Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball

Nevada Wolf Pack
2024–25 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Nevada, Reno
Head coachSteve Alford (6th season)
ConferenceMountain West
LocationReno, Nevada
ArenaLawlor Events Center
(capacity: 11,784)
NicknameWolf Pack
ColorsNavy blue and silver[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
Alternate jersey
Team colours
Alternate
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

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.

Background information

Conference affiliations

Team history

  • 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]

Regular Season Conference Championships (23)

  • 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)

  • BSC: (2) – 1984, 1985
  • WAC: (2) – 2004, 2006
  • MWC: (1) – 2017

Venue history

  • 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

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

NCAA Division I tournament results

The 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

The 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

The 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

The 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

The 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

Retired numbers

Main article: List of NCAA men's basketball retired numbers

The 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

NBA players

International players

References

  1. ^ "Visual Identity – The Block N Logo". Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "2021–22 Nevada Basketball Record Book" (PDF). University of Nevada. 2021. p. 18. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  3. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2017 MW Men's Basketball Championship". Archived from the original on 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  4. ^ "Campus Images: Cadet Battalion". University of Nevada, Reno. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  5. ^ Buell, Amanda. "Virginia Street Gymnasium". Reno Historical. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Historic $1 Billion Private Capital Investment Announced for the Grand Sierra Resort" (Press release). Nevada Wolf Pack. September 27, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  8. ^ Murray, Chris (February 13, 2019). "Nevada basketball to retire number of former star Nick Fazekas". nevadasportsnet.com. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  9. ^ Jones bio at Wolfpack site