MBB: Boise State (10-3,0-0) at University of Nevada-Reno (10-3,0-0)
Boise State University at University of Nevada- Reno
Date: Wednesday December 28,2022
Time:8:00pm MT
Stadium: Lawlor Events Center, (12,000)
Stream: Mountain West Network
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Commentators: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson
Know Thy Enemy
The season starts now and the road to Thomas and Mack in March starts with a quick trip to the “Biggest Little City” to face the Wolfpack of Nevada. UNR, as their enemies call them, were picked to finish 9th in the preseason poll, however they have gotten off to a hot start at 10-3 as they head into conference play. These wolves might be all bark however as they have piled up mostly Quad 3 and Quad 4 wins and only have 2 wins in Quad 1 or 2 combined.
The Wolfpack will usually go 10-deep in their rotation, but will rely heavily on starters Jarod Lucas, Kenan Blackshear, Tre Coleman as those three are all averaging over 30 minutes a game with Lucas averaging more than 35 minutes of playing time.
Nevada will work inside out with their big man in the middle Will Baker. The seven footer has taken over 100 shots this year and is shooting at a clip of 52%. The reigning Mountain West Player of the Week is also not afraid to shoot the three, attempting 23 shots from downtown and shooting 30% from behind the arc. On top of all that, Baker is the team's best free throw shooter making close to 88% of his freebies. If team’s try to take away the inside then they have to deal with guard Jarod Lucas who is lighting it up from beyond the arc. Lucas is second in the lead in three pointers made.
Defensively, the ‘Pack sit 5th in the Mountain West in points per game, giving up an average of 64 points. They have only given up 70+ four times this year and half of the time it’s come in a loss. Their size and length have really been a problem for teams. Right now Nevada is forcing an average of 12 turnovers and over 5 steals per game.
Nevada is coached by NCAA Champion, All-American, and Olympic Gold Medalist Steve Alford. Alford enters his fourth season leading the Wolf Pack and his 32nd season overall as a head coach, boasting a career record of 635-338 (.653). Alford is no stranger to the Mountain West, having coached New Mexico to four Mountain West regular season titles and two Mountain West Tournament championships, with six postseason appearances in his six seasons in Albuquerque. With Alford now coaching the Wolf Pack, seven of the last 13 Mountain West championships have been won by Nevada, or Nevada’s current coach.
Boise State and UNR are familiar foes on the hardwood as Wednesday's matchup will be the 41 meeting between the teams. Nevada leads the all-time series 26-14, and is 13-6 when playing on their home floor. However, Boise State swept the season series and beat the ‘Pack in the conference tournament quarterfinals a season ago.
What Happened Last Season
As previously mentioned, the Broncos had much success against the Wolf Pack last season, winning both regular season meetings and the matchup in the postseason. In the first meeting last year, Emmanuel And Marcus Shaver combined for 51 points and the Broncos took a 41-27 lead into halftime. The Wolf Pack would trim the lead back down to 7 before the Broncos would go on a 14-4 run to wrestle back control of the game. Boise State would lead by as many as 21 points in an 85-70 victory.
In game two back in Boise, the Broncos would again find themselves with a double digit lead in the second half, but the Wolf Pack would cut a 13-point deficit to one, but could not complete the comeback, making just one of its final six attempts from the field, and Boise State would celebrate their first outright Mountain West regular-season championship since the 1987-88 season in the 73-67 win.
Round three would come in the Mountain West conference tournament quarterfinals. Three Broncos scored in double-figures as top-seeded Boise State held off eighth-seeded Nevada. Nevada made nine of its first 11 shots and took advantage of five Boise State turnovers to build a 8-point lead in the first eight minutes of the game. An Emmanuel Akot three would spark a 14-0 run as Boise State roared back to take a 38-33 lead into halftime. Boise State would grow their lead to 12 with just over 11 minutes to play. The Wolf Pack retaliated with a 15-6 run of their own and would ultimately cut the lead to just two with 1:31 left on the clock. After a Boise State miss with 15 seconds left, the ‘Pack took the ball to the other end and found an open look from three that bounced off the back rim and Boise State lived to play another day, defeating UNR 71-69
Player to Watch
NEVADA-RENO
SR., JAROD LUCAS, G#2
The Wolf Pack have a number of players that could be inserted here, but it’s been newcomer Jarod Lucas who has really burst onto the scene for the Wolf Pack this season. The Oregon State transfer is building off a solid Junior campaign where he started all 31 games and Averaged 13.5 points in 33.7 minutes per game for the Beavers. This season Lucas has started all 13 games so far and is averaging 16.8 points in 35.2 minutes per game. The Senior is second in the conference in 3-point field goals per game, hitting close to three from three each game. Lucas also second in the league, in free throw percentage,shooting 85% from the line.
BOISE STATE
SR., MARCUS SHAVER JR., G #10
Boys are the Broncos missing Marcus. Shaver was a DNP against Santa Clara and Boise State could have used him, especially during a stretch where the Broncos were held scoreless for the better part of five minutes. Against a talented team like Nevada, Boise State needs that rock steady presence in a leader like Shaver. Marcus has been dealing with an injury and hasn’t played since December 10th for the Broncos, but hopefully he’s healed up in the last 18 days and is ready to go on Wednesday night.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Boise State
Nevada-Reno
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
No Drought About It
Boise State is a defense-first team and that’s a fact. It’s also true that their defense has allowed them to win a lot of games so it’s not a knock on them to say that they win games with defense and they score enough to win. However, we saw what happens when the defense just isn’t there and the offense is struggling in last week’s loss to Santa Clara. At one point in the game Boise State didn’t score a point for the better part of five minutes. There have been numerous times this year where Boise State has just gone cold on the offensive end of the floor. In the first game of the season Boise State had a 66-64 lead with 3:02 left to play. They ended up losing that game 68-66. They couldn’t score a point in the last three minutes! Against Charlotte Boise State was held scoreless for the last 7:42 of the first half. They didn’t score another basket until the 18:24 mark of the second half. That's over nine minutes of game time without scoring a point. Against CSUN they only scored 2 points in the last four minutes of the first half. I could go on, but I’m getting too upset. Boise State can’t afford to go on these extended droughts during conference play and expect to win. They have to get into rhythm early and execute their offense at a high level.
Three Headed Hound
Greek Mythology has Cerberus the three-headed dog and Nevada has its own version with Lucas, Blackshear, and Baker. These three have been the end-all, be-all for the Wolf Pack this year. The Three combined have made over half the shots for the team and all three are scoring in double figures every night. Boise State can’t let all three of these guys go off and expect to win. If they can limit the production of Lucas and Blackshear and force Will Baker to beat them the Broncos could be in good shape.
Editor Note:
Clean Slate
As of the time you’re reading this, the Broncos are tied for first in the Mountain West with every other team at 0-0. The real season starts now. Boise State has a chance to defend their sweep of regular season and tournament championships. The Mountain West looks to be a gauntlet of quality teams. 8 teams have 9 or more wins and New Mexico, UNLV and Utah State have three losses combined. The Broncos will have their work cut out for them if they want to repeat as champions. They’ll have to forget about the clunker last week and come into this game with a renewed focus for the road ahead.
This one looks to be a coin toss for who wins. If Shaver plays, the Broncos have a chance. If not it could get ugly. The team that can make shots down the stretch wins this one. Boise State can’t hold onto a late lead.
Boise State 67, Nevada-Reno 70
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