Fresno State's Smith to get 2nd shot at Nevada

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Fresno State's Greg Smith might be licking his Bulldog chops at another shot at the Nevada basketball team.

When Fresno State and Nevada met last month, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound freshman had the game of his young career.

He set career highs in points (25), rebounds (11), assists (five), free-throw makes (nine) and attempts (15) and even tossed in a career-high seven turnovers for good measure.

"That particular game, he had a special night," Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland said.

The Wolf Pack hopes some of that magic has worn off when Nevada hosts Fresno State at 7:05 p.m. tonight in a KAME-televised game.

In the first matchup -- a surprising 87-77 Fresno State victory -- Smith made up for the absence of injured All-WAC wing player Paul George by tearing through the Wolf Pack interior defense and pinning fouls on most of Nevada's frontline.

Wolf Pack coach David Carter said he anticipates Fresno State will pound the post again tonight with Smith and Sylvester Seay, even with George back in the fold.

Carter said keeping Dario Hunt out of foul trouble -- the Pack's top interior defender was limited to 19 minutes in the first game -- will be the key in slowing down Smith and Seay.

"He has to play smart and he has to play defense before the catch," Carter said of Hunt. "Sometimes Dario waits until the guy catches the ball and then he plays defense. That's something that he's been working on and he has to stay out of foul trouble for us to be successful."

Despite having dangerous scorers in Smith, Seay and George (who are averaging a combined 45 points per game), Fresno State ranks last in the WAC in scoring, eighth in field-goal percentage and last in free-throw shooting.

The team also has won only one of its past 20 WAC road games, although the victory did come in its last road outing -- a 61-51 victory at Hawaii.

Cleveland said his young team -- Fresno State starts only one upperclassman -- is still in search of consistency.

"I just think we have to show a lot more maturity as a team," Cleveland said. "Right now, that's maybe my greatest frustration as a coach. No matter what, let's not beat ourselves, but we just tend to have lapses."

None of those lapses, however, came in the first matchup between these teams as the Bulldogs shot 59.3 percent from the field (the Wolf Pack's second-worst defensive effort of the season).

Luke Babbitt, who was an AAU teammate of Smith's as a high schooler, said he expects a totally different game tonight.

"We're a different team on our home court and they're a little different team on the road, so combine that with Paul George coming back and it probably won't look at all like what it looked like in Fresno," Babbitt said.

A win tonight also could nearly solidify a top-four seed for Nevada (15-9 overall, 7-4 WAC) in the upcoming WAC Tournament. Fresno State (13-13, 6-6) is one spot behind the fourth-place Wolf Pack in the WAC standings.

But a little revenge could be on the forefront of Nevada's mind when the game begins.

"They came out and hit us in the mouth last game, so we have to bounce back and show that we have toughness and try to beat them at our house," Nevada's Joey Shaw said.

 

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Nevada hosts Fresno State on Wednesday night. Here is a quick breakdown of the Bulldogs.

Fresno State

Record: 13-13 overall, 6-6 in WAC

Coach: Steve Cleveland, 214-184 overall, 76-76 at Fresno State

Best win: Beat Nevada, 87-77, in Fresno

Worst loss: Lost at Santa Clara, 74-67

RPI/SOS: 186/148

Key players: SF Paul George (17.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.4 spg), PF Sylvester Seay (15.3 ppg, six rpg), C Greg Smith (12.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.3 bpg), SG Mike Ladd (10.1 ppg, 41.1 3PT%)

Interesting story line: Fresno State had lost 19 straight WAC road games before picking up a 61-51 win over Hawaii in its last road contest. Time for a road winning streak?

Strengths: The Bulldogs have the league's best frontcourt with Paul George, Sylvester Seay and Greg Smith. Each player brings something different to the fold. George can slash and shoot the three, Seay can also stretch the floor and score in the paint and Smith is the bulldog of the group, with a strong body and good hands. The team also uses pretty good ball movement and does a nice job of creating steals and blocking some shots on the defensive end.

Weaknesses: The team is as thin as Nevada and has had some problems generating offense. Fresno State is eighth in the league in field-goal percentage (44.7) and last in free-throw percentage (66.6). The Bulldogs also are last in the league in 3-point percentage defense (at 36.9 percent) and eighth in rebounding margin (at minus-1.3 per game).

Key matchup: Greg Smith vs. Nevada front line: The Bulldogs' super freshman tallied 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists against Nevada last month, also tossing in seven turnovers for good measure. Those were all career highs. The Wolf Pack will have to do a better job defending him on Wednesday night.

Coach Steve Cleveland on Fresno State's first win over Nevada: ?That?s probably as well as we?ve played all year. We shot 59 percent from the floor and I don?t think we?ve been remotely close to that in any other conference games. For some reason, that particular night, everything seemed to click and I don?t think it was a case of Nevada playing poorly. I think they did a lot of good things in that game, but we made baskets and it was just one of those nights where everything was clicking. That?s going to be hard to duplicate in that building. We know that Nevada is obviously the best offensive team in our league. So even if you do a good job defensively, you still have to score. That certainly for us has been a challenge on the road. We know we have our work cut out for us. It was certainly a good win at home, but to duplicate it here we?re going to have to take good shots and shoot a high percentage and make sure that in transition, we keep Armon (Johnson) and others in front of us. They just have a lot of different ways that they can beat you offensively and they play a lot better at home.?

