# 2018–19 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolf Pack, led by fourth-year head coach Eric Musselman, played their home games at the Lawlor Events Center on their campus in Reno, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference (MW). They finished the season 29–5, 15–3 in Mountain West play to share the regular season Mountain West championship with Utah State. They defeated Boise State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament before losing in the semifinals to San Diego State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Florida.
On April 7, head coach Eric Musselman resigned to become the head coach at Arkansas. He finished at Nevada with a four-year record of 110–34, three trips to the NCAA Tournament, and were champions of the 2016 College Basketball Invitational.
On April 11, Nevada hired Steve Alford as their next head coach.

## Previous season

The Wolf Pack finished the season 29–8 overall and 15–3 in conference play to win the MW regular season championship. They defeated UNLV in the quarterfinals of the MW tournament before losing in the semifinals to San Diego State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Texas and Cincinnati to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Loyola–Chicago.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Hallice Cooke | 13 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior (redshirt) | Union City, NJ | Graduated |
| Elijah Foster | 12 | F | 6'7" | 240 | Senior | Seattle, WA | Graduated |
| Josh Hall | 33 | G/F | 6'6" | 190 | Sophomore | Detroit, MI | Transferred to Missouri State |
| John Jones | 3 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Freshman | Baton Rouge, LA | Left program after his father was named the new head coach at Texas Southern. |
| Kendall Stephens | 21 | G | 6'7" | 205 | Senior (redshirt) | St. Charles, IL | Graduated |
| Charlie Tooley | 1 | G | 6'0" | 190 | Sophomore | Granite Bay, CA | Transferred to Cal State Monterey Bay |
| Darien Williams | 4 | C | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | San Francisco, CA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Jalen Harris | 1 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Junior | Dallas, TX | Transferred from Louisiana Tech. Will sit out the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules and will then have two seasons of eligibility. |
| Trey Porter | 15 | F | 6'11" | 230 | GS | Woodbridge, VA | Graduate transferred from Old Dominion. Immediately eligible for the 2018–19 season only. |
| Josiah Wood | 4 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Senior | Reno, NV | Transferred from Alaska–Anchorage. Will sit out the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules and will then have one season of eligibility. |

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jordan Brown #5 C | Roseville, CA | Prolific Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | May 11, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| K.J. Hymes PF | Phoenix, AZ | Saint Mary's High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 193 lb (88 kg) | Sep 13, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Vincent Lee PF | Midlothian, TX | Midlothian High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Oct 22, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2019) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Dischon Thomas PF | Phoenix, AZ | Hillcrest Hoops | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 14, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Preseason

