For the first time since the Wolf Pack joined the WAC more than a decade ago, the team will play a non-BracketBuster out-of-conference game in the middle of its WAC season.
The Wolf Pack, winners of 11 straight games, is off to a 4-0 start in WAC play. But at 7 p.m. today, it steps out of league play to host Nebraska-Omaha, a program making the transition to the Division I ranks.
The rare nonconference game in the middle of the WAC season was born out of Boise State's departure from the conference this season, which has left two blank spots in the Wolf Pack's WAC slate.
Coach David Carter could have left those spots empty and taken the extra rest, but he opted instead to schedule Nebraska-Omaha tonight and Cal-State Bakersfield later in the season.
So, what does Carter think of playing nonconference games during the season?
"I'll let you know after Tuesday," Carter joked. "I didn't really want to, but there were two less games this year with Boise leaving the conference. We could have played these games in December or November, but we choose to do them now. It's new for us. We'll see how we handle it."
In addition to searching for a win over Nebraska-Omaha (7-12), the Wolf Pack also is trying to get healthy. Notably, starting forward Dario Hunt has been plagued by a bruised left shoulder the past week that has limited his ability to score.
Carter said he'd like to limit Hunt's minutes and get his bench opportunities against the Mavericks, but that hinges on Nevada's ability to play well against a Nebraska-Omaha team that is 1-10 against D-I foes this season.
"It depends on the score. You still play to win," Carter said. "You hope to play a lot of guys, and hopefully, get some guys some rest, but it depends on the score and depends on the flow of the game. You look at the game and say, 'I'd like to get some guys some rest,' but you just never know."
No comments:
Post a Comment