PDF: IDAHO VANDALS (15-15, 6-10 WAC) vs. NEVADA WOLF PACK (19-11, 11-5 WAC)
2010 WAC TOURNAMENT - GAME #31
Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 6 p.m. PT - Lawlor Events Center (11,536) - Reno, Nev.
TELEVISION: Live internet streaming at www.wac.tv (subscription fee)
RADIO: University of Nevada Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno;
KELK 1240 AM, Elko; KHWG 750 AM, Fallon & KSVL 92.3 FM, Yerington)
Ryan Radtke (play-by-play) & Len Stevens (color), pregame show starts at 5:30 p.m. PT
SERIES HISTORY: Nevada leads the all-time series with Idaho 35-23.
LAST MEETING: Nevada has won the last three meetings between the two teams, most recently turning in a 67-66 victory at Idaho on Feb. 10 in Moscow, Idaho.
Coming off a 79-68 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday, the Nevada Wolf Pack (19-11, 11-5 WAC) returns to action in the 2010 Western Athletic Conference Tournament this week at Lawlor Events Center. As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, Nevada will take on the seventh-seeded Idaho Vandals (15-15, 6-10) in the quarterfinals on Thursday night. Thursday's game will tip off at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and can be heard live on Nevada's flagship radio station, ESPN 630 AM, with Ryan Radtke and former Wolf Pack head coach Len Stevens calling the action. The Wolf Pack has won its last two games and six of its last eight overall and finished tied for second in the WAC standings with an 11-5 conference mark. Nevada has turned in a 14-1 record at Lawlor Events Center this season and brings a six-game home winning streak into WAC Tournament play. With a victory over the Vandals, the Wolf Pack would win its quarterfinals game in the WAC Tournament for the eighth time in the last nine seasons and turn in the program's seventh consecutive 20-win season. The winner of the Idaho-Nevada contest will take on the winner of a quarterfinals game between third-seeded New Mexico State and sixth-seeded San Jose State at 9 p.m. in Friday's semifinals. The winner of the WAC Tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
Under the direction of first-year head coach David Carter, the Wolf Pack returned three starters and a total of eight letterwinners from last year's 21-13 team, including the preseason WAC Player of the Year in sophomore forward Luke Babbitt who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season as a true freshman and preseason first-team All-WAC selection junior guard Armon Johnson who was second on the team in scoring and paced the Wolf Pack in assists last year. This season's team also features three seniors in guards Brandon Fields and Ray Kraemer and forward Joey Shaw as well as five new faces. Last season, Nevada turned in its sixth consecutive year with at least 20 wins and earned the team's seventh consecutive postseason appearance with an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational.
BABBITT, JOHNSON & HUNT EARN ALL-WAC HONORS
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt has been named the 2010 WAC Player of the Year, marking the fifth time that a Nevada student-athlete has been named the WAC Player of the Year in the 10 years that Nevada has been a member of the WAC. Babbitt is the first Wolf Pack player to win the award since Nick Fazekas was named the WAC Player of the Year for the third consecutive season in 2007. The 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year, Babbitt was also named to the 2010 All-WAC first team for the second year in a row and becomes the fourth Wolf Pack player to be named conference player of the year in school history.
Junior Armon Johnson earned second-team honors this year after being a first-team All-WAC selection in 2009 and the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2008. Sophomore forward Dario Hunt rounded out Nevada's all-league selections, being named to the WAC All-Defensive Team for the first WAC honor of his career.
NEVADA CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Year Player Conference
2010 Luke Babbitt WAC
2007 Nick Fazekas WAC
2006 Nick Fazekas WAC
2005 Nick Fazekas WAC
2004 Kirk Snyder WAC
1992 Kevin Soares Big Sky (co-winner)
NEVADA IN THE WAC TOURNAMENT
Nevada holds a 13-7 record in WAC Tournament games since joining the league in 2000-01. The Wolf Pack has won its quarterfinals game and advanced to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament in seven of its previous nine appearances (seven of the last eight) in the event. Nevada also has reached the championship game four times (2003, '04, '06, '09), winning the WAC Tournament championship in 2004 and 2006.
Last season in Reno, second-seeded Nevada opened the tournament with a 78-69 win over seventh-seeded San Jose State in the March 12 quarterfinals and downed sixth-seeded Louisiana Tech 77-68 on March 13 in the semifinals before falling to top-seeded Utah State 72-62 in the championship game on March 14.
