Coming off of a thrilling road victory over Pepperdine this past Tuesday night, the University of Nevada Men’s Basketball team will conclude a three-game road swing by making the trip to Eugene, Oregon to take on the University of Oregon Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
The Pack bounced back in a big way after suffering just their second loss of the season, earning a resilient 85-77 comeback victory over Pepperdine, in which Nevada’s exceptional poise was on full display.
Playing their seventh game over an 18-day period, Nevada trailed by eight with 13 minutes to go in the second half; but, the Pack displayed incredible grit, outscoring the Waves 35-19 over the final 13 minutes of play to secure the impressive road victory.
Kenan Blackshear led all scorers with 22 points in the contest, marking a new career-high for the senior guard. Blackshear also recorded a game-high four assists, as he continues to lead the Mountain West in assists per game (5.6). Blackshear has tallied at least three assists in every contest this season.
Jarod Lucas had another efficient outing on the offensive end of the court for the Pack, scoring 18 points on just 10 shots. Lucas also knocked down all six of his free throw attempts on the night. He currently ranks fourth in the conference in points per game (17.3), second in free throw percentage (88.5%), and third in 3-point field goal percentage (41.4%). Lucas also leads the entire Mountain West in points scored this season, as the senior has poured in 173 points across Nevada’s 8-2 start to the season. Lucas has scored in double figures in nine out of ten contests this season; and, over the past three games, he is averaging 17.3 points on a sensational 52 percent shooting from the field (13-25), 50 percent from three (10-20), and 93.3 percent from the free throw line (14-15).
Nevada had another stout defensive effort against Pepperdine, limiting the Waves to just 38.5 percent shooting from the field. The Pack’s defense continues to rank in the top-five of the conference in a plethora of categories, including opponent points per game (5th), opponent field goal percentage (1st), opponent 3-point field goal percentage (4th), defensive rebounding (3rd), turnover margin (5th), and blocked shots (2nd).
The Pack are holding their opponents to an abysmal 37 percent shooting clip from the field this season, which not only ranks first in the Mountain West, but is also good for 18th best in the nation.
Offensively, Nevada leads the Mountain West in free throw percentage, as they are shooting an exceptional mark of 78.2 percent at the line, ranking as the 16th-best free throw percentage in the country. They also rank third in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (37.1%).
Freshman forward Darrion Williams continues to lead the team, as well as all freshmen in the conference, in rebounds per game (7.7) and steals, as he is averaging 1.7 per contest. Williams is shooting a sensational 42.9 percent from behind the arc this season, ranking second-best on the team.
Redshirt-freshman Nick Davidson has elevated his game for the Pack as of late, as the forward is averaging 11.0 points on 58.8 percent shooting from the field (10-17), 50 percent from three (5-10), and 100 percent from the free throw line (8-8), in addition to pulling down 5.7 rebounds and tallying 1.0 blocks per game over Nevada’s last three games. Davidson currently leads the team in 3-point field goal percentage this season, knocking down 43.5 percent of his attempts from behind the arc this year.
Sophomore guard Tyler Powell had the best performance of his career on Tuesday night, setting new career highs in both points (10) and rebounds (6). Powell provided a huge spark for the Pack off the bench, as Nevada outscored Pepperdine, 27-17, in the 12 minutes that he was on the court.
Junior forward Tré Coleman has maintained his stellar defensive play, and he will need to have another strong performance on that end of the floor this Saturday, as he will likely be matched up with Oregon’s leading scorer, Will Richardson, for a portion of the contest.
The Pack improved in the NCAA NET rankings, one of the primary metrics used in the selection process for the NCAA Tournament, following their victory over Pepperdine, moving up to 40th in the rankings, which is the fourth-highest ranking of Mountain West teams.
Nevada has another huge opportunity to capture an impressive win this Saturday; however, they will need to have one of their best defensive outings of the season and keep the Ducks off the offensive glass if they hope to secure the road victory and improve to 9-2 on the year.
Scouting Oregon
The Ducks are off to a 4-5 start this season, but three of their five losses have come against ranked opponents. They hold marquee victories over Washington State and Villanova, and they are 1-1 in Pac-12 play this season.
Oregon has been solid on the defensive end of the court this season, holding their opponents to 64.4 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting and 33.6 percent from three.
Offensively, the Ducks have struggled this year, particularly from behind the arc, as they are knocking down just 28.2 percent of their 3-point field goal attempts this season, ranking as second-worst in the Pac-12. Oregon has been highly successful on the offensive glass, as they rank tied for second in the conference in offensive rebounds per game, pulling down an impressive 11.8 offensive boards per contest.
Individually, Will Richardson has led the way for the Ducks, as the senior guard is averaging a team-high 14.0 points per game and 5.2 assists per contest.
Center N’Faly Dante is also having a strong season thus far, as the senior is averaging 13.6 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per contest.
Freshman center Kel’el Ware is also averaging double figures in scoring at 10.3 points per game, and he leads the team in blocks, posting 1.4 per contest.
Senior forward Quincy Guerrier is the fourth Duck averaging double figures in scoring, as he is currently putting up 10.1 points per contest while hitting 34.1 percent of his 3-point field goal attempts.
Series History
Nevada and Oregon have faced off on the court twice throughout history, with the Ducks collecting wins in both contests. The two teams most recently met in 2012, as Oregon earned a 56-43 win in Eugene.
