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What: Nevada Wolf Pack 9-9 (4-1) vs. Fresno State 8-11 (1-5)
Where: Fresno, California Save Mart Center
When: Tip at 7:00 p.m. PT
Road games in conference are tough games to win regardless of opponent. That old adage holds true tonight when the Wolf Pack look to walk away from Fresno with a win to improve to 5-1 in conference play. For the Bulldogs, confidence can't be high after two tough losses to arguably the best teams in the conference in San Diego State and New Mexico and a winnable home game against the Wolf Pack might be the perfect confidence boost.
This game figures to be a matchup where the three-pointer determines the outcome. Fresno State is a team that likes to do their damage from behind the line, making 7.4 3-pt FG per game, and shooting 34%. A key player to watch from behind the arc for the Bulldogs is Marvelle Harris, a guard who is the teams leading scorer at 15.4ppg. On average Harris shoots 4.6 threes a game making 1.5 of them. Harris will need to shoot a high percentage from three for the Bulldogs to stay competitive.
For the Wolf Pack shooting the three will be especially key because Fresno State likes to play zone defense, which opens up long jump shots. Nevada makes 6.3 3-pt FG per game, but does not shoot the shot at a very high percentage. The key player for the Wolf Pack is Jerry Evans Jr. Evans has been on a cold shooting streak lately. Evans still impacts the game with his defense, often guarding the opposing teams best player, and rebounding but Nevada needs his offensive production from three to open up the driving lanes for Deonte Burton and Michael Perez.
Whichever teams wins the battle from behind the arc, will have the inside track to a victory.
