Pack basketball team announces schedule

RENO — University of Nevada head men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman and his staff have announced the 2018-19 non-conference schedule with one opponent yet to be determined.

The Wolf Pack will play six home non-conference games, four at neutral sites and three on the road.

The Pack has yet to determine opponents and dates for two home exhibition games. Times for all games will be announced at a later date after the television broadcast schedule has been determined

The Pack will play 15 home games this season, not including the exhibition contests. The 15 is comprised of the six non-conference and nine Mountain West games. Utah State, San José State, Air Force, Colorado State, Boise State, New Mexico, Fresno State and San Diego State will be the nine MW home games.

“We are extremely happy with the non-conference schedule that our staff has put together for this upcoming season,” Musselman said. “Our coaching staff had the goal of putting together a schedule that was competitive and would prepare us for the rigors of the Mountain West. We believe our players will be tested early in the season and will grow from those experiences. As we have said before, our non-conference schedule is a great branding tool and is great for our season-ticket holders.”

Nevada opens the season with four home games with BYU, Nov. 6; Pacific, Nov. 9; and Arkansas-Little Rock, Nov. 16; and a to be determined opponent on Nov. 19 as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.

A pair of neutral sites games in Las Vegas concluded the four games of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational at the Orleans Arena. The Pack opens with Tulsa on Thanksgiving, Nov. 22.

In the second game in Las Vegas, Nevada will face either Southern Illinois or UMass with the winners of day one facing off on day two and the losers playing on the same day.

Nevada closes out November at Loyola Chicago on Nov. 27 in a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 game won by the Ramblers, 69-68, in Atlanta. The Ramblers were 32-6 and reached the Final Four. The game is part of the 2018 Challenge Series that matches teams from the Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conference.

December begins with consecutive games against Pac-12 opponents at USC on Dec. 1 and vs. Arizona State on Dec. 7 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Nevada will face Grand Canyon in the first Jerry Colangelo Classic at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix on Dec. 9.

After six games away from Reno, the Pack is back at Lawlor Events Center to face South Dakota State on Dec. 15 and Akron on Dec. 22.

The Pack concludes the non-conference schedule with its third Pac-12 opponent, playing at Utah on Dec. 29.

Eight of the non-conference opponents had an RPI in the top 100 last season with Loyola Chicago (14), USC (37), Utah (40) and South Dakota State (48) in the top 50.

Six teams earned postseason bids with Loyola Chicago, ASU, and South Dakota State competing in the NCAA Tournament.

Utah, BYU, and USC were in the NIT with the Utes falling in the title game.

Eight schools won 20 or more games; Loyola Chicago (32), South Dakota State (28), BYU (24), USC (24), Utah (23), GCU (22), SIU (20) and ASU (20).