If you weren’t at Lawlor on Friday night, you missed out. Even the most casual of fans couldn’t have helped but get goosebumps at certain points down the stretch of what was maybe the most anticipated Nevada sporting event since the football team beat No. 4 Boise State in 2010. There hasn’t been a whole lot of reason for optimism inside Lawlor the last couple years, so … [Read more...]
Wolf Pack wins CBI title in OT thriller
RENO — One year ago, Nevada’s program was a mess. The Wolf Pack was coming off a nine-win season and was without a coach after Athletic Director Doug Knuth fired David Carter. So no, not many saw a championship coming in 2016. Enter two-time former NBA coach Eric Musselman. Musselman engineered one of the best turnarounds in college basketball and on Friday night, he … [Read more...]
Nevada wins ugly, forces game three for CBI title
RENO—No team can win a tournament without getting a little luck along the way. Nevada didn’t play great basketball Wednesday night in game two of the CBI championship series. It didn’t even play good basketball. Fortunately for the home team, neither did Morehead State. The Wolf Pack (23-14) grinded out an ugly 77-68 win over the Eagles (23-13) at Lawlor Events Center … [Read more...]
Shoup Shots: Nevada fans say ‘whew’
Nevada fans collectively breathed a sigh of relief on Friday when Stanford hired Jerod Haase to fill its men’s basketball head coaching vacancy. As I mentioned last week, Stanford would’ve been a realistic landing spot for Eric Musselman had the Cardinal decided to give him a call. Musselman no longer having the option to go to Palo Alto wasn’t the only local tie in … [Read more...]
Another strong second half sends Nevada to CBI championship
RENO—Sure, it’s “just” the CBI, but Nevada is now two wins from hanging a banner in the Lawlor Events Center rafters. The Wolf Pack (22-13) suffocated Vermont (23-14) in the second half of Wednesday night’s CBI semifinal at Lawlor to run away with an 86-72 win in front of 6,133. “We did a phenomenal job in the second half,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said. “I thought the … [Read more...]
Nevada runs past Eastern Washington into CBI semis
RENO—Basketball is a game of runs. Nevada used a 13-0 run out of the locker room and an 11-0 run midway through the second half to down Eastern Washington, 85-70, on Monday night in front of 6,053 at Lawlor Events Center. Now, the Wolf Pack (21-13) is running to the College Basketball Invitational semifinals. The Eagles (18-16) are running back to Cheney, Wash. for the … [Read more...]
Shoup Shots: Nevada’s place in the postseason; Musselman leaving?; Fast starts for local baseball squads continue
The NCAA tournament has dominated the national headlines the last week. And how could it not? Of the major sports in our county, the NCAA’s 68-team national tournament is the most watchable postseason. And it’s not close. That was especially true this year. When the field was announced in the Selection Show debacle last week, there were upward of 15-20 teams that had … [Read more...]
Nevada comes from behind to down Montana in CBI
RENO—At this point, it’d be hard to expect anything else. After trailing by as much as 13 (12 in the second half), Nevada found a way to pull out a 79-75 win over Montana on Wednesday at Lawlor Events Center in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). “We had unbelievable second-half effort,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said of his squad, which … [Read more...]