The Wolf Pack's last WAC Tournament championship came in 2006 when the team downed Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State en route to the crown in Reno. Nevada also captured the 2004 WAC Tournament championship in Fresno, Calif. In 2004, the team defeated SMU and Rice before taking down UTEP in the championship game 66-60. Nevada also advanced to the WAC Tournament championship game in 2003 in Tulsa, Okla., downing Louisiana Tech and SMU before falling to the Golden Hurricane.
NEVADA IN WAC TOURNAMENT GAMES
Date Site Opponent Result
March 6, 2001 Tulsa, Okla. Rice L, 44-60
March 7, 2002 Tulsa, Okla. SMU W, 72-66
March 8, 2002 Tulsa, Okla. Hawai'i L, 68-90
March 13, 2003 Tulsa, Okla. Louisiana Tech W, 72-66
March 14, 2003 Tulsa, Okla. SMU W, 81-66
March 15, 2003 Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa^ L, 64-75
March 11, 2004 Fresno, Calif. SMU W, 75-60
March 12, 2004 Fresno, Calif. Rice W, 67-59
March 13, 2004 Fresno, Calif. UTEP^ W, 66-60
March 10, 2005 Reno, Nev. Boise State L, 72-73
March 9, 2006 Reno, Nev. Idaho W, 68-55
March 10, 2006 Reno, Nev. New Mexico State W, 70-59
March 11, 2006 Reno, Nev. Utah State^ W, 70-63
March 8, 2007 Las Cruces, N.M. Idaho W, 88-56
March 9, 2007 Las Cruces, N.M. Utah State L, 77-79
March 13, 2008 Las Cruces, N.M. Fresno State W, 64-57
March 14, 2008 Las Cruces, N.M. New Mexico State L, 75-83
March 12, 2009 Reno, Nev. San Jose State W, 78-69
March 13, 2009 Reno, Nev. Louisiana Tech W, 77-68
March 14, 2009 Reno, Nev. Utah State^ L, 62-72
^ - WAC Tournament championship game
NEVADA ONE OF TOP WAC TEAMS OVER LAST SIX YEARS
Over the last six seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 167-63 record, the second-most wins of any WAC team during that time (.726 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 90 games, the most in that same time period.
BABBITT NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt has been named an ESPN the Magazine second-team Academic All-American, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Babbitt holds a 3.51 grade-point average and is majoring in pre-business administration. He leads the Wolf Pack and ranks in the top 30 in the country in scoring and rebounding this season. The preseason pick for Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, the Reno native and graduate of Galena High School earned Academic All-WAC honors last year.
"We are very proud of Luke Babbitt. This is a very hard award to achieve and for him to be our first Academic All-American is a great accomplishment for Luke and for our program," Nevada head coach David Carter said. "For a young man to be able to succeed at such a high level both academically and athletically is very unique, and being named an Academic All-American is something that Luke will be very proud of for years to come."
Babbitt is the first men's basketball player in the history of Nevada men's basketball to earn Academic All-America honors. He is the second Wolf Pack basketball player to do it after Chris Starr earned the honor as a member of the Nevada women's basketball team in 1986. The University of Nevada has had 14 student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors in the program's history.
To be eligible for the All-America team, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve, maintain a grade-point average of 3.30, have reached sophomore academic and athletic status and be nominated by his sports information director.
Earlier this season, Babbitt was named a first-team Academic All-District 8 university men's basketball first team, which made him eligible for the national ballot.
BABBITT ONE OF 30 MIDSEASON CANDIDATES FOR NAISMITH TROPHY
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt was named one of 30 midseason candidates for the Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T.
The top 30 midseason list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists from around the country. The board based its criteria on player performances this season.
The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T is the most prestigious national basketball award and is given annually to the men's college basketball player of the year. This year, the award will be presented at the NCAA Men's Final Four in Indianapolis.
Babbitt is one of just five players from non-BCS conferences on the list and one of just eight underclassmen on the list. He is also the first Wolf Pack player to make the midseason cut since All-American Nick Fazekas made it on the final ballot in 2006-07.
WINNING AT LAWLOR
The Wolf Pack has won 72 of its last 86 contests at Lawlor Events Center, dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season. Including a 14-1 record this year and its current streak of six consecutive home victories, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 100-18 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.847 winning percentage).
Nevada has also captured 33 of its last 39 WAC regular-season home games (.846) and 38 of its last 45 home games against WAC opponents (.844) counting the 2006 and 2009 WAC Tournaments (dating back to the 2005-06 season). A Jan. 19, 2008 loss to Boise State snapped the Wolf Pack's 14-game winning streak in WAC home games, including a perfect 8-0 mark in 2006-07 and a 2-0 mark to start the 2007-08 season (finished 7-1). That 14-game win streak had dated back to January of 2006. Nevada's losses to Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State last season marked its first back-to-back WAC home losses since falling to Louisiana Tech and SMU in January of 2002.
