2018–19 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team

American college basketball season

2018–19 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball
Mountain West regular season co-champions
Las Vegas Holiday Invitational champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 23
APNo. 20
Record29–5 (15–3 MW)
Head coach
  • Eric Musselman (4th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Anthony Ruta
  • Gus Argenal
  • Brandon Dunson
Home arenaLawlor Events Center
Seasons
2018–19 Mountain West Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 20 Nevada 15 – 3   .833 29 – 5   .853
No. 25 Utah State † 15 – 3   .833 28 – 7   .800
Fresno State 13 – 5   .722 23 – 9   .719
San Diego State 11 – 7   .611 21 – 13   .618
UNLV 11 – 7   .611 17 – 14   .548
Air Force 8 – 10   .444 14 – 18   .438
New Mexico 7 – 11   .389 14 – 18   .438
Boise State 7 – 11   .389 13 – 20   .394
Colorado State 7 – 11   .389 12 – 20   .375
Wyoming 4 – 14   .222 8 – 24   .250
San Jose State 1 – 17   .056 4 – 27   .129
† Mountain West Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018–19 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolf Pack, led by fourth-year head coach Eric Musselman, played their home games at the Lawlor Events Center on their campus in Reno, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference (MW). They finished the season 29–5, 15–3 in Mountain West play to share the regular season Mountain West championship with Utah State. They defeated Boise State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament before losing in the semifinals to San Diego State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Florida.

On April 7, head coach Eric Musselman resigned to become the head coach at Arkansas.[1] He finished at Nevada with a four-year record of 110–34, three trips to the NCAA Tournament, and were champions of the 2016 College Basketball Invitational.

On April 11, Nevada hired Steve Alford as their next head coach.[2]

Previous season

The Wolf Pack finished the season 29–8 overall and 15–3 in conference play to win the MW regular season championship. They defeated UNLV in the quarterfinals of the MW tournament before losing in the semifinals to San Diego State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Texas and Cincinnati to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Loyola–Chicago.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Hallice Cooke 13 G 6'3" 190 Senior (redshirt) Union City, NJ Graduated
Elijah Foster 12 F 6'7" 240 Senior Seattle, WA Graduated
Josh Hall 33 G/F 6'6" 190 Sophomore Detroit, MI Transferred to Missouri State
John Jones 3 G 6'0" 165 Freshman Baton Rouge, LA Left program after his father was named the new head coach at Texas Southern.
Kendall Stephens 21 G 6'7" 205 Senior (redshirt) St. Charles, IL Graduated
Charlie Tooley 1 G 6'0" 190 Sophomore Granite Bay, CA Transferred to Cal State Monterey Bay
Darien Williams 4 C 6'8" 235 Senior San Francisco, CA Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Jalen Harris 1 G 6'4" 195 Junior Dallas, TX Transferred from Louisiana Tech. Will sit out the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules and will then have two seasons of eligibility.
Trey Porter 15 F 6'11" 230 GS Woodbridge, VA Graduate transferred from Old Dominion. Immediately eligible for the 2018–19 season only.
Josiah Wood 4 G 6'5" 200 Senior Reno, NV Transferred from Alaska–Anchorage. Will sit out the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules and will then have one season of eligibility.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jordan Brown
#5 C 		Roseville, CA Prolific Prep 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) May 11, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 89
K.J. Hymes
PF 		Phoenix, AZ Saint Mary's High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Sep 13, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 78
Vincent Lee
PF 		Midlothian, TX Midlothian High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Oct 22, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: –   Rivals: –
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dischon Thomas
PF 		Phoenix, AZ Hillcrest Hoops 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Nov 14, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: –   Rivals: –
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

According to ESPN journalist Jeff Borzello, this season's Wolf Pack team "has high-level talent throughout its roster", later adding, "There might not be a team in the country with more college-proven depth than Nevada." The team returns three players who earned all-conference recognition last season—first-team members Jordan Caroline and Caleb Martin and second-team member Cody Martin, with Caleb Martin also having been named Player of the Year by MW coaches.[3][4] Additionally, six transfers who averaged at least 13 points per game in their immediately previous seasons of college play will become eligible this season.[5]

