The Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball program is a college basketball team that represents the University of Nevada, Reno. The team is currently a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The program began in 1913 and has won 23 regular season conference championships and five conference tournament championships. Nevada won a CBI Title in 2016 vs. Morehead State 2–1 in the series.
| Nevada Wolf Pack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
 | ||||
| University | University of Nevada, Reno | |||
| Head coach | Steve Alford (6th season) | |||
| Conference | Mountain West | |||
| Location | Reno, Nevada | |||
| Arena | Lawlor Events Center (capacity: 11,784) | |||
| Nickname | Wolf Pack | |||
| Colors | Navy blue and silver[1] | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
| ||||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2004, 2018 | ||||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | ||||
| 2004, 2005, 2007, 2018 | ||||
| NCAA tournament appearances | ||||
| 1957*, 1961*, 1964*, 1966*, 1984, 1985, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024 *at Division II level | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| 1984, 1985, 2004, 2006, 2017 | ||||
| Conference regular season champions | ||||
| 1920, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1938, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1984, 1985, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019 | ||||
Background information
edit- Year founded: 1913
- Location: Reno, Nevada
- School Colors: Navy and Silver
- School Founded: October 12, 1874
- Nickname: Wolf Pack
- Conference: Mountain West Conference
- Arena: Lawlor Events Center (11,536)
- Head Coach: Steve Alford
Conference affiliations
edit- No affiliation (1913, 1921–1924, 1940–1953)
- Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) (1914–1920)
- Far Western Conference (FWC) (1925–1939, 1954–1969)
- West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) (1970–1979)
- Big Sky Conference (BSC) (1980–1992)
- Big West Conference (BWC) (1993–2000)
- Western Athletic Conference (WAC) (2001–2011)
- Mountain West Conference (MWC) (2012–present)
Team history
edit- All-Time D-1 Record: 1,028–793 (.564%) as of November 26, 2023
- NAIA Tournament Appearances: (1) – 1946
- NAIA Tournament Record: 2–1
- NCAA tournament Record: 6–10
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: (11) – 1984, 1985, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024
- NIT Record: 4–4
- NIT Appearances: (5) – 1979, 1997, 2003, 2010, 2012
- CBI Record: 5–3
- CBI Appearances: (3) – 2008, 2009, 2016
- Highest National Ranking[2]
- No. 5 (Coaches Poll), December 31, 2018
- No. 5 (Associated Press Poll), November 26, 2018
Regular Season Conference Championships (23)
edit- PCAA: (1) – 1920
- FWC: (10) – 1927, 1928, 1932, 1938, 1956, 1957, 1958,1959, 1961, 1964, 1966
- BSC: (2) – 1984, 1985
- WAC: (6) – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012
- MW: (3) – 2017,[3] 2018, 2019
Conference tournament championships (5)
edit- BSC: (2) – 1984, 1985
- WAC: (2) – 2004, 2006
- MWC: (1) – 2017
Venue history
edit- University Gymnasium – built 1896, capacity unknown; located northwest of the Mackay School of Mines between the current Ansari Building and the Pennington Student Achievement Center[4]
- Virginia Street Gymnasium – built 1945, capacity 3,500; located on Virginia Street opposite College Drive; currently used as a study and training center for Nevada athletes.[5]
- Lawlor Events Center – built 1983, capacity 11,536; located at the corner of North Virginia Street and East 15th Street; current home of Wolf Pack basketball.
- Grand Sierra Resort Arena – Announced on September 27, 2023 as the centerpiece of a 10-year, $1 billion expansion of the casino resort. The new facility, planned with a capacity of at least 10,000 and tentatively scheduled for completion in 2026, will be exclusive to men's basketball; Lawlor Events Center will remain home to Wolf Pack women's basketball. The Wolf Pack will start play in the new arena in 2026 or 2027.[6][7]
Head coaches
edit| Name | Seasons | Record | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.E. Holway | 1913–1913 | 3–1 | .750 |
| Silas Ross | 1914–1919 | 33–21 | .611 |
| Ray Courtright | 1920–1921 | 17–5 | .773 |
| Jake Lawlor | 1943–1948 | 70–38 | .648 |
| Jim Aiken | 1945 | 8–9 | .471 |
| Jackson Spencer | 1970–1972 | 10–64 | .135 |
| Jim Padgett | 1973–1976 | 43–61 | .413 |
| Jim Carey | 1977–1980 | 65–46 | .586 |
| Sonny Allen | 1981–1987 | 114–89 | .562 |
| Len Stevens | 1988–1993 | 91–79 | .535 |
| Pat Foster | 1994–1999 | 90–81 | .526 |
| Trent Johnson | 2000–2004 | 79–74 | .516 |
| Mark Fox | 2005–2009 | 123–43 | .741 |
| David Carter | 2010–2015 | 98–97 | .503 |
| Eric Musselman | 2016–2019 | 100–30 | .769 |
| Steve Alford | 2019– | 96-58 | .623 |
Postseason results
editNCAA Division I tournament results
editThe Wolf Pack have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament eleven times, with a combined record of 6–11.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 11 W | First round | (6) #15 Washington | L 54–64 |