Cleveland on his team finding more consistency, especially on the road: ?I think it?s a situation where young teams have to learn how to win on the road. A year from now we may be talking about how we won four or five on the road. I?ve been through this. I remember at BYU we couldn?t win a road game and then all of a sudden everybody became juniors and seniors and it was amazing. I became a better coach and the guys became better players. A lot of it has to do with going through a certain process. In our league, there?s great parity. There aren?t any teams that aren?t competitive, no matter what their record is, the parity in our league is obvious. Boise State, which is toward the bottom of our conference, goes overtime at Nevada. We all know that Boise State is a solid basketball team. It?s just kind of an indication. Idaho, who has lost a lot of close games, comes into our place and beats us. You can almost throw records out right now. Maybe Utah State is the one exception. At home and on the road, they seem to take care of business. But you look at what that team has as far as age and maturity ? I used to coach young men like that (at BYU) ? and there?s a difference in their maturity and their focus than the rest of the league. I?m just going to tell you that right now. They have talented players just like everybody else, but they?ve separated themselves as a result of that experience factor and that maturity and I think a lot of teams in our league are inconsistent because they lack that."

 

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Injury updates on Wolf Pack's Fields, Olson



The Nevada basketball team has avoided the injury bug for the most part this season, but the Wolf Pack has two dinged up players right now. The first is Keith Olson, who injured his knee in practice before the Utah State game. The 6-foot-9 center has missed the team's past three games and isn't expected to play Wednesday against Fresno State.

?He?s coming back slowly. He won?t be able to play tomorrow night, though," Wolf Pack coach David Carter said Tuesday. "We?re hoping he'll be back this weekend at Missouri (State) or next weekend at San Jose State or Hawaii.?

The second player is Brandon Fields, who tweaked his ankle a couple of games back and has felt the affects in the stat column. Fields is averaging only seven points and 1.3 assists per game over the past three games, which is well below his season averages of 14 points and 2.3 assists per game.

?I think it has affected him a lot," Carter said. "He tweaked his ankle and Brandon is a very athletic player. Now, he?s settling for jump shots, so he?s not slashing and getting to the free-throw, so it?s affecting his play. He may not admit it, but it has (affected him) because he hasn?t been able to get out on the break and finish around the rim, so the sooner he gets better, the better for our team.?

Fields has been to the free-throw line only once in the past three games after averaging more than four attempts per game in the previous 21 contests. The senior has made only 8-of-30 shots, including 5-of-17 from 3-point range. While trying not to make any excuses, Fields said the injury has dampened his productivity.

?It?s affected me a lot, I think," Fields said. "I?m concentrating on not coming down on it too hard. I?ve had some days off and I?m not 100 percent, but it?s feeling better than it did. I just have to stay attached mentally. I still should make my jump shots even though my ankle is messed up. But it will come.?

 

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'Dogs men's basketball seeks balance


Defense, offense must click on road to knock off Nevada.


Slowing down the Western Athletic Conference's highest-scoring team is just half the challenge.

To have any chance of knocking off Nevada tonight at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, the Fresno State men's basketball team must produce more than its usual bushel of points.

It's a tricky balance, but one the Bulldogs pulled off Jan. 23 when they knocked off Nevada 87-77 at the Save Mart Center -- without the services of leading scorer Paul George.

But doing it on the road ... well, that's other matter.

Nevada (15-9 overall, 7-4 WAC) averages 80.0 points per game, which leads the conference. Fresno State (13-13, 6-6) averages 67.8 points to occupy the other end of the spectrum.

"We know that Nevada is obviously the best offensive team in our league," Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland said. "We could guard them well and still not score enough points. That certainly, for us, has been a challenge on the road."

No question.

In their last three road games, the Bulldogs produced 61, 59 and 49 points.

But Fresno State didn't have George in any of those games due to a sprained ankle.

With George healthy, the Bulldogs totaled 73 points on the road against Louisiana Tech and 77 against New Mexico State.

Will a mid-70s point total be enough to beat Nevada? Seems unlikely, considering the Wolf Pack is 11-1 at home this season, 30-5 in its last 35 WAC games and 97-18 overall since 2003-04.

Except Fresno State has a couple of factors in its favor.

For one, the Bulldogs are relatively healthy. George will be in there tonight, and Greg Smith gutted out 33 minutes in Saturday's loss to Idaho after spraining his right shoulder during Thursday's victory over New Mexico State.

Cleveland said he pulled Smith early from a spirited practice Monday because he didn't want to expose the big man to further injury.

"He's hurting," Cleveland said. "Hopefully by the time the adrenaline starts he won't feel anything."

Smith's health is critical because the 6-foot-10 freshman produced career highs of 25 points, 11 rebounds, five assists (and seven turnovers) last time out against Nevada.

The Bulldogs also have a conference road winning streak to protect. OK, maybe one in a row isn't really a streak, but it sure beats the 19 straight WAC road losses that preceded it.

Another key will be the play of Nevada's Armon Johnson, the WAC player of the week. Johnson totaled just 13 points in the first meeting against Fresno State before erupting last week for 47 total points in the Wolf Pack's two wins against Idaho and Boise State.

Johnson and sophomore forward Luke Babbitt combine to average 38.1 points per game, making them the WAC's second-highest scoring duo.

"We have to guard," Cleveland said. "The moment someone doesn't do the right thing defensively, I'm going to pull him from the game. Simple as that."