At the conference's media days in Las Vegas, Caroline and the Martin twins were named as preseason first-team all-conference picks for 2018–19, with Caleb Martin picked as the preseason Player of the Year. Jordan Brown, who headed the Pack's 2018 recruiting class, was named preseason Freshman of the Year.[6] The Pack were also the overwhelming choice for the MW regular-season title, receiving all but one of the possible first-place votes.[7]

Roster

2018–19 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Tre'Shawn Thurman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Omaha Central HS
Omaha 		Omaha, NE
G 1 Jalen Harris (I) Current redshirt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Duncanville HS
Louisiana Tech 		Dallas, TX
G 2 Corey Henson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr DeMatha Catholic HS
Wagner 		Upper Marlboro, MD
G 4 Josiah Wood (I, W) Current redshirt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Galena HS
Alaska–Anchorage 		Reno, NV
G 5 Nisre Zouzoua 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Boston Trinity Academy
Bryant 		Brockton, MA
F 10 Caleb Martin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Oak Hill Academy
NC State 		Mocksville, NC
G/F 11 Cody Martin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Oak Hill Academy
NC State 		Mocksville, NC
G 12 Isaiah Rhymes (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Carl Hayden HS Phoenix, AZ
G 14 Lindsey Drew 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Fairfax HS Encino, CA
F 15 Trey Porter 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Potomac HS
George Mason
Old Dominion 		Woodbridge, VA
G 20 David Cunningham (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Bella Vista HS Sacramento, CA
F 21 Jordan Brown 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Prolific Prep Roseville, CA
G 22 Jazz Johnson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Lake Oswego HS
Portland 		Lake Oswego, OR
G/F 23 Jalen Townsell (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Fr Spanish Springs HS Sparks, NV
F 24 Jordan Caroline 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Montverde Academy
Southern Illinois 		Champaign, IL
F 40 Vincent Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Midlothian HS Midlothian, TX
F 45 K .J. Hymes 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Hillcrest Prep Phoenix, AZ
G/F 54 Zach Wurm (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Sr Bishop Manogue HS
Menlo College 		Reno, NV
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: July 29, 2018