ABOUT THE IDAHO VANDALS
Under the direction of second-year head coach Don Verlin (32-31 record in two years at UI), the Idaho Vandals returned four starters and a total of six letterwinners from last year's 17-16 team. Idaho holds a 15-15 overall mark and finished in a tie for sixth place with a 6-10 WAC record this season. The Vandals snapped a three-game losing streak with home wins over San Jose State (86-76 on March 4) and Hawai'i (78-69 on March 6) to end the regular season.
Senior guard Mac Hopson (6-2, 185) leads Idaho and ranks 11th in the WAC in scoring with 14.4 points per game. He is also adding 5.1 boards per game and checks in at second in the WAC with 5.14 assists per contest. Senior guard Kashif Watson (6-4, 186) is second on the team with 10.7 points per game, while senior center Marvin Jefferson (6-10, 250) paces the Vandals and is 13th in the WAC with 6.1 boards per contest.
IN THE SERIES
Nevada leads the series with Idaho 35-23 and has won 12 of the last 13 meetings between the two former members of the Big West Conference. The Wolf Pack won both regular-season meetings this year, turning in a 76-68 victory over the Vandals on Jan. 16 in Reno and a 67-66 victory on Feb. 10 in Moscow. The Wolf Pack has also captured six of the last seven games and 19 of the last 21 meetings in Reno, dating back to the 1982-83 season. Nevada's only home losses in that stretch came during the 1998-99 and 2008-09 seasons. This season marks the third time the the Wolf Pack will take on the Vandals in the WAC Tournament with Nevada turning in victories over Idaho in 2006 and 2007.
LAST TIME OUT VS. IDAHO
Junior Armon Johnson hit a layup and a free throw with 2.9 seconds left to lift Nevada past Idaho 67-66 on Feb. 10 in Moscow, Idaho.
Johnson led the Wolf Pack with 23 points, while sophomore Luke Babbitt added 21.
Johnson sank a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to tie the game 64-64. Mac Hopson then hit two free throws with 6.2 seconds left to give the Vandals a 66-64 lead.
Johnson took the inbound pass, wove through traffic and went for the layup, drawing a foul from Kashif Watson and winning the game at the line. Hopson led Idaho with 17 points.
Idaho came back from a 42-28 deficit at the half and led 59-54 with about five minutes to go. The Vandals outscored Nevada 38-25 in the second half.
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
Nevada leads the WAC and ranks 17th in the NCAA this season at 79.3 points per game, up from its average of 70.6 ppg last year. Four Wolf Pack players are averaging in double figures for scoring this season, and three are ranked in the WAC's top 15. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is leading the team and is second in the WAC at 21.7 points per game (11th in the NCAA), while junior Armon Johnson is eighth in the WAC at 16.0 points per game and senior Brandon Fields ranks ninth at 14.6 points per contest. Senior Joey Shaw is just out of the WAC's top 15 at 10.4 points per game.
Nevada's 100-92 win over New Mexico State on March 4 marked the third time this season that the Wolf Pack has reached the 100-point mark and the first time since the 1991-92 season that a Nevada team has scored at least 100 points three times in the same year. In 1991-92, Nevada turned in four 100-point contests. The victory over NMSU also marked the first time Nevada reached 100 points in WAC play since a 101-76 win over Rice on Jan. 24, 2004. The Wolf Pack also turned in a 112-99 win over Houston on Nov. 21 and a 110-104 loss to BYU on Dec. 22 this season. The 112- and 104-point efforts are the top two scoring efforts in the WAC so far this season, while the team's 100 points vs. NMSU marked the most by a WAC team in conference play this year.
Nevada's season-high 112 points in its Nov. 21 win over Houston marked the most for the Wolf Pack since the team turned in a 117-88 win over Northwestern State on Dec. 19, 1991. The team's 61 points in the first half also mark the most points in a half since Nevada scored what is believed to be a school-record 71 points in the second half of a 117-88 win over Northwestern State on Dec. 19, 1991.
The Wolf Pack has had four different players lead the team in scoring this year. Sophomore Luke Babbitt has paced the Wolf Pack in scoring a team-best 18 times this year, including 10 of the last 13 games and 16 of the last 21. Most recently, he matched his season high for the fourth time this year with 29 points, including four three-pointers, in the March 6 regular-season finale win over LA Tech. He also scored a season-high 29 points Jan. 20 at Boise State, Jan. 23 at Fresno State and Dec. 17 vs. Eastern Washington.
