[jwplayer fiy4YmBt-sNi3MVSU]
Nevada Moves to 2-0
Contact/Follow: @Michelsenshawn & @MWCwire
There was a chill in the air outside; inside it was about to heat up. Pacific from the WCC came into town 1-0 and left 1-1, while also losing their land on the NCAA basketball imperialism map.
https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/11/07/ncaa-basketball-college-basketball-imperialism-map-series-november-6-2018/
From the 10 minute mark in the first half Nevada slowly took control of the game thanks to some good outside shooting. The 3 point game that had been of some concern through both exhibitions and the first half of the BYU game is no longer a concern. Nevada shot 7-13 from beyond the arc on the way to a 9 point halftime lead.
Future Nevada opponents should note that Caleb Martin, preseason MWC POY, once again went scoreless in the first half. Once again the second half was a different story as Caleb exploded for 22 points to lead all scorers to go along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Twin brother Cody once again went double digits in assists with 10 along with 11 points notching his first double double of the season. Cody now has an incredible 21 assists with only 3 turnovers through 2 games.
Pacific, taking a cue from Washington and BYU, came out playing zone defense. Nevada was able to attack the zone with dribble penetration and a kick out to an open 3 point shooter.
Nevada finished the night 15-31 from distance and most of those were the function of a good pass as they recorded 21 assists on 25 made field goals with only 7 turnovers.
Defense was once again on the menu at Lawlor as Nevada held Pacific to 41;7% from the floor and 25% from behind the arc.
In the opener Jordan Brown only logged 5 minutes of court time, tonight in 21 minutes he grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked 3 shots while altering a few others. Tre’Shawn Thurman also had 3 blocks and also hit 3-4 from distance.
What we learned from tonight’s game
This Wolf Pack team is a work in progress. One thing Eric Musselman has proved to be very good at is identifying weakness’s with his squad and then improving on that aspect of the game.
Last season Nevada was outsized and outrebounded by bigger teams so Mussleman brings in Trey Porter and Brown, both 6-11. Defense was an area Mussleman knew Nevada needed to improve on if Nevada were to contend for a National Championship.