Game Preview: Fresno State Hosts Nevada in Conference Showdown

The Nevada Wolf Pack (9-5, 1-1 MW) face off against the Fresno State Bulldogs (10-5, 1-1 MW) Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center.

Nevada is coming off their first conference win of the season against Wyoming. With the win, the Wolf Pack matched their win total from a season ago, only two games into conference play. However, the Wolf Pack have really struggled on the road, with all five of their losses coming away from Lawlor Events Center. Their only road win came against Pacific, who currently sits at 3-10 on the year.

Meanwhile, Fresno State is coming off a big loss at home to New Mexico. The Bulldogs had plenty of issues shooting the ball, only making 36.8% of shots from the floor, and going a dreadful 1-18 from beyond the arc. They also could not take advantage from the charity stripe, only shooting 47.4% from the line. However, Fresno State is a very strong rebounding team, as they rank in the top ten in the conference in all rebounding categories.

The game should be a defensive battle, as neither team is outstanding on offense. Both teams average around 75-80 points-per-game, and allow close to 70 PPG. An interesting battle to watch will be between Fresno F Torren Jones and Nevada F Cameron Oliver. Oliver has been fantastic down low for the Pack, and he overtook All-MW center AJ West for the starting job. Jones has also helped his new team, as the Mizzou transfer is averaging 11.4 PPG and 8.1 RPG. The battle down low will definitely be worth watching

Prediction

Both teams have played similar schedules this year, with similar results. They are pretty evenly matched teams, so I'm picking Fresno State due to the home court advantage.

Fresno 74, Nevada 69