Junior Armon Johnson has led the team in scoring six times, including a season-high 30 points Dec. 22 vs. BYU (also a team season high) and 23 in the Jan. 9 win over San Jose State. Most recently, he turned in 23 points, including the game-winning three-point play, Feb. 10 at Idaho. Johnson also paced the Pack in three straight games with 20 points Nov. 29 at then No. 11/12 North Carolina, 18 Dec. 5 at Pacific and 19 Dec. 8 vs. Fresno Pacific.
Senior Brandon Fields has led the team in scoring five times, including three of the last four games. He scored 23 points in the Feb. 25 win at San Jose State, 20 Feb. 27 at Hawai'i and a career-high 32 March 4 vs. New Mexico State. He also led the team with 22 in a Nov. 18 loss at UNLV and 20 Dec. 12 vs. South Dakota State. Senior Joey Shaw turned in his career-best 26 in the Nov. 14 win over Houston.
Nevada has had at least four players in double figures for scoring in 18 of its 30 games this year, including two with five (Houston and BYU). The Wolf Pack had three players reach the 20-point plateau in each of those contests and at least two 20-point scorers in seven games this season, most recently March 4 vs. New Mexico State (Fields with 32 and Babbitt with 23).
FIELDS LEADS PACK IN LAST THREE OF LAST FOUR
Senior Brandon Fields is making the most of the last few games of his final campaign at Nevada and has led the team in scoring in three of the last four contests. He turned in a career-best 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting in a March 4 victory over New Mexico State. He also dished out a career-high nine assists in the game and pulled down seven rebounds vs. the Aggies. It marked the fifth time this year that he has led the team and his third consecutive game with at least 20 points after turning in 23 points Feb. 25 at San Jose State and 20 Feb. 27 at Hawai'i.
Fields has broken out of a rough shooting stretch in a big way in the last four games. He had made just 5-of-32 field goal attempts (3-of-16 from three-point land) in the three games prior to the last four contests. In the last four games, Fields has shot 53.6 percent from the field (30-56), including 43.8 percent from beyond the arc (14-32), and averaged 22.0 points per contest (88).
Fields is turning in 14.6 points per game this season (third on the team and ninth in the WAC), up 5.6 ppg from his average of 9.0 last year. He knocked down a career-best six three-pointers Feb. 25 vs. the Spartans and also made four three-pointers Jan. 23 at Fresno State and again Jan. 30 vs. Hawai'i.
NEVADA'S 1,000-POINT SCORERS
With a free throw late in the second half Jan. 23 at Fresno State, sophomore Luke Babbitt became the 21st player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. Babbitt now has 1,225 career points (14th all time at Nevada) and is one of eight players in school history to reach the mark in only two seasons. Babbitt joins junior Armon Johnson and senior Brandon Fields in that elite club, marking the first time in school history that Nevada has members of the 1,000-point club on its roster in the same season.
With his 19 points on Jan. 9 vs. San Jose State, Fields reached the 1,000-point mark and now has 1,217 points in 128 career games (15th). Johnson scored his 1,000th career point Dec. 5 at Pacific and currently ranks 10th all time at Nevada with 1,387 points in 97 career games.
BABBITT PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF LAST YEAR
Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt has just picked up where he left off last season, leading the Wolf Pack again in scoring and rebounding this year. He ranks second in the WAC with 21.7 points per game (11th in the NCAA) and first in the conference at 9.3 boards per contest (37th in the nation in rebounding). He also led the WAC in scoring and finished third in rebounding in conference games only, turning in 23.7 points and 8.9 boards per league tilt. With 652 points so far this season (tied for sixth on Nevada's single-season list), he also needs just 10 more points to tie the Nevada record for points by a sophomore, currently held by Nick Fazekas (662 points in 2004-05).
The Nevada southpaw turned in a season-high 29 points in a Dec. 17 victory over Eastern Washington, just one point shy of his career best, including 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half. He pulled down nine rebounds in the game to lead the Pack but saw his stretch of seven consecutive double-doubles snapped. He has also matched that season high three times recently, turning in 29 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field (including 2-of-2 from three-point land) and 11-of-11 shooting from the free throw line Jan. 20 at Boise State, scoring 29 on 11-of-19 shooting Jan. 23 at Fresno State and adding 29 with four three-pointers made on March 6 vs. Louisiana Tech.
