RENO, Nev. – After earning a dominant 78-60 victory over previously undefeated Sam Houston State to move to 7-1 on the season, the University of Nevada Men’s Basketball team will travel to Los Angeles, California to face LMU in the first contest of a three-game road swing for the Pack.
Nevada had a sensational outing against Sam Houston State on Monday evening, in what marked Head Coach Steve Alford’s 650th career win. Alford currently ranks 14th out of all active Division I head coaches in career wins.
Nevada completely shut down the Bearkats, holding them to just 34.0 percent from the field, and a brutal mark of 29.4 percent from three for the game.
The Pack had six different players score at least nine points in the game, and they recorded 17 assists on 21 made field goals.
Nevada outscored Same Houston State by 17 points in the second half, knocking down 14-30 shots from the field (46.7%), 6-13 shots from behind the arc (46.2%), and 15 of their 18 free throw attempts (83.3%).
The 78 points scored by the Pack was 23 points more than the most the Bearkats had previously allowed in a single game this season, and nearly 30 more points than Sam Houston was allowing on average entering the contest.
Following a 16-point outing in his most efficient shooting night of the season, senior guard Jarod Lucas ranks fourth in the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game. Lucas also ranks third in the conference in both 3-point field goal percentage (40.4%) and free throw percentage (88.4%), as he has been lethal from behind the arc and at the line this year.
Kenan Blackshear continues to lead the Mountain West in assists per game, averaging 6.1 per contest, which also ranks 16th best in the country. Blackshear ranks in the top 20 in the conference in points (19th), rebounds (13th), steals (18th), free throw percentage (12th), and assist/turnover ratio (8th).
Redshirt-junior center Will Baker has been on a tear over the past three games, as the big man is averaging 17.7 points on 58 percent shooting from the field, in addition to pulling down six rebounds, dishing out two assists, and averaging 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals per game over the Pack’s last three contests. Baker currently ranks 16th in the conference in scoring at 13.3 points per game this season.
Freshman Darrion Williams has maintained his exceptional start to his collegiate career, most recently scoring nine points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds in the Pack’s win over Sam Houston State. Williams ranks seventh in the Mountain West in rebounding, grabbing 7.6 per contest. Williams is also averaging 8.8 points on 53.3 percent shooting from the field and a phenomenal 50 percent clip from 3-point range. Williams leads all freshmen in the conference in points, rebounds, and steals per game.
As a team, Nevada continues to have one of the best defenses in the Mountain West, as they currently rank in the top five of the conference in an abundance of statistical categories, including scoring defense (4th), opponent field goal percentage (1st), opponent 3-point field goal percentage (2nd), defensive rebounding (4th), and blocked shots (1st).
Nevada is holding their opponents to a paltry 36.1 percent shooting clip from the field, which ranks as 12th best in the nation. They are also limiting their opponents to just 27.6 percent shooting from three which is good for 42nd best in the country.
Offensively, the Pack ranks fifth in the Mountain West in scoring (75.6 ppg), in addition to owning the second-best 3-point field goal percentage (38.0%), while leading the conference in free throw percentage (77.0%).
Nevada will look to pick up their third consecutive victory against a tough LMU team on Saturday night, as they seek to begin their three-game road swing with a victory and move to 2-0 in true road contests this season.
Scouting LMU
LMU enters Saturday’s contest boasting a record of 6-3 with marquee victories over Georgetown and Wake Forest.
LMU has been solid on both ends of the court this season, as they currently rank third in the West Coast Conference in both scoring (80.0 ppg) and scoring defense, allowing 72.3 points per game.
The Lions prefer to slow down the tempo of the game, and take a lot of 3-point shots, as nearly 50 percent of their field goal attempts this season have come from behind the arc.
Individually, guard Cam Shelton and forward Keli Leaupepe have led the way for LMU. Shelton leads the team in both scoring (16.7 PPG) and assists (3.8 APG), while ranking second in rebounding (5.5 RPG).
Leaupepe has made a formidable duo with Shelton, as the senior is averaging 15.5 points per game on 53.2 percent shooting from the field and 42.1 percent from three. Leaupepe also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 7.1 boards per contest.
Nevada will need to maintain their exceptional defensive play and protect the 3-point line against the Lions if they hope to come away with the road victory.
Series History
Nevada owns a 3-0 record against LMU throughout history. The two squads last met on the hardwood last season, as Nevada earned a 68-63 home victory over the Lions.
