# Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball

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

* Year founded: 1913
* Location: Reno, Nevada
* School Colors: Navy and Silver
* School Founded: October 12, 1874
* Nickname: Wolf Pack
* Conference: Mountain West Conference
* Arena: Lawlor Events Center (11,536)
* Head Coach: Steve Alford

## Conference affiliations

* No affiliation (1913, 1921–1924, 1940–1953)
* Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) (1914–1920)
* Far Western Conference (FWC) (1925–1939, 1954–1969)
* West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) (1970–1979)
* Big Sky Conference (BSC) (1980–1992)
* Big West Conference (BWC) (1993–2000)
* Western Athletic Conference (WAC) (2001–2011)
* Mountain West Conference (MWC) (2012–present)

## 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: 6–11
* 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
** No. 5 (Coaches Poll), December 31, 2018
** No. 5 (Associated Press Poll), November 26, 2018

### 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, 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
* 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.
* 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.

### 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 77–71$^{OT}$ 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 87–83$^{OT}$ 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 85–82$^{OT}$ |

## Player honors
### 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 | |
| 32 | Edgar Jones | 1975–1979 | 1979 | |

### Conference player of the year

* Kevin Soares, 1992 (Big Sky)
* Kirk Snyder, 2004 (WAC)
* Nick Fazekas, 2005, 2006, 2007 (WAC)
* Luke Babbitt, 2010 (WAC)
* Deonte Burton, 2012 (WAC)
* Caleb Martin, 2018 (Mountain West)

### NBA players

* Luke Babbitt
* Nick Fazekas
* Jalen Harris
* Johnny High
* Edgar Jones
* Armon Johnson
* Caleb Martin
* Cody Martin
* JaVale McGee
* Cameron Oliver
* Kevinn Pinkney
* Ramon Sessions
* Kirk Snyder
* David Wood

### International players

* Dario Hunt (born 1989), basketball player for Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Grant Sherfield (born 1999), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League