Babbitt ranks tied for 14th in the nation with 16 double-doubles and has had nine or more rebounds in all but nine games this season. Babbitt has turned in a double-double in eight of the last 16 contests, most recently turning in 27 points and 12 rebounds Feb. 13 vs. Fresno State and 16 points and 12 boards Feb. 20 at Missouri State.
Babbitt has had 31 career games with at least 20 points (including 20 this year and 17 of the last 20 games) and has led the team in scoring 33 times in his young career (15 times last year and 18 this season). He has scored in double figures in 61 of 64 career games at Nevada, including all 30 contests this year. In the last 20 games, Babbitt is averaging 23.1 points per contest (461). The preseason WAC Player of the Year, Babbitt was named to the preseason watch lists for the 2009-10 John R. Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy and is one of 30 midseason candidates for the Naismith Trophy. Both awards are annually presented to the top player in college basketball.
Babbitt turned in 27 points to go along with 13 rebounds Nov. 27 at VCU, scoring 23 of his 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the second half in Nevada's near comeback. He also had 14 points and a career-best 17 rebounds Nov. 21 vs. Houston and opened the year with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting in the team's Nov. 14 win over Montana State.
Babbitt, a 6-9, 225-pound forward from Reno, Nev., was named the 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year last season after leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.9 points and 7.4 boards per game. An all-district selection by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association, he ranked second among the nation's freshmen in scoring last year behind only Liberty's Seth Curry (20.2 ppg). Babbitt finished third in the WAC in scoring and rebounding and led the league in free throw shooting. Babbitt also set nearly every Wolf Pack freshman single-season record, including scoring with 573 total points.
SHOOTING TOUCH
Nevada ranks second in the WAC and 16th in the nation in field goal percentage, knocking down 48.0 percent of its field goal attempts, compared to just 42.7 percent from the field last season. The Wolf Pack has shot over 50 percent in 12 of its 30 games this season, most recently 56.5 percent March 4 vs. New Mexico State (a blazing 64.3 percent (18-28) in the second half), and holds a 11-1 record in those games. Thursday marked the best shooting performance since the team shot 58.8 percent vs. BYU on Dec. 22.
Nevada shot a season-high 60.9 percent in its Nov. 21 victory over Houston. That marked the team's first 60-percent effort since a 62.3-percent shooting night at San Jose State on Feb. 12, 2009.
Nevada's roster features two players ranked in the WAC's top 15 for field goal percentage. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is ranked 14th in the WAC at 50.9 percent, and junior Armon Johnson checks in at 15th in the WAC at 49.9 percent.
Nevada has also checked in at 36.6 percent from three-point land this season after shooting just 30.6 percent from long range a year ago. The Wolf Pack has made 50 percent of its three-point attempts six times this year (6-of-12 at UNLV, 11-of-22 vs. Houston, 9-of-18 vs. Tulsa, 9-of-18 Jan. 13 vs. Utah State, 7-13 Jan. 20 at Boise State, 10-20 Feb. 10 at Idaho). The 11 three-pointers made vs. Houston marked the most for Nevada since it made 11 in a Feb. 9, 2008 win over Hawai'i. The Wolf Pack has shot 40.8 percent from beyond the arc (40-98) in the last five games, making 7-of-15 Feb. 20 at Missouri State and 10-of-22 both Feb. 25 at San Jose State and March 6 vs. Louisiana Tech.
ASSISTS MACHINE
Junior guard Armon Johnson leads the WAC and ranks 21st in the nation this year with 5.57 assists per game this year. The leftie dished out a career-best 12 assists Nov. 21 vs. Houston for his second career double-double and matched that career high with 12 assists in a Jan. 30 win over Hawai'i. He also had 11 in a March 4 win over New Mexico State, marking the third time this year and the fourth time in his career
that he has reached double digits for assists. Johnson also led the WAC with 6.25 assists per game in league play. Last year, Johnson turned in 11 points and 11 assists in a win over Oregon State, which marked Nevada's first points-assists double-double since Ramon Sessions had his lone career double-double in 2004-05 vs. Boise State (11 points and 10 assists). Johnson's 12 assists in the team's wins over Houston and Hawai'i are still the most by a WAC player this season.
With his seven assists in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific, Johnson entered the Nevada career chart for assists and currently ranks sixth with 423 career assists. He has also become just the sixth player in Wolf Pack history to turn in 1,000 points and 250 assists in his career. Only Nevada standouts Marcelus Kemp, Pete Padgett, Darryl Owens Kevin Soares and Matt Williams have previously scored at least 1,000 points and dished out 250 or more assists as members of the Wolf Pack. Johnson was on the preseason watch list for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award, which is annually presented to the top collegiate point guard in the country.
