NFL
MLB
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
WNBAMontana State (0-0) At Nevada (0-0)
GAME NOTES: Familiar foes kick off their respective 2009-10 campaigns tonight, as the Nevada Wolf Pack entertains the Montana State Bobcats at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.
One of the more dominant programs in the Western Athletic Conference the last few years, Nevada made a change at the coaching position this year as David Carter takes over a team that brings back three starters from a year ago and a total of eight letterwinners. Last season, the team went 21-13 overall and finished second in the WAC with a record of 11-5.
After beating San Jose State in the WAC Tournament by a score of 78-69 and then topping Louisiana Tech (77-68), the Pack fell to Utah State (72-62) and because of the setback the team was dropped to the College Basketball Invitational. While it counted as the program's seventh straight appearance in the postseason, it was little more than a consolation and the Pack came up short in a 79-77 loss to UTEP at home as a result.
Meanwhile the Bobcats, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Brad Huse, finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Sky Conference with just six wins in 16 attempts a year ago. MSU finished three games under .500 overall at 14-17.
These same two teams kicked off last season against each other as well, with the Pack capturing a 72-63 win on the road. The victory was the second in a row for Nevada against the Bobcats and pushed the team to a 22-17 advantage in the all-time series.
As if starting on the road against a team like Nevada were not tough enough, coach Huse is having to make that trip to Reno with a skeleton crew of a roster. Saying that he's never taken just eight players into a game, Huse is going to have to make it work as injuries and suspensions have dictated a short list of players available. Guard Will Bynum, who suffered a concussion last week, is out for the first three games of the season, as is Marquis Navarre, while Larry Swann remains on indefinite suspension. What that leaves the Bobcats is Erik Rush, Austin Brown and Danny Piepoli as the primary focus of the backcourt. Rush (9.6 ppg) will have to do something about his accuracy from the floor, lacking at a mere 38.5 percent last season, if he wants to get the ball fed to him more often. Forward Bobby Howard, who tallied 19 points and nine boards versus Nevada last season, will also be a focal point of the MSU squad attack tonight.
A pair of All-WAC performers from last year are the ones who will make the transition for new head coach David Carter an easy one as Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson are ready to shoulder the load. In Babbitt, the Pack has the reigning 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year and a player who set almost every freshman school record at Nevada as he led the program in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 16.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. Johnson was the second-best scoring option for the squad a year ago with his 15.5 ppg and he also led the team in assists for the second year in a row with almost four and a half per outing. However, Johnson could stand to improve upon his mere 27.8 percent shooting behind the three-point line if he's going to get defenses to be more concerned with him out on the perimeter. Senior guard Brandon Fields, who started all but one of 33 games two seasons ago, came off the bench last year and gave the team a huge lift with his 9.4 ppg.
Even if the Bobcats brought their full array of players, the chances of the visitors capturing the win would still be rather low with Babbitt and Johnson on the other side of the floor.
Predicted OutcomeNevada 71, Montana State 57Copyright 2009 Courtesy of The Sports Network.
