Nevada's Warren Washington dunks under pressure from Kansas' Joseph Yesufu on Dec. 29, 2021, in Lawrence, Kan. Kansas won 88-61. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Grading the Nevada Wolf Pack’s 88-61 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks on Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas:
STARTERS
GRANT SHERFIELD: B
Sherfield simply struggled to find any consistency against the Jayhawks. And Kansas, of course, had a lot to do with that. The Pack point guard, who played a year of high school ball in Kansas and one year at Wichita State, had an up-and-down return to the Sunflower State. He battled throughout the game, ending up with a productive night with 16 points, four assists, five rebounds and two steals in 36 minutes. But there were also four turnovers, 5-of-6 misses on threes and just two free throws (one miss).
The Pack needed Sherfield’s best game in order to merely stay in the game and, well, the Jayhawks wouldn’t allow it except for brief flashes. Sherfield’s never-ending work ethic, though, showed up in the final two minutes of the game with the Pack hopelessly trailing 86-57. In a span of just 40 seconds, Sherfield made a jumper, grabbed a steal, missed two 3-pointers and pulled down an offensive rebound before being taken out of the game. He probably shouldn’t have even been on the floor, down 29 points with two minutes to go. But it’s that type of leadership and hustle from the team’s best player that will pay off for the Pack down the road.
DESMOND CAMBRIDGE: B-
Cambridge, like Sherfield, had a mixed bag of results against the Jayhawks.
Cambridge’s shot was off against the Kansas defense as he missed 13-of-19 shots, including 9-of-13 threes. He had a miserable second half, scoring just three points on 1-of-8 shooting as the Kansas lead just kempt growing. Cambridge did have 10 points in the first 11-plus minutes of the game but the final 29 minutes were filled with frustration for the 6-foot-4 senior. He finished with 16 points, four rebounds and four blocks in just 29 minutes so he was productive overall.
But Cambridge’s one true weakness, his unwillingness to get to the line, showed up once again. He never shot a free throw in his 29 minutes, despite taking 19 shots. But it’s hard to get to the line when 13 of your 19 shots are coming from beyond the 3-point circle. Cambridge has now gotten to the line for just 19 free throws in 11 games this year, an average of 1.7 a game. Last season, in 26 games, he averaged 2.7 free throws a game.
WILL BAKER: C-
Baker played his freshman season (2019-20) in the Big 12 against Kansas so he likely wasn’t awed by the 16,300 Jayhawks fans at Allen Fieldhouse. But the Jayhawks don’t bring out the best in the 7-foot center.
Baker played a total of eight minutes against Kansas in two games two years ago without scoring a point and pulling down three rebounds. He was a bit more productive on Wednesday with eight points and three rebounds in 18 minutes. But he also turned the ball over an alarming four times and didn’t have a block, steal or assist. His defense in the paint, along with fellow 7-foot center Warren Washington, also was a red flag as Kansas had a disturbing 46-14 edge in points in the paint. That wasn’t all the fault of Baker and Washington as Kansas beat the Pack down the court repeatedly for easy dunks and layups. But when you start two 7-footers you shouldn’t get outscored by 32 points in the paint.
KENAN BLACKSHEAR: C-
Blackshear had eight points, two rebounds, four assists and a steal in 23 minutes with most of that production coming in the second half with the game out of reach. He had a difficult first half, playing just eight minutes without taking a shot or scoring a point. After sitting out for four-plus minutes in the middle of the first half he reentered the game and had a foul and a turnover in less than a minute and was removed with eight-plus minutes left in the half, never to return before halftime. Blackshear scored all eight of his points in the second half and also assisted on a layup and a 3-pointer by Baker in a span of 42 seconds.
WARREN WASHINGTON: C-
The 7-foot Washington had seven points, a block and six rebounds in 23 minutes but also turned the ball over four times and committed three fouls. And we have to mention Kansas’ 46-14 edge in points in the paint here, too.
