The Wolf Pack basketball players will feel like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians when they play Fresno State tonight.
Like in the famed book "Gulliver's Travels" -- when Gulliver washed upon a shore that was the home of little people known as the Lilliputians -- the Wolf Pack will have a noticeable size advantage when it hosts the Bulldogs at 7:05 p.m.
In fact, Nevada will have a big physical edge at almost every position. The average Wolf Pack starter checks in at 6-foot-6 and 218 pounds. For Fresno, it's 6-3 and 187.
"They're very small," Wolf Pack coach David Carter said in a clear understatement.
First-year Fresno State coach Rodney Terry was dealt a team thin in the frontcourt when he took over the program in April. After trying to play a more traditional lineup early in the season, Terry has scrapped that idea.
Now, the Bulldogs are trotting out what amounts to a five-guard lineup. The biggest starter on the team is 6-foot-7, 210-pound Jerry Brown, who is listed as a forward but is more akin to a shooting guard.
Lacking in size, Fresno State tries to make up for it with speed and the shooting prowess of 6-1 guard Kevin Olekaibe, who is averaging 18.4 points per game and triggering 8.4 3-pointers per contest.
"They're playing basically with five guards," Carter said. "They have a lot of quickness. They're playing more up-tempo now to give them a chance to win. They have very good ball pressure. Their leading scorer (Olekaibe) is capable of getting 30 or 40, so we're going to have to guard the perimeter and get back in transition. They're obviously smaller and quicker than we'll be. The key to the game is transition and rebounding."
While the Wolf Pack hasn't faced much full-court pressure this season, Fresno State is expected to attack Deonte Burton and Malik Story to create turnovers. Fresno State ranks second in the WAC in steals per game (7.1) and turnovers forced per contest (14.3).
"It's always a hassle, but it's nothing I can't handle," Burton said of full-court pressure. "We full-court press each other all day in practice to start off. Me and Malik will be back there, and that will help me relieve some of that pressure. I think we'll be good with it."
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Story said he was looking forward to the fast-paced game Fresno State likes to play. He said the Wolf Pack should have a nice advantage inside with forwards Dario Hunt and Olek Czyz.
"I like up-tempo games," Story said. "I feel like we play better when it's up-tempo. We don't have to run as many plays. We can get easy layups. If we get shots to the basket, Dario and Olek can both get some offensive rebounds. I think it should be real good."
Fresno State's size limitations have hindered the Bulldogs in a few areas. They rank last in the WAC in field-goal defense (45.8 percent), last in 3-point defense (37.7), last in points scored per game (66.4) and second to last in rebounding margin (minus-2.8).
Carter said he'd like to exploit the Wolf Pack's size advantage by pumping the ball through the frontcourt tandem of Hunt and Czyz.
"You have to go inside-out, but you have to be careful," Carter said. "They're going to double-team the post. They have really good quickness. We have to limit our turnovers. We can't panic when they double. We'd like to play inside-out if we can, but at the same time we have to be aggressive on the perimeter, as well."
With losses by Baylor and New Mexico earlier this week, the Wolf Pack (15-3, 4-0 WAC) now has the third-longest winning streak (12 games) in the nation behind Syracuse (20) and Murray State (19).
While a big game against New Mexico State looms on the other side of tonight's contest, the Wolf Pack said it won't overlook Fresno State (9-11, 1-3).
"They're a scary team because they have a player (Olekaibe) who averages 19, and he has the green light to do whatever he wants," Story said. "He can get hot. As a team, they're small and scrappy. They can pressure us and try to get turnovers and steals, and you never know how the game's going to go. As long as we control the ball, control turnovers, control the glass, we're bigger at every position. If we do that, we should be able to handle them."
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