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Wolf Pack Preview: Nevada Basketball closes homestand with San Jose State on Saturday

Nevada Athletics Department

Nevada (14-10, 7-5) vs. San Jose State (7-16, 3-8)

When: Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. PST

Where: Lawlor Events Center

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Matchup Series: Nevada leads 60-49

Breakdown:

Nevada men’s basketball team closes its two-game home stand versus the San Jose State Spartans (7-16, 3-8) Saturday. San Jose State defeated Nevada 70-68 in its first meeting of the season.

Nevada has won its last 18 conference home games. The Wolf Pack have been exceptional at home, sporting a 10-2 (.833) record inside Lawlor Events Center this season.

On the other side, the Spartans have struggled mightily on the road, owning a 1-9 (.100) record in true road games this season. SJSU is being outscored by an average of 20.3 points in its last four road games, allowing its opponent to shoot 54.5 percent from the floor and 44.8 percent from deep in that span.

The Spartans are looking for their first conference road win since Feb. 11, 2017, where they defeated UNLV 76-74 at Thomas & Mack Center.

Nevada is T-4 in the conference standings at 7-5, while San Jose State is T-9 at 3-8.

The Spartans fell 71-66 to Wyoming in their most recent game — Wyoming’s first conference victory this season. Seneca Knight led San Jose State with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Knight is the only double-digit scorer for San Jose State. He is averaging 15.0 points on 40.2 percent shooting, including 29 percent from beyond the arc. Knight is second on the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg), assists (2.2 apg) and steals (1.0 spg).

NCAA Basketball: San Jose State at Arizona
San Jose State Spartans guard Seneca Knight (13) shoots the ball against Arizona Wildcats guard Dylan Smith (3).
Jacob Snow-USA TODAY Sports

The 6-foot-6 guard is no secret to Nevada after dialing up a 28-point performance versus the Wolf Pack in the first meeting of the season. Knight hit a season-high four 3-point attempts, netting 8-of-17 from the field in the win.

Knight is averaging 18.0 points in 11 conference games, 4th-most in the conference. He is shooting 43.8 percent from the floor with a 36.1 3-point percentage in those games.

Nevada is fifth in the conference in scoring at 76.2 points per game, sporting the 7th-best field goal percentage (.444) and sit atop the conference — No. 10 nationally — in 3-point percentage (.388).

The Wolf Pack are coming off an 88-54 win over the Air Force Falcons. They were led by Jalen Harris, who tallied a career-high 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting. It was Harris’ third straight 30-point game, becoming the first Nevada player to accomplish that feature since the program joined Division-I.

Harris leads the Wolf Pack with a conference-best 20.7 points per game. Harris is shooting 44.9 percent and 38.0 percent from deep. He rides into Saturday with a 20-game double-digit scoring streak — averaging 22.2 points on 47.7 percent shooting in that span. Harris has posted a conference-best 25.2 points in 12 conference games.

The 6-foot-5 guard is second on the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg), assists (4.1 apg) and steals (1.2 spg).

Jazz Johnson is second on the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game. He has missed each of the last two games due to right shoulder soreness. After Tuesday’s win, Nevada head coach Steve Alford labeled him “questionable” for Saturday’s game, saying they’re about a week away from him being fully healthy.

Nisre Zouzoua, who has started in his absence, has totaled 5 points and 15 points in the last two games respectively. Zouzoua is averaging 9.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game this season.

Lindsey Drew is Nevada’s remaining double-digit scorer at 11.4 points per game, leading the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg), assists (4.3 apg) and steals (1.3 spg). Drew is shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from deep. He accumulated his 900th career point and his 600th career rebound last game.

Projected Starters:

Nevada:

San Jose State:

Additional Links:

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

SJSU Game Notes: https://go.aws/2OBakif

Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3bnGqI0

Nevada looks to win its 19th consecutive conference home game