RENO - It's been nearly two months since Nevada and San Jose State last met on the basketball court, and the schools have gone in decidedly different directions from a win-loss standpoint.
Nevada has won 11 of its last 13 since beating the Spartans 63-56 back on Jan. 7, while San Jose State, under first-year head coach George Nessman, has dropped 11 of its last 13.
On paper, this looks like a cakewalk. Don't count on it. San Jose has lost its last four games by a total of 17 points, including a one-point loss at home to Hawai'i last Saturday and a five-point loss at second-place New Mexico State.
Nevada (22-5, 11-3), which hosts San Jose State (6-22, 2-12) tonight at 7:05, has already won its third straight Western Athletic Conference title, but would love to extend its winning streak to 10 games and win the conference outright.
"It's been so long since we've played," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "They didn't have D.J. (Demetrius) Brown. We were coming off a tough loss to Hawai'i. We have to re-educate ourselves on their team and hopefully we'll play well enough to win the game.
"They are playing much better than their record indicates. When you have a new coach, it takes a long time. You have to adjust to style of play."
The Spartans' win-loss record doesn't show the improvement made under Nessman, who had successful coaching stints at De La Salle High in Concord and Porterville College. He was an assistant for Ben Braun at Cal before taking the SJSU job.
"We've been in virtually every game except the Louisiana Tech game at home (20-point loss)," Nessman said. "Either we don't get a stop or don't make a free throw ... it's always something, but not always the same thing. Last Saturday was particularly heartbreaking when Julian Sensley hit a big-time three (to beat us).
"They are starting to trust the system and have confidence in it (and themselves). Carlton Spencer has played well. I moved him to point guard four games ago. The guys have stayed positive."
Spencer has scored more than 20 points in three of San Jose State's last five games, including 21 at Louisiana Tech on Feb. 15 and 29 points against UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 18. He has shot 52.2 percent from the field, including 9-for-18 from 3-point range in the past seven games. He scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds back on Jan. 7.
Brown, the Spartans' athletic 6-6 235-pound power forward, has scored 20 or more in two of the last three games. He scored 25 against New Mexico State and 20 against Fresno State prior to last Saturday's home game against Hawai'i.
According to Nessman, Brown is the Spartans' best inside threat.
Alex Elam is the Spartans' second-best scorer at 13.1 a game. He was 3-for-15 in the previous game, and he'll most likely have Kyle Shiloh on him. Menelik Barbary had some offensive success against Nevada, and his length will cause some problems for the Pack.
Notes: Former Wolf Pack great Kirk Snyder is being honored at tonight's game. Snyder, who was drafted in the first round by Utah, is now playing for the Oklahoma City/New Orleans franchise ... Pairings for the upcoming WAC Tournament in Reno will be known after Saturday's games, though Nevada as the No. 1 seed will play Idaho at 6 p.m. on Thursday ... The all-WAC team will be released on Sunday ... The eight regional sites hosting first and second-round NCAA Tournament games are San Diego, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, Greensboro, Auburn Hills, Dayton and Philadelphia. The Sweet 16 sites are Atlanta, Oakland, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. At various times, Nevada has been listed as going to San Diego, Greensboro and Philadelphia by ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi.
Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281