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Wolf Pack Preview: Nevada Basketball seeks fifth straight win versus Fresno State

Winners of four straight, Nevada heads back home to face Fresno State Saturday night.

Nevada v UNLV Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Nevada (17-10, 10-5) vs. Fresno State (10-17, 6-10)

When: Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. PST

Where: Lawlor Events Center

TV: ESPNU / Watch ESPN

Matchup History: Nevada leads 57-44

Breakdown:

Nevada men’s basketball looks to continue its win streak versus Fresno State (10-17, 6-10) Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.

Nevada has won four straight, one away from tying its longest win streak of the season. The Pack have won 32 of their last 34 conference home games, including 19 straight.

Saturday marks the first and only regular season meeting between the two schools this year. Nevada is 11-2 (.846) at home and Fresno State is 4-10 (.286) on the road this season.

The Wolf Pack are third in the conference standings at 10-5, while the Bulldogs are eighth at 6-10.

Despite being seven games under .500, Fresno State sports a plus-0.3 point differential average. This stems from the Bulldogs’ inability to win close games. They are 1-4 (.200) in games decided by three or fewer points and 3-7 (.300) in games decided by six or fewer points.

Fresno State has been winners in two of its last three games — coming off a 71-62 victory over Air Force. Noah Blackwell led the team with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs are the second-worst scoring team in the conference with 69.5 points per game. They sport the third-worst field goal percentage (.418) and the 6th-best 3-point percentage (.332).

Fresno State has not been afraid to let it fly from beyond the arc, sitting atop the Mountain West — No. 24 nationally — in 3-point attempts (742). The Bulldogs are second in the conference in total 53-point makes (246) and 3-pointers made per game (9.1) — trailing Nevada in both categories.

Orlando Robinson leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game. The 6-foot-10 freshman is second on the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and blocks (1.0 bpg).

Robinson is paired inside with another dominant big man, Nate Grimes. Grimes is third on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game. The 6-foot-8 forward leads the team and is third in the conference in rebounding (10.0 rpg).

NCAA Basketball: St. Mary’s at Fresno State
Fresno State Bulldogs forward Nate Grimes (32) shoots the basketball against Saint Mary’s Gaels
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Grimes has tallied 10 double-doubles — third-most in the conference. He has been a strong rim protector, averaging a conference-best 1.5 blocks per game. Grimes is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 38 percent from 3-point range on the year.

New Williams is the only remaining double digit scorer for the Bulldogs at 11.9 points per game. He has shot 35.2 percent from the field and a 32.8 percent from deep.

Nevada is second in the conference in scoring with 77.5 points per game. The Pack lead the conference in total 3-pointers (271) and 3-pointers made per game (10.0) — ranking in the Top-10 nationally in both categories.

The Wolf Pack are coming off an 88-74 win over New Mexico. Jalen Harris led Nevada with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting and hauled in a team-high nine rebounds.

Harris is tallying a conference-best 21.7 points per game. He has totaled double-digit scoring in the last 23 games, averaging 23.1 points in that span.

The 6-foot-5 guard has dominated in the Mountain West play. He is averaging a conference-best 25.9 points in 15 conference games. He is second on the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and assists (4.0 apg).

Jazz Johnson (16.2 ppg) and Lindsey Drew (11.1 ppg) are the remaining double-digit scorers for the Wolf Pack.

Johnson has averaged 15.7 points per game in the last three games after missing the previous two due to right shoulder soreness. He is shooting 41.3 percent from the floor and 42.2 percent from beyond the arc. The sharpshooter leads the conference in 3-point field goals per game (3.2) and is second in total 3-point makes (81).

Drew is shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and 39.6 percent from deep. He leads the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and assists (4.3 apg). On Tuesday, Drew became the first player in school history with 900 points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists in his Wolf Pack career.

Projected Starters:

Nevada Wolf Pack

Position Number Name Class Height PPG RPG APG FG%
Position Number Name Class Height PPG RPG APG FG%
G 14 Lindsey Drew Sr. 6-5 11.1 6.6 4.1 .479
G 22 Jazz Johnson Sr. 5-10 15.9 3.3 2 .414
G 2 Jalen Harris Jr. 6-5 21.8 6.3 3.9 .454
F 1 Robby Robinson Soph. 6-8 2.7 5 0.9 .523
F 12 Johncarlos Reyes Sr. 6-10 4.7 4.2 0.6 .556

Fresno State Bulldogs

Position Number Name Class Height PPG RPG APG FG%
Position Number Name Class Height PPG RPG APG FG%
G 0 New Williams Fr. 6-1 11.9 3 1.7 .352
G 3 Jarred Hyder Fr. 6-3 8.9 2.7 3 .385
G 55 Noah Blackwell Sr. 6-3 9.7 3.1 3.1 .418
F 32 Nate Grimes Sr. 6-8 11.6 10 0.9 .489
F 10 Orlando robinson Fr. 6-10 12.7 6.8 1.6 .490

Additional Links:

Nevada Game Notes: https://go.aws/2PcFDjK

Fresno State Game Notes: https://go.aws/2uWSNKQ

Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2VdeJvC

Nevada looks to win its fifth straight Saturday.
Nevada Game Notes