A 2009 first-team All-WAC selection, Johnson has led the Pack in scoring six times this year and checks in at eighth in the WAC in scoring with 16.0 points per game this season. He scored a season-high 30 points in the Dec. 22 game with BYU, his second career 30-point game and just three points shy of his career best of 33 last year vs. California. He has also turned four other 20-point games this year, including 22 points in the Nov. 21 win over Houston, a game-high 23 Jan. 9 vs. San Jose State, a game-best 23 Feb. 10 at Idaho and 24 in a Feb. 13 overtime victory over Boise State.
KRAEMER LIGHTS IT UP FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Senior Ray Kraemer ranks second in the WAC and 10th in the nation in three-point percentage, knocking down 47.2 percent of his long-range attempts (51-108). He has shot 48.0 percent in the last 18 games (36-75), including a 4-of-4 outing Jan. 13 vs. Utah State to match his career best for three-pointers made. He has drained a career-best four trey three times this season with 4-of-6 efforts Nov. 21 vs. Houston and Dec. 22 vs. BYU and the 4-of-4 showing vs. the Aggies. He also went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc Feb. 13 vs. Fresno State and went 2-of-2 Feb. 20 at Missouri State.
Kraemer has made at least one three-pointer in 26 of 30 games this season, including 14 contests with more than one. He has already made 51 three-pointers this season, surpassing the 23 he had in his first two seasons combined.
Kraemer's 47.2 percent effort this season ranks second on the Nevada single-season charts, behind Bryon Strachan who shot 50.0 percent from three-point land in 1986-87 (31-62), while Kraemer can also set the senior single-season mark, which is currently held by Gabriel Parizzia (.459 in 1988-89).
At 43.5 percent for his career (74-170), Kraemer also ranks second in career three-point percentage at Nevada, just behind Strachan who made 45.0 percent (68-151) from 1986-88.
HUNT COMING INTO HIS OWN
Sophomore forward Dario Hunt has continued to improve and is averaging 6.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game (ninth in the WAC) this season, up from 3.6 points and 4.4 boards per game last season. He had the best weekend of his young Wolf Pack career, averaging 11.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in Nevada's East Coast swing to VCU and North Carolina. He turned in his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds Nov. 27 at VCU (both career highs). Two nights later, he set another career high for scoring with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and nearly missed his second career double-double with nine rebounds Nov. 29 at No. 11/12 North Carolina. Hunt has since broken his career scoring high, turning in 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 free throw shooting Dec. 22 vs. BYU. He also pulled down nine boards in the game against the Cougars. He had 11 rebounds Jan. 2 at Louisiana Tech and added 12 points Jan. 4 at New Mexico State, while he scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. He turned in 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and pulled down six rebounds March 4 vs. NMSU.
The WAC's leader last year, sophomore Dario Hunt is tied for second in the league in blocked shots this year with 2.00 per game (47th in the NCAA), including a career-high matching six Jan. 13 vs. Utah State and again Jan. 30 vs. Hawai'i, five in the season opener vs. Montana State and three in five other games. He has blocked at least one shot in 55 of 64 career games (27 of 30 contests this season) and has turned in 37 career games with more than one block, including six with five or more. Hunt has 127 blocks in his career (in 64 games, 1.98 per game), which already ranks fourth on the Nevada career list. Hunt's 67 blocks last season set the school freshman record and ranked third in the Nevada single-season record book, while his 60 blocks this season are fourth on the single-season chart.
CARTER WINS HIS HEAD COACHING DEBUT
Nevada's Nov. 14 win over Montana State gave Nevada head coach David Carter his first career victory, and he is now 19-11 in his first year as the Wolf Pack's mentor. He became the eighth head coach in school history to win his first game, joining recent head coaches Trent Johnson and Mark Fox who also won their Wolf Pack coaching debuts.
After spending 10 years as an assistant on the Wolf Pack bench, including the last five as Nevada's associate head coach, Carter was named the 17th head coach in the history of the Nevada men's basketball program on April 3, 2009, just one day after fifth-year head coach Mark Fox announced that he was leaving Nevada after five seasons for the University of Georgia. Carter has been an integral part of Nevada's five WAC regular-season championships and seven postseason appearances, including four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2004-07. Carter was also recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation, making FOXSports.com's list of the top 10 Mid-Major Assistant Coaches in 2007-08 and being named the best assistant coach in the Western Athletic Conference in Street's & Smith's 2004-05 College Basketball National Preview.
