Nevada’s K.J. Hymes dunks against Utah State on Jan. 29, 2022 at Lawlor Events Center in Reno. (Photo: Nevada Athletics)
Grading the Nevada Wolf Pack’s 78-49 loss to the Utah State Aggies on Saturday at Lawlor Events Center:
STARTERS
GRANT SHERFIELD: D
The Utah State Aggies once again brought out the worst in Grant Sherfield. The Pack point guard scored just four points on a dreadful 1-of-12 shooting night (0-for-3 on threes) and also turned the ball over four times. Utah State, though, seems to always do this against the Pack’s best player. In two losses at Utah State last year Sherfield scored just a total of 17 points combined on 6-of-21 shooting with 12 turnovers.
The four points on Saturday is the lowest of Sherfield’s 44-game Wolf Pack career. The only basket Sherfield made against the Aggies tied the score at 7-7 just four minutes into the game. He missed his last 10 shots. Sherfield seems to have hit a wall. Since he drained a 3-pointer against Colorado State to tie the game at 56-56 with 8:26 to play last Wednesday (in an eventual 77-66 loss), Sherfield has gone 1-for-16 from the floor for four points and the Pack has been outscored 99-59 over its last 48-plus minutes. Sherfield played just 26 minutes against the Aggies and was on the bench for a much-needed break for the final 7:46. Sherfield is now just 7-of-24 on threes over his last four games and has gotten to the free throw line for just 12 shots over his last five games combined. The last three games he’s scored just a total of 37 points.
DESMOND CAMBRIDGE: C+
Cambridge led the Wolf Pack with 12 points. That, of course, wasn’t nearly enough on a night when Sherfield scored just four points. But the good news is that Cambridge sustained the confidence he showed three nights earlier at Colorado State (23 points). He hoisted up 12 shots against the Aggies in just 29 minutes. The bad news is that he missed 4-of-5 threes. Cambridge, though, had a team-high seven rebounds, two blocks and three steals so he continues to work hard at both ends of the floor.
KENAN BLACKSHEAR: C
Blackshear, the Wolf Pack’s Swiss Army knife, did a little bit of everything with seven points, five rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist in his 27 minutes. He blocked a shot by Utah State’s Justin Bean and went down for a layup to give the Pack a 9-7 lead six minutes into the game. He only turned the ball over once and was called for just three fouls. But he also didn’t get to the free throw line. Blackshear’s lone 3-pointer sliced Utah State’s lead to 65-38 with 12 minutes to play. It was that type of night for the Pack.
WILL BAKER: B
Baker continues to give the Pack solid minutes. The center scored 11 points and had five rebounds (two on offense) in just 21 minutes. But why did he play just 21 minutes on a night when center Warren Washington was missing? Baker connected on 5-of-8 shots and didn’t turn the ball over or commit a foul. A Baker layup cut Utah State’s lead to 19-17 midway through the first half and his dunk pulled the Pack to within 26-19 two minutes later. He had two more layups that cut the deficit to 45-27 (in the final minute of the first half) and 45-29 (in the first two minutes of the second half. Baker also didn’t attempt a single 3-pointer for the third time in his last seven games after attempting at least one in his first 11 games.
DANIEL FOSTER: D
Coach Steve Alford decided to go small with the 6-foot-6 Foster (instead of the 6-10 K.J. Hymes) in the starting lineup in place of the 7-foot Washington and, well, we saw the result. Foster did not score a point in 24 minutes. Foster had five rebounds but he missed all three of his shots, didn’t get to the free throw line and turned the ball over three times. He also had just one assist. Foster has gone scoreless in three of his last four games. He is 1-of-11 from the floor over his last eight games combined. He’s shooting just .259 from the floor and .214 (3-of-14) on threes for the season.
BENCH
TRE COLEMAN: D
Coleman equaled Cambridge with a team-high 29 minutes despite the fact he took just three shots, missed them all, and failed to score a single point. The 6-7 sophomore also had just two rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal and one turnover. Coleman entered the game just 51 seconds after the opening tip (for Blackshear) and ended up playing 16 of the 20 minutes in the first half. Coleman also played the final 7:46 of the game with most of the starters on the bench and still did not score, missing his lone shot (a layup).
K.J. HYMES: C
Hymes played just 13 minutes despite the absence of Washington. He scored eight points, pulled down three rebounds, all on the offensive glass, and had a block. His four free throws (he made them all) led everyone on both teams. All eight of his points came in the first half. He had a pair of free throws for an 11-10 lead and a layup that tied the game at 13-13. His dunk tied the game at 15-15 and his two free throws cut Utah State’s lead to 31-21 with 5:16 to play in the opening half. Six of Hymes’ eight points came in a span of just 107 seconds. He was sent to the bench with 10:31 to go in the half and the Pack trailing just 17-15. When he returned to the court four minutes later the Pack was down 28-19.
ALEM HUSEINOVIC: C
Huseinovic played a career-high (two seasons) 19 minutes. He scored five points and even got to the free throw line for three shots (more than any starter) and made all three. Huseinovic played the final 14:20. All five of his points came in the second half with the game out of reach.
JALEN WEAVER, DeANDRE HENRY: Incomplete
Weaver played five minutes (his dunk with 54 seconds to play closed the scoring) and Henry was on the floor for seven minutes. The 6-4 Weaver had not played since Dec. 15. Henry, who missed all three of his shots, had played just two minutes (against Boise State on Jan. 12) since Dec. 29.
COACHING: D
This was not Steve Alford’s finest moment as Wolf Pack head coach. The Wolf Pack didn’t look prepared, motivated or even excited to play on its own home court. The 29-point loss is Alford’s worst at Lawlor Events Center in his three seasons as coach. It’s the second-worst loss overall of his Pack career, behind just a 33-point beating (75-42) at BYU on Dec. 10, 2019.
The Pack never put up much of a fight past the midway point of the first half. So much went so wrong in this game for the Pack, a trend that started with about six minutes to go at Colorado State. Why, for example, does Alford continue to give substantial minutes to both Coleman and Foster when neither of them can score or even bother to shoot? Utah State, which shot 50 percent (30-of-60) from the floor, wasn't all that hindered on offense when Foster or Coleman, or both, were on the floor. Why does Alford continue to limit the minutes of both Baker and Hymes, even when Washington isn’t playing?
But Alford’s first order of business moving forward is getting Sherfield’s head right. If that doesn’t happen, well, nothing else really matters.
OVERALL: D
When Alem Huseinovic outscores Grant Sherfield (5-4), well, you know the evening didn’t go well for the Wolf Pack. Foster and Coleman combined for zero points in 53 minutes. No amount of defense and hustle can overcome that many empty minutes. Sherfield and Cambridge were 1-of-8 on threes and scored just 16 points combined.
Utah State had more points off turnovers (20-9), more bench points (23-15), more points in the paint (34-24) and more fast break points (14-8). The Aggies played 13 players. Their bench players were 8-of-15 from the floor for 23 points and 18 rebounds. The Pack missed 13-of-15 threes. It was that ugly.
This needs to be rock bottom or else the final six weeks of the season will be unbearable. But the worst part is it happened at home. A performance like this in a conference game just should never happen at home. The Wolf Pack has now lost three of its last four games at home and is now facing a six-day stretch with three tough road games at UNLV (Tuesday), Fresno State (Friday) and San Diego State (Sunday).
