Both Nevada and Vanderbilt will look to stay unbeaten when they meet in the Charleston (S.C.) Classic on Thursday evening.
Nevada (4-0) has won all of its games by double digits. The latest was an 85-59 pasting of Santa Clara on Saturday in which the Wolf Pack had four players score in double figures and the team dished out 18 assists while committing just 10 turnovers.
“Another game where we had low turnovers and shared the ball, and just couldn’t be happier,” Nevada coach Steve Alford said. “It’s a really good group to coach and we’ve got a chance. It’s only four games in, it’s