-7 record, two wins against quadrant 1 teams and a RPI of 16.
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The Wolf Pack will face a Texas Longhorns team that finished with an overall record of 19-14 and an 8-10 record in the Big 12 which was good for sixth in that league. The Longhorns players to watch for in this game are forwards Dylan Osetkowski and Mohamed Bamba.
Osetkowski leads the team in points per game at close to 14 while Bamba leads the team in rebounds per game at 12 per game, field goal percentage at 54 percent per game and blocks at close to four per game. The Longhorns strength is their size in the frontcourt while the Wolf Pack top out at 6-7 in the height department.
However, the Wolf Pack’s strength is the three-point shot as Nevada was the best in the Mountain West in that department as they shot close to 40 percent from the three-point line this season. The Longhorns, however, were one of the worse teams in the Big 12 when it comes to the three-point shot as they only shoot 31 percent from three. Fair to say this will be a contrast of styles when the Wolf Pack and the Longhorns play on Thursday.
Joining Nevada and Texas in the Nashville quadrant are the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Georgia State Panthers in the 2 vs 15 match-up. The Bearcats won 30 games and won both the American Conference regular season and tournament championships and display a suffocating defense as they give up an average of 57 points per game which is good for second in the nation.
Georgia State made the tournament by winning the Sun Belt tournament over UT-Arlington on Sunday afternoon 74-61. The Panthers are coach by Ron Hunter who has experience in the NCAA tournament as an underdog. In 2015, Hunter guided Georgia State as a 14 seed to an upset victory over the third seeded Baylor Bears and advancing to the round of 32. So, it is safe to say that Hunter and the Panthers will not be intimidated by the Bearcats.
Should the Wolf Pack defeat the Longhorns on Friday, they will face the Cincinnati/Georgia State winner on Sunday afternoon. Here is the game information Nevada’s match with the Texas Longhorns.
Game Info
Date: Friday, March 16th
Tip-off: 1:30pm PT
Venue: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Radio: 94.5 FM-ESPN
TV/stream: TBS