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Nevada Basketball: Three Keys For Nevada-San Diego State
On Senior Day in Reno,The Nevada Wolf Pack closes out the regular season on Saturday as they face San Diego State. A Nevada win gives them a share of the Mountain West regular season title.
Nevada Basketball: Three Keys For Nevada vs San Diego State
The Nevada Wolf Pack will conclude the regular season on Saturday night as they host the San Diego State Aztecs in Reno. The game time is set for 9:30pm and will be on the CBS Sports Network.
For Nevada it is really simple, a win over San Diego State would give them a share of the Mountain West regular season championship and the top seed in the Mountain West tournament next week in Las Vegas.
This is the second game between the Wolf Pack and San Diego State and in the first game, San Diego State defeated Nevada by a score of 65-57. It was San Diego State’s third straight victory over the Wolf Pack. This streak goes back to late last season when SDSU defeated Nevada to close out the regular season last year and also again in the semi-finals in the Mountain West tournament.
It is safe to say that Nevada is looking to exact some revenge against San Diego State and snap a three game losing streak against the Aztecs.
On top of what is on the line for Nevada as they face off against San Diego State on Saturday is that it is Senior Night for the Wolf Pack’s seven seniors. The Wolf Pack faithful will see the seniors for the last time at the Lawlor Events Center on Saturday so emotions will be high as the Wolf Pack look to secure another Mountain West regular season championship.
Here are my three keys for Nevada as they take on San Diego State.
Nevada Must Contain SDSU’s Devin Watson and Jeremy Hemsley
In the first meeting between Nevada and San Diego State, the senior guards of Devin Watson and Jeremy Hemsley played very well. The two guards combined for 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as they were instrumental in SDSU’s win over Nevada back on February 21st.
For Nevada to win on Saturday, the Wolf Pack must find a way to contain not only Aztec star Jalen McDaniels but also contain these talented guards from San Diego State. Nevada cannot let the backcourt tandem of Hemsley and Watson have another big night at the expense of the Wolf Pack.
Nevada Must Rebound Well Against SDSU
When the Wolf Pack played San Diego State back on February 21st, San Diego State out rebounded the Wolf Pack by a count of 46-37. In the offensive rebounding statistic for that game, the Aztecs out rebounded Nevada by a count of 12-6. San Diego State’s excellent work on the glass gave them some second chance opportunities in their win over the Wolf Pack in their first meeting.
In this second game, Nevada must perform better on the rebounding front and match San Diego State’s toughness on the glass. Front court players like Trey Porter, Jordan Caroline and Tre’Shawn Thurman must put in the work on the glass against San Diego State for Nevada to win on Saturday night.
Jordan Caroline Has to Have a Big Game against SDSU
I said this when I provided the keys for the first game against San Diego State. In the first game between SDSU and Nevada back on February 21st, Caroline had a rough night as he only shot 25 percent from the field (3-12 from the field) and only scored eight points and six rebounds. Caroline had a hard night trying to score against SDSU’s length and especially when Aztec forward Matt Mitchell was guarding him.
Caroline has struggled in the last two games shooting as he has only shot 22 percent from the field so this is an important game for Caroline to snap his shooting slump against San Diego State.
And for the Wolf Pack to defeat San Diego State on Saturday, Nevada needs Caroline to come up big in his final game at Lawlor Events Center.
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