WOLF PACK NOTES
- The Wolf Pack has turned in a combined 54-19 record over the final two months of the season (February and March) in the last six years, including a 34-9 record in the month of February and a 20-10 mark in March (4-3 in February and 2-0 in March this season).
- In addition to its 14-1 home mark, Nevada has put up some gaudy offensive numbers at Lawlor Events Center this season. The Wolf Pack is averaging 82.9 points per game and shooting 50.3 percent from the field in its 15 home games. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is averaging 22.1 points per home game, while junior Armon Johnson and senior Brandon Fields are adding 15.9 and 15.5 ppg, respectively. Johnson is shooting the ball particularly well at home, making 56.6 percent of his shots at Lawlor (98-173). He has also dished out 6.7 assists per home game. Senior Ray Kraemer is knocking down 50.0 percent of his three-point attempts at home (29-58), including a perfect 4-of-4 outing Jan. 13 vs. Utah State.
- Nevada is now 11-8 in games decided by 10 points or less and 4-1 in contests decided by five points or less. The Wolf Pack has lost its 11 games this year by an average of just 7.7 points per contest (85).
- Nevada's last 10 games have been decided by just 6.6 points per contest (8-2 record, 66 pts).
- Nevada outrebounded Louisiana Tech 40-36 on March 6, marking the second consecutive game that Nevada has outrebounded its opponent and just the fourth time in the last 14 games that Nevada has outrebounded its opponent. The Wolf Pack is now 12-4 this year when outrebounding its opponent. Nevada outrebounded San Jose State 33-28 on Feb. 25, snapping a stretch where the team had been outrebounded in nine of its previous 10 games. Nevada tied Fresno State in rebounding on Jan. 23 in the only other game in that stretch. Prior to that 10-game stretch, the team had outrebounded its previous 11 opponents.
- Nevada has two players ranked in the WAC's top 10 in rebounding. Sophomore Luke Babbitt leads the WAC and ranks 37th in the nation with 9.3 rebounds per game, while sophomore Dario Hunt checks in at ninth in the WAC at 7.0 boards per contest. Four Wolf Pack players set or tied career bests for rebounding in the season-high 57-rebound performance vs. Houston, including a career-high 17 by Babbitt, a then career-best nine by senior Joey Shaw and Hunt (both since broken) and a career high-matching seven by junior Armon Johnson.
- The Wolf Pack still ranks second in the WAC with 37.2 boards per game despite averaging just 34.9 rebounds per contest in WAC play. The team has pulled down only 34.2 rebounds per game in its last 13 contests (445).
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt ranks second in the WAC and seventh in the nation at 90.3 percent from the free throw line this year (167-185), including a 10-of-10 effort Nov. 18 at UNLV, 11-of-11 showings Jan. 9 vs. San Jose State and Jan. 20 at Boise State and an 8-of-8 effort Feb. 13 vs. Boise State. His miss in the second half Jan. 4 at New Mexico State snapped a stretch of 22 straight made free throws for him. Last year, Babbitt led the WAC in free throw percentage and ranked 24th in the country last year as a freshman at 86.4 percent.
- His 90.2 free throw percentage this season ranks second on Nevada's single-season list behind Jimmy Carroll (.904 in 1996-97), while Babbitt also ranks second in single-season free throws made (167) this year, 16 behind Nick Fazekas' 183 in 2004-05.
- Babbitt has made 88.4 percent of his career free throw attempts (319-361) and ranks first in career free throw percentage at Nevada ahead of Jimmy Carroll (.881, 1996-98).
- Nevada has shot 73.7 percent from the free throw line in its last eight games (140-190) after shooting just 63.4 percent from the charity stripe in its previous three (64-101). That stretch included a season-low 50.0 percent (9-18) in its Jan. 13 overtime loss to Utah State and matched than Feb. 20 at Missouri State (7-14).
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt and junior Armon Johnson have come up big in the second half in each of the last eight games for the Wolf Pack, combining to score 186 of Nevada's 319 second-half points in the last seven contests (58.3 percent). Babbitt (12) and Johnson (13) combined to score all 25 of Nevada's points in the second half of the Feb. 10 win at Idaho, while the pair scored 39 of Nevada's 60 points in the second half and overtime Feb. 13 vs. Boise State (Babbitt 22, Johnson 17). In Wednesday's win, Babbitt and Johnson had 29 of the team's 37 second-half points. Babbitt scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the second half vs. the Bulldogs, while Johnson had 14 of his 19 on 6-of-10 shooting in the final 20 minutes. Feb. 20 at Missouri State, Johnson scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while Babbitt had 18 of his 23 in the final 20 minutes March 4 vs. NMSU and 16 of 29 March 6 vs. La Tech.
