The birth of a champion: Pack claims NCAA Tournament berth

Sports – The Nevada Sagebrush The Nevada Wolf Pack won this past week’s Mountain West Conference Tournament, clinching their first NCAA Tournament berth in a decade. The Wolf Pack won three games in three days, defeating conference foes Utah State, Fresno State and Colorado State to secure their automatic bid for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Below is a look at how the Wolf Pack punched their ticket to the Big Dance.

One down
The Wolf Pack opened Mountain West Conference Tournament play against an opponent who had previously defeated them in their initial matchup in Utah State. The Wolf Pack, winner of six straight games heading into the tournament, dominated in this wire-to-wire victory.
Led by the dynamic duo of Cameron Oliver and Jordan Caroline, the Wolf Pack dominated the defensive glass and interior scoring. Nevada outrebounded Utah State 38-29 and outscored the Aggies by 18 points in the paint.
“That was one of our emphases going into the game, was to win the rebounding battle,” Caroline said. “We took it upon ourselves to go out and get those rebounds and take care of business.”
The Aggies were no match for the physical play of both Oliver and Marshall as they accounted for a combined 41 points and 19 rebounds. Marcus Marshall helped chip in 14 points of his own on 5-of-11 shooting as the Wolf Pack advances to the semifinals of the tournament.
“This is crunch time,” Oliver said. “Anything can happen in the tournaments. The eight seed vs. one seed—that’s tough. Anything can happen. Coming out aggressive and really keying in for everything is going to help us win.”

Extra Credit
The Fresno State Bulldogs are the only team in the Mountain West to best the Wolf Pack in both conference meetings, winning both games by a combined margin of six points. The Bulldogs are a lengthy and physical team that thrives on imposing ...


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