Wolf Pack would howl if they miss bid

RENO, Nev. – For Nevada, it was supposed to be a three-day celebration – a hometown coronation of sorts for perhaps the best team in school history trying to duplicate last year’s waltz to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen.

But now, the 24th-ranked Wolf Pack (24-6) are watching the rest of the Western Athletic Conference tourney from the stands and waiting until Sunday with other teams across the country to find out if they’ve earned an at-large bid to the “Big Dance.”

“We put ourselves in this position. We’ve got to deal with it,” Nevada coach Mark Fox said.

“It’s just easier to be the better team over three days than it is over two months. … If we haven’t done enough to get in that tournament, it’s going to make the next several months every difficult.”

Nevada saw its shot at an automatic bid disappear Thursday night when eighth-seeded Boise State nailed 9 of 20 3-pointers and made the most of a big bounce in the final 1.8 seconds to snap the Wolf Pack’s 10-game winning streak and force their abrupt exit from the conference tourney.

That the 73-72 loss came down to Jermaine Blackburn’s game-winner off a missed a free throw was the result of a break down in what has been the best defensive team in the conference all season, allowing just 61 points per game. Nevada is 1-5 in games in which its opponents score 70 points or more.

“I did a horrible job coaching this team. We got comfortable. Our defense was horrible,” Fox said.

“We were terrible in transition and then we were a step behind trying to find who we were guarding and the 3-point shots went down.”

Boise State coach Greg Graham had mostly been kidding when he suggested Nevada’s Lawlor Events Center was probably the best place to face the Wolf Pack, who went a perfect 9-0 in WAC road games this year.

“Maybe we’re all lucky the tournament is here,” Graham said earlier this week. “They’re undefeated on the road. The only place they lost was here.”

Nevada had won 20 of its last 22 overall, the last defeat at the hands of Fresno State in Reno on Jan. 29, after earlier home losses to No. 18 Pacific and UTEP.

Graham said it “would be ridiculous” if the loss cost Nevada a spot in the NCAA Tournament but could affect its seed.

“It might drop them from an eight to 10, 10 to 12 or whatever. They’re a very good team. They’ve had a great year,” Graham said.

Nevada defeated Gonzaga 91-72 in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.