It was a strange game for Washington as most of his defensive production (four rebounds and a block) came in the first half and all of his offensive production (seven points) came in the second half. He had a turnover and a foul in the first 20 seconds of the game. He had another turnover and a foul 26 seconds apart with seven-plus minutes to go in the opening half and then coach Steve Alford sat him down for the final five minutes of the half.
BENCH
TRE COLEMAN: D
Coleman gave the Wolf Pack an empty 28 minutes with just three points, two shots (one miss), two free throws (one miss), two rebounds and no assists, blocks or steals. Coleman seems to have lost all confidence in his shot and for good reason. He is just 4-of-29 on threes and 10-of-55 from the floor this year. He’s missed 15 of his last 16 threes and didn’t attempt one on Wednesday for just the third time in his two-year Pack career over 37 games.
DANIEL FOSTER: D
Foster’s 25 minutes were even more empty than Coleman’s 28. Pressed into service because of the absence of K.J. Hymes, Foster missed his only two shots (both threes) and didn’t score. He did have four rebounds and an assist but didn’t have a block or a steal or even a foul. The Pack bench played a combined total of 71 minutes in a blowout loss and scored just six points.
ALEM HUSEINOVIC: Incomplete
Huseinovic was on the floor for nine minutes and pulled down two boards and missed his only shot. With the Pack trailing just 34-25 with 2:13 left in the first half, Huseinovic entered the game for Cambridge (for some reason) and missed a jumper 13 seconds later. In the second half he didn’t play until there was 2:34 left and the Pack trailing 84-56. His two rebounds came in the final 21 seconds.
DeANDRE HENRY: B
Henry was one of the Pack’s most productive players per minute on Wednesday. He had three points (a 3-pointer), a steal and two rebounds in just nine minutes. And, yes, he also had one of the Pack’s 21 turnovers. Why he didn’t enter the game in the second half until there was just 90 seconds left is a bit surprising, given the score and the lack of production by the rest of the bench and starters. In the first half he entered for the first time with 10:55 to play before the break and promptly hit a 3-pointer 23 seconds later to cut Kansas’ lead to 24-18. He then had a steal 21 seconds later. Alford then took him out a minute later. Henry came back into the game with 4:54 left in the first half and pulled down a rebound 44 seconds later that led to a Coleman layup.
COACHING: B
There wasn’t much Steve Alford could do. This was a game the Pack didn’t know it was going to play roughly 72 hours earlier. Kansas, now 10-1 overall, is the No. 6 team in the nation and they are always nearly impossible to beat at home, even if the game is on your schedule every year.
Nobody on the Pack played all that well (Kansas had a lot to do with that) so Alford didn’t have many buttons to push. And the Pack was really never in the game. Kansas jumped to an 8-0 lead two minutes into the game and basically used the final 38 minutes as a much-needed workout. The Pack, which has played just three games in December, also needed the workout and, we assume, part of the gate generated by the 16,300 fans and ESPN broadcast. Kansas needed a victory to keep up its lofty Top 25 ranking. So everybody went home happy.
OVERALL: C
Well, what did you expect? Playing at Kansas is always a suicide mission for any team, especially a Mountain West team. But when you try to do it blindfolded and without much preparation and a thin bench, well, this is what you get. But it could have been much worse (this Pack team, don’t forget, lost by 27 to South Dakota State in late November) and there were positives to take from this loss.
The Pack showed, even on a night when it looked lost, frustrated and outclassed, that it truly does have Big 12 talent. But there just isn’t enough of it. The good news is that the Pack doesn’t have to worry about beating the likes of a Kansas again until the NCAA tournament.
This game, of course, brought back memories of the three Kansas-Nevada games from 2003-06 when the Pack won twice. But Nick Fazekas, Kirk Snyder, Ramon Sessions, Kevinn Pinkney and others from those Wolf Pack NCAA tournament teams didn’t walk through the Allen Fieldhouse doors on Wednesday ready to play. Given a few more days of preparation and a whole lot less rust (the Pack had played just two games in its previous 28 days) this Wolf Pack team likely would have made Kansas sweat a little more than it did on Wednesday. But a victory still would have been a tall order. The only real shame of it all is that the loss broke a five-game Pack winning streak.
