Boise State during a timeout against Eastern Oregon University on Dec. 6.
Tyler McFarland/BSU Athletics
A look ahead to the Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball games this week against Boise State (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Lawlor Events Center) and Air Force (Saturday, 11 a.m., Colorado Springs, Colo.):
HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN: Both games can be heard in Northern Nevada on 94.5 FM. The Boise State game can been seen locally on Nevada Sports Net (Channel 21). The Air Force game can be streamed on The Mountain West Network (themw.com).
TEAM RECORDS: Nevada and Boise State are both 10-3 overall and 0-0 in the Mountain West, while Air Force is 9-4, 0-0.
THE SPREADS: Nevada is favored by 2 over Boise State and by 3 over Air Force.
NEVADA-BOISE STATE RIVALRY: Nevada leads Boise State, 51-31, despite losing the last three games. The Wolf Pack beat Boise State in 11-of-12 games from Jan. 25, 2017 through March 11, 2021. Nevada has won six of the last seven games at Lawlor Events Center against Boise State. The Pack is 13-10 against Boise State since joining the Mountain West for the 2012-13 season.
NEVADA-BOISE STATE LAST MEETING: Boise State eliminated the Wolf Pack from the Mountain West tournament, 71-69, on March 10 in Las Vegas. Grant Sheffield (25), Desmond Cambridge (16) and Warren Washington (13) scored 54 of Nevada’s 69 points. All three are no longer on the roster.
NEVADA-AIR FORCE RIVALRY: Nevada leads Air Force, 15-3, since the rivalry began Jan. 9, 2013. Nevada is 7-2 at Air Force, winning the last six games. All 18 games in the rivalry have been Mountain West games.
NEVADA-AIR FORCE LAST MEETING: The Wolf Pack beat the Falcons, 75-68, at Air Force on Jan. 15, 2022. Grant Sherfield scored 21 for Nevada, Warren Washington had 12 points and nine rebounds while Kenan Blackshear and Will Baker each scored 11.
THE HEAD COACHES: Nevada’s Steve Alford (58 years old) has been a head coach for 32 seasons (645-341) at Manchester (Iowa), Southwest Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA and Nevada. He has a record of 57-43 in his fourth season at Nevada (28-25 in Mountain West regular-season games). Alford is 4-4 against Boise State and 4-1 against Air Force as Nevada’s head coach. Boise State’s 59-year-old Leon Rice is 254-148 in his 13th season as head coach of the Broncos. He is 11-14 against Nevada. Air Force’s Joe Scott (57) is in the third year of his second stint as the Falcons’ head coach. He was 51-63 for four seasons (2000-04) as Air Force head coach and is 25-42 since returning in 2020-21. Scott is 1-2 against Nevada, 0-1 at home.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Boise State was picked by the conference’s media to finish third in the Mountain West this season while Nevada was picked ninth and Air Force was picked to finish last (11th).
AT STAKE FOR NEVADA: The Wolf Pack, winners of two in a row, will take a 6-0 record at home this season into the Boise State game. A year ago, the Wolf Pack took a 5-1 record at home into its game at Lawlor Events Center against Boise State and lost, 85-70, starting a slide of six losses in the last eight home games.
AT STAKE FOR BOISE STATE: The Broncos, 73-58 losers at Santa Clara last week, are hoping to avoid their first two-game losing streak this season. Boise State had won nine games in a row. The Nevada game is the only game for the Broncos this week.
AT STAKE FOR AIR FORCE: The Falcons have won eight of their last nine games. Air Force will open its Mountain West season on Wednesday at San Diego State. The Falcons have played 11 of their 13 games this season in the state of Colorado (9-2 record).
NEVADA STARTERS: Jarod Lucas (6-4, junior), 16.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 16 assists; Kenan Blackshear (6-6, senior), 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 66 assists, 15 steals; Will Baker (7-0, junior), 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds; Tre Coleman (6-7, junior), 7.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 10 steals, 10 blocks; Darrion Williams (6-6, freshman), 7.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 20 steals.
BOISE STATE STARTERS: Marcus Shaver (6-2, senior), 14.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 21 steals, 37 assists; Tyson Degenhart (6-7, sophomore), 13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 26 assists; Max Rice (6-5, senior), 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 20 assists, 12 steals; Chibuzo Agbo (6-7, senior), 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 11 steals; Naje Smith (6-7, senior), 8.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 14 blocks.
AIR FORCE STARTERS: Jake Heidbreder (6-5, sophomore), 15.7 points, 3.3 rebounds; Corbin Green (6-5, freshman), 10.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 25 blocks, 13 steals; Camden Vander Zwaag (6-4, senior), 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds); Ethan Taylor (6-5, sophomore), 7.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 14 steals; Jeffrey Mills (6-4, sophomore), 6.7 points, 2.3 rebounds.
BY THE NUMBERS: The Wolf Pack averages 73.0 points (sixth in Mountain West) and allows 64.2 (fifth), while the Broncos average 70.6 points (eighth) and allow 58.3 (first) and the Falcons average 70.1 points (ninth) and allow 61.5 (second).
PACK BEST FROM LINE: Nevada is first in the Mountain West in free throw shooting at .785 (241-of-307). Will Baker leads the MW at .878 (36-41), followed by Jarod Lucas (.875, 56-64) and Kenan Blackshear (.808, 63-78).
THREE TOP DEFENSES: Boise State leads the Mountain West, holding opponents to a .373 field goal percentage. Nevada is second at .385 while Air Force is sixth at .401. Air Force, though, has the best defense against 3-pointers, holding opponents to a .248 percentage. Boise is second at .274 while Nevada is fourth at .312.