According to ESPN journalist Jeff Borzello, this season's Wolf Pack team "has high-level talent throughout its roster", later adding, "There might not be a team in the country with more college-proven depth than Nevada." The team returns three players who earned all-conference recognition last season—first-team members Jordan Caroline and Caleb Martin and second-team member Cody Martin, with Caleb Martin also having been named Player of the Year by MW coaches. Additionally, six transfers who averaged at least 13 points per game in their immediately previous seasons of college play will become eligible this season.
At the conference's media days in Las Vegas, Caroline and the Martin twins were named as preseason first-team all-conference picks for 2018–19, with Caleb Martin picked as the preseason Player of the Year. Jordan Brown, who headed the Pack's 2018 recruiting class, was named preseason Freshman of the Year. The Pack were also the overwhelming choice for the MW regular-season title, receiving all but one of the possible first-place votes.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 21, 2018* 3:00 pm | | Washington Wildfire Charity | L 73–91 | | Lawlor Events Center (4,069) Reno, NV |
| October 26, 2018* 7:00 pm | No. 7 | San Francisco State | W 85–60 | | Virginia Street Gym (1,588) Reno, NV |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2018* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 7 | BYU | W 86–70 | 1–0 | Lawlor Events Center (11,094) Reno, NV |
| November 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 7 | Pacific | W 83–61 | 2–0 | Lawlor Events Center (10,561) Reno, NV |
| November 16, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 6 | Little Rock Las Vegas Holiday Invitational | W 87–59 | 3–0 | Lawlor Events Center (10,273) Reno, NV |
| November 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, Stadium | No. 6 | California Baptist Las Vegas Holiday Invitational | W 90–55 | 4–0 | Lawlor Events Center (9,395) Reno, NV |
| November 22, 2018* 1:00 pm, FS1 | No. 6 | vs. Tulsa Las Vegas Holiday Invitational semifinals | W 96–86 | 5–0 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| November 23, 2018* 7:00 pm, FS1 | No. 6 | vs. UMass Las Vegas Holiday Invitational final | W 110–87 | 6–0 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| November 27, 2018* 5:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 5 | at Loyola–Chicago MW–MVC Challenge | W 79–65 | 7–0 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,963) Chicago, IL |
| December 1, 2018* 1:30 pm, FOX | No. 5 | at USC | W 73–61 | 8–0 | Galen Center (5,844) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 7, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | vs. No. 20 Arizona State Basketball Hall of Fame Classic | W 72–66 | 9–0 | Staples Center (7,235) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 9, 2018* 2:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 6 | vs. Grand Canyon Jerry Colangelo Classic | W 74–66 | 10–0 | Talking Stick Resort Arena (10,172) Phoenix, AZ |
| December 15, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 7 | South Dakota State | W 72–68 | 11–0 | Lawlor Events Center (11,257) Reno, NV |
| December 22, 2018* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 6 | Akron | W 68–62 | 12–0 | Lawlor Events Center (10,825) Reno, NV |
| December 29, 2018* 11:00 am, P12N | No. 6 | at Utah | W 86–71 | 13–0 | Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,835) Salt Lake City, UT |
| Mountain West regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 6 | Utah State | W 72–49 | 14–0 (1–0) | Lawlor Events Center (11,224) Reno, NV |
| January 5, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 6 | at New Mexico | L 58–85 | 14–1 (1–1) | Dreamstyle Arena (12,702) Albuquerque, NM |
| January 9, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 10 | San Jose State | W 92–53 | 15–1 (2–1) | Lawlor Events Center (10,432) Reno, NV |
| January 12, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | at Fresno State | W 74–64 | 16–1 (3–1) | Save Mart Center (9,586) Fresno, CA |
| January 15, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 10 | at Boise State | W 72–71 | 17–1 (4–1) | Taco Bell Arena (8,022) Boise, ID |
| January 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | Air Force | W 67–52 | 18–1 (5–1) | Lawlor Events Center (11,222) Reno, NV |
| January 23, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 7 | Colorado State | W 100–60 | 19–1 (6–1) | Lawlor Events Center (10,931) Reno, NV |
| January 29, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | at UNLV | W 87–70 | 20–1 (7–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (15,786) Paradise, NV |
| February 2, 2019 3:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 8 | Boise State | W 93–73 | 21–1 (8–1) | Lawlor Events Center (11,207) Reno, NV |
| February 6, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 6 | at Colorado State | W 98–82 | 22–1 (9–1) | Moby Arena (3,765) Fort Collins, CO |
| February 9, 2019 3:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 6 | New Mexico | W 91–62 | 23–1 (10–1) | Lawlor Events Center (11,197) Reno, NV |
| February 16, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 7 | at Wyoming | W 82–49 | 24–1 (11–1) | Arena-Auditorium (5,287) Laramie, WY |
| February 20, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 6 | at San Diego State | L 57–65 | 24–2 (11–2) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| February 23, 2019 5:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 6 | Fresno State | W 74–68 | 25–2 (12–2) | Lawlor Events Center (11,019) Reno, NV |
| February 27, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 12 | UNLV | W 89–73 | 26–2 (13–2) | Lawlor Events Center (11,289) Reno, NV |
| March 2, 2019 5:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 12 | at Utah State | L 76–81 | 26–3 (13–3) | Smith Spectrum (10,387) Logan, UT |
| March 6, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | at Air Force | W 90–79 | 27–3 (14–3) | Clune Arena (3,852) Colorado Springs, CO |
| March 9, 2019 7:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 17 | San Diego State | W 81–53 | 28–3 (15–3) | Lawlor Events Center (11,243) Reno, NV |
| Mountain West tournament ||||||
| March 14, 2019 12:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) No. 14 | vs. (8) Boise State Quarterfinals | W 77–69 | 29–3 | Thomas & Mack Center (7,518) Paradise, NV |
| March 15, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) No. 14 | vs. (4) San Diego State Semifinals | L 56–65 | 29–4 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,764) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 21, 2019* 3:50 pm, TNT | (7 W) No. 20 | vs. (10 W) Florida First Round | L 61–70 | 29–5 | Wells Fargo Arena (16,360) Des Moines, IA |
| *Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Source. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 20 | Not released |
| Coaches | 9 | 9^ | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 23 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.