| 1985 | 14 W | First round | (3) #16 NC State | L 56–65 |
| 2004 | 10 M | First round Second Round Sweet Sixteen |
(7) Michigan State (2) #3 Gonzaga (3) #14 Georgia Tech |
W 72–66 W 91–72 L 67–72 |
| 2005 | 9 M | First round Second Round |
(8) Texas (1) #1 Illinois |
W 61–57 L 59–71 |
| 2006 | 5 M | First round | (12) Montana | L 79–87 |
| 2007 | 7 S | First round Second Round |
(10) Creighton (2) #5 Memphis |
W 77–71OT L 62–78 |
| 2017 | 12 M | First round | (5) #16 Iowa State | L 73–84 |
| 2018 | 7 S | First round Second Round Sweet Sixteen |
(10) Texas (2) #6 Cincinnati (11) Loyola–Chicago |
W 87–83OT W 75–73 L 68–69 |
| 2019 | 7 W | First round | (10) Florida | L 61–70 |
| 2023 | 11 W | First Four | (11) Arizona State | L 73–98 |
| 2024 | 10 W | First round | (7) Dayton | L 60–63 |
NCAA Division II Tournament results
editThe Wolf Pack have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament four times. Their combined record is 1–6.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Regional semifinals | Cal State Los Angeles | L 69–75 |
| 1961 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game |
UC Santa Barbara Chapman |
L 57–78 L 63–68 |
| 1964 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game |
Cal Poly Pomona Seattle Pacific |
L 71–99 L 74–76 |
| 1966 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game |
Fresno State San Diego |
L 78–127 W 74–71 |
NAIA Division I Tournament results
editThe Wolf Pack have appeared in the NAIA Division I Tournament one time. Their combined record is 2–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | First round Second Round Quarterfinals |
Morningside West Texas State Southern Illinois |
W 56–40 W 60–46 L 58–66 |
NIT results
editThe Wolf Pack have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) five times. Their combined record is 5–5.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | First round Second Round |
Oregon State Texas A&M |
W 62–61 L 64–67 |
| 1997 | First round Second Round |
Fresno State Nebraska |
W 97–86 L 68–78 |
| 2003 | First round | Texas Tech | L 54–66 |
| 2010 | First round Second Round |
Wichita State Rhode Island |
W 74–70 L 83–85 |
| 2012 | First round Second Round Quarterfinals |
Oral Roberts Bucknell Stanford |
W 68–59 W 75–67 L 56–84 |
CBI results
editThe Wolf Pack have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) three times. Their combined record is 5–3. They were CBI champions in 2016.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | First round | Houston | L 79–80 |
| 2009 | First round | UTEP | L 77–79 |
| 2016 | First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals–Game 1 Finals–Game 2 Finals–Game 3 |
Montana Eastern Washington Vermont Morehead State Morehead State Morehead State |
W 79–75 W 85–70 W 86–72 L 83–86 W 77–68 W 85–82OT |
Player honors
editRetired numbers
editThe Wolf Pack have two number officially retired, Edgar Jones' number 32, and Nick Fazekas's number 22.
| Nevada Wolf Pack retired numbers | ||||
| No. | Player | Tenure | No. ret. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Nick Fazekas | 2003–2007 | 2019 | [8] |
| 32 | Edgar Jones | 1975–1979 | 1979 | [9] |
Conference player of the year
edit- Kevin Soares, 1992 (Big Sky)
- Kirk Snyder, 2004 (WAC)
- Nick Fazekas, 2005, 2006, 2007 (WAC)
- Luke Babbitt, 2010 (WAC)
- Deonte Burton, 2012 (WAC)
- Caleb Martin, 2018 (Mountain West)
NBA players
edit- Luke Babbitt
- Nick Fazekas
- Jalen Harris
- Johnny High
- Edgar Jones
- Armon Johnson
- Caleb Martin
- Cody Martin
- JaVale McGee
- Cameron Oliver
- Kevinn Pinkney
- Ramon Sessions
- Kirk Snyder
- David Wood
International players
edit- Dario Hunt (born 1989), basketball player for Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Grant Sherfield (born 1999), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
References
edit- ^ "Visual Identity – The Block N Logo". Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ "2021–22 Nevada Basketball Record Book" (PDF). University of Nevada. 2021. p. 18. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Mountain West Announces 2017 MW Men's Basketball Championship". Archived from the original on 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
- ^ "Campus Images: Cadet Battalion". University of Nevada, Reno. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
- ^ Buell, Amanda. "Virginia Street Gymnasium". Reno Historical. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
- ^ Sonner, Scott (September 27, 2023s). "University of Nevada basketball could have a new home in 3 years under a major casino expansion plan". Associated Press. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ "Historic $1 Billion Private Capital Investment Announced for the Grand Sierra Resort" (Press release). Nevada Wolf Pack. September 27, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Murray, Chris (February 13, 2019). "Nevada basketball to retire number of former star Nick Fazekas". nevadasportsnet.com. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ Jones bio at Wolfpack site
