It’s the second and final day of the First Four of the NCAA Tournament as a member of the Mountain West takes on one from the Pac-12 in the Buckeye State. The Nevada Wolf Pack take on the Arizona State Sun Devils Wednesday night with the winner advancing as the 11th-seed in the West Region to take on sixth-seeded TCU Friday night. Nevada fell 81-77 in overtime in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament Thursday, losing outright as a four-point favorite. Arizona State was knocked off 78-59 in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament Friday night, failing to cover as a 7.5-point underdog in the game. In the all-time series between the programs, each team has won twice with Nevada taking the last two meetings. That includes a 72-66 home win in the most recent matchup on December 7, 2018.
Nevada dropped their final three games of the season after losing to San Jose State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament. The Wolf Pack enter this game 22-10 overall on the year and went 12-6 in the Mountain West during the year. Against San Jose State, Nevada trailed by as many as 11 in the first half before cutting the deficit to five at intermission. The Wolf Pack trailed by as many as 11 in the second half before rallying to force overtime but seemingly ran out of gas. Nevada was tied at 67 before giving up a 7-0 run to trail 74-67 with 1:22 remaining and couldn’t get closer than two after that. The Wolf Pack shot 38.3% from the floor, including seven of 25 from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle 42-34 in the game, yet fell short. Jarod Lucas led Nevada with 28 points in the loss.
The Wolf Pack enter this contest 157th in the nation in scoring offe nse with 72.6 points per game. Nevada is 253rd in rebounding by collecting 33.6 boards a night and stand 97th by dishing out 14.2 assists a contest. The Wolf Pack is 83rd in scoring defense by allowing 66.9 points per game. Jarod Lucas leads the team as he puts up 17.3 points per game this season. Kenan Blackshear (14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists) and Will Baker (13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds) also are solid scoring options. Steve Alford is looking for contributions from K.J. Hymes, Nick Davidson, Tre Coleman, Darrion Williams, Trey Pettigrew and Tyler Powell in order to have success. Nevada is shooting 44.4% from the field as a team this season. The Wolf Pack knocks down 7.1 triples a night while shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc. Nevada is excellent at the free throw line as they convert 79.1% of their attempts this season, putting them 4th in the nation.
Hymes has been out since November 18 with a back injury. He underwent surgery and is expected to miss the rest of the season after playing just four games.
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