- Prior to a Feb. 20 loss at Missouri State, Nevada had come from behind to win each of its three previous games. The Wolf Pack trailed 43-37 at the half but held Fresno State to 27 points on 23.1 percent shooting in the second half (6-26) for a Feb. 17 win. In the Feb. 13 overtime win vs. Boise State, the team overcame a 34-28 halftime deficit, while Nevada trailed 59-54 with 5:01 to play but rallied for the 67-66 victory Feb. 10 at Idaho.
- Senior Joey Shaw turned in his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-best 12 rebounds in the Feb. 13 win over Boise State. He had come into that contest averaging just 2.9 rebounds per game in his previous eight contests.
- The Wolf Pack leads the WAC with 4.47 blocked shots per game after leading the conference in the category with 4.79 per tilt last season. Nevada blocked a season-high 11 shots Jan. 13 vs. Utah State with sophomore Dario Hunt matching his career best with six rejections and sophomore Luke Babbitt setting a career high with four blocks. Hunt checks in at tied for second in the WAC and 47th in the nation with 2.00 blocked shots per game and had six blocks in the Jan. 30 win over Hawai'i.
- Sophomore Keith Olson saw the first action of his Wolf Pack career Dec. 19 vs. Wagner, turning in five points on 2-of-4 shooting and pulling down four rebounds in 11 minutes. The Gardnerville, Nev., native and Douglas High School graduate transferred to Nevada from Northern Arizona and sat out the first semester due to NCAA rules. Olson missed five games late this season with a sprained knee.
- Sophomore London Giles turned in a career-high six assists in 10 minutes of action in the Dec. 17 Wagner game, while senior Brandon Fields matched his career high with five. The pair accounted for 11 of Nevada's 19 assists in the contest.
- The contest-cinching three-pointer that senior Brandon Fields hit to with 4.3 seconds left in its Dec. 17 victory over Eastern Washington marked the first game-winning field goal for Fields in his Nevada career. He had been 0-of-5 from three-point land in the game before nailing the shot.
- All 11 of the Wolf Pack players who saw action in the Dec. 12 win over South Dakota State scored at least two points, including freshman Keith Fuetsch who scored the first four points of his career. Ten of 11 players scored in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific. The Wolf Pack got two of its three highest bench scoring outputs recently, including a season-high 26 bench points in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific and 22 in the Dec. 12 victory over South Dakota State. Nevada also got 23 bench points in its Nov. 21 victory over Houston. Senior Ray Kraemer is Nevada's leading scorer off the bench, turning in 6.0 points per game.
- Freshman Marko Cukic turned in season highs with six points on 3-of-3 shooting and five rebounds Dec. 5 at Pacific and bested those marks in the Dec. 8 win over Fresno Pacific with seven points and six boards. He also turned in six points on 3-of-4 shooting, had three rebounds and turned in two steals March 6 vs. Louisiana Tech.
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt was on the preseason watch list for the Wooden Award, marking the fourth time in five seasons that Nevada has had a player considered for that prestigious award with Marcelus Kemp making the preseason list in 2007-08 and Nick Fazekas in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Fazekas was named to the final ballot for the Wooden Award in each of those years and in 2006-07, he was named one of 10 Wooden Award All-Americans and finished eighth in the final voting for the award.
NEVADA LOOKS TO NOTCH SEVENTH STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASON
With its next win, the Wolf Pack can capture its seventh consecutive 20-win season and make head coach David Carter just the second first-year coach in school history to win 20 games (Mark Fox was the other one, 25-7 in 2004-05).
Last year, Nevada notched its sixth consecutive season with at least 20 wins with its WAC Tournament quarterfinals win over San Jose State on March 12, 2009. It also marked the 11th 20-win season in school history and the fifth for Mark Fox, who is the only coach in school history to lead more than one team to at least 20 victories. Nevada won at least 25 games in four of its six straight 20-win seasons (25-9 in 2003-04, 25-7 in 2004-05, 27-6 in 2005-06 and a school-record 29-5 in 2006-07).
With its 19-11 mark, Nevada has already turned in a school-record nine consecutive winning seasons dating back to the 2001-02 campaign (three under former Pack head coach Trent Johnson, five under Fox and one under Carter). The previous long stretch was six from 1986-87 to 1991-92.
UP NEXT
The winner of the Idaho-Nevada contest will take on the winner of the quarterfinals game between third-seeded New Mexico State and sixth-seeded San Jose State at 9 p.m. in Friday's semifinals. The winner of the WAC Tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
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