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
October 21, 2018*
3:00 pm 		Washington
Wildfire Charity 		L 73–91 
Lawlor Events Center (4,069)
Reno, NV
October 26, 2018*
7:00 pm 		No. 7 San Francisco State W 85–60 
Virginia Street Gym (1,588)
Reno, NV
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018*
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 7 BYU W 86–70  1–0
 Lawlor Events Center (11,094)
Reno, NV
November 9, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		No. 7 Pacific W 83–61  2–0
 Lawlor Events Center (10,561)
Reno, NV
November 16, 2018*
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 6 Little Rock
Las Vegas Holiday Invitational 		W 87–59  3–0
 Lawlor Events Center (10,273)
Reno, NV
November 19, 2018*
7:00 pm, Stadium 		No. 6 California Baptist
Las Vegas Holiday Invitational 		W 90–55  4–0
 Lawlor Events Center (9,395)
Reno, NV
November 22, 2018*
1:00 pm, FS1 		No. 6 vs. Tulsa
Las Vegas Holiday Invitational semifinals 		W 96–86  5–0
 Orleans Arena 
Paradise, NV
November 23, 2018*
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 6 vs. UMass
Las Vegas Holiday Invitational final 		W 110–87  6–0
 Orleans Arena 
Paradise, NV
November 27, 2018*
5:00 pm, ESPNews 		No. 5 at Loyola–Chicago
MW–MVC Challenge 		W 79–65  7–0
 Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,963)
Chicago, IL
December 1, 2018*
1:30 pm, FOX 		No. 5 at USC W 73–61  8–0
 Galen Center (5,844)
Los Angeles, CA
December 7, 2018*
9:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 6 vs. No. 20 Arizona State
Basketball Hall of Fame Classic 		W 72–66  9–0
 Staples Center (7,235)
Los Angeles, CA
December 9, 2018*
2:30 pm, ESPNU 		No. 6 vs. Grand Canyon
Jerry Colangelo Classic 		W 74–66  10–0
 Talking Stick Resort Arena (10,172)
Phoenix, AZ
December 15, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		No. 7 South Dakota State W 72–68  11–0
 Lawlor Events Center (11,257)
Reno, NV
December 22, 2018*
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		No. 6 Akron W 68–62  12–0
 Lawlor Events Center (10,825)
Reno, NV
December 29, 2018*
11:00 am, P12N 		No. 6 at Utah W 86–71  13–0
 Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,835)
Salt Lake City, UT
Mountain West regular season
January 2, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 6 Utah State W 72–49  14–0
(1–0) 		Lawlor Events Center (11,224)
Reno, NV
January 5, 2019
5:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 6 at New Mexico L 58–85  14–1
(1–1) 		Dreamstyle Arena (12,702)
Albuquerque, NM
January 9, 2019
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 10 San Jose State W 92–53  15–1
(2–1) 		Lawlor Events Center (10,432)
Reno, NV
January 12, 2019
5:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 10 at Fresno State W 74–64  16–1
(3–1) 		Save Mart Center (9,586)
Fresno, CA
January 15, 2019
6:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 10 at Boise State W 72–71  17–1
(4–1) 		Taco Bell Arena (8,022)
Boise, ID
January 19, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 10 Air Force W 67–52  18–1
(5–1) 		Lawlor Events Center (11,222)
Reno, NV
January 23, 2019
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 7 Colorado State W 100–60  19–1
(6–1) 		Lawlor Events Center (10,931)
Reno, NV
January 29, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 8 at UNLV W 87–70  20–1
(7–1) 		Thomas & Mack Center (15,786)
Paradise, NV
February 2, 2019
3:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 8 Boise State W 93–73  21–1
(8–1) 		Lawlor Events Center (11,207)
Reno, NV
February 6, 2019
7:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 6 at Colorado State W 98–82  22–1
(9–1) 		Moby Arena (3,765)
Fort Collins, CO
February 9, 2019
3:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 6 New Mexico W 91–62  23–1
(10–1) 		Lawlor Events Center (11,197)
Reno, NV
February 16, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 7 at Wyoming W 82–49  24–1
(11–1) 		Arena-Auditorium (5,287)
Laramie, WY
February 20, 2019
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 6 at San Diego State L 57–65  24–2
(11–2) 		Viejas Arena (12,414)
San Diego, CA
February 23, 2019
5:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 6 Fresno State W 74–68  25–2
(12–2) 		Lawlor Events Center (11,019)
Reno, NV
February 27, 2019
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 12 UNLV W 89–73  26–2
(13–2) 		Lawlor Events Center (11,289)
Reno, NV
March 2, 2019
5:30 pm, CBSSN 		No. 12 at Utah State L 76–81  26–3
(13–3) 		Smith Spectrum (10,387)
Logan, UT
March 6, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 17 at Air Force W 90–79  27–3
(14–3) 		Clune Arena (3,852)
Colorado Springs, CO
March 9, 2019
7:30 pm, CBSSN 		No. 17 San Diego State W 81–53  28–3
(15–3) 		Lawlor Events Center (11,243)
Reno, NV
Mountain West tournament
March 14, 2019
12:00 pm, CBSSN 		(1) No. 14 vs. (8) Boise State
Quarterfinals 		W 77–69  29–3
 Thomas & Mack Center (7,518)
Paradise, NV
March 15, 2019
6:00 pm, CBSSN 		(1) No. 14 vs. (4) San Diego State
Semifinals 		L 56–65  29–4
 Thomas & Mack Center (8,764)
Paradise, NV
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2019*
3:50 pm, TNT 		(7 W) No. 20 vs. (10 W) Florida
First Round 		L 61–70  29–5
 Wells Fargo Arena (16,360)
Des Moines, IA
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West Source[8].
All times are in Pacific Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP76656766610107867612171420Not released
Coaches99^76676651110776661318172023

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

References

  1. ^ "Arkansas hires Nevada's Musselman as coach". April 7, 2019.
  2. ^ "Ex-UCLA coach Alford hired to lead Nevada". April 12, 2019.
  3. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2017-18 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 6, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "Mountain West Men's Basketball All-Conference Media Awards" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 4, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  5. ^ Borzello, Jeff (October 19, 2018). "KU, UK top college basketball preseason power rankings". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  6. ^ "2018-19 Mountain West Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "Nevada Predicted to Win the 2018-19 Mountain West Men's Basketball Regular-Season Title" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "2018-19 Men's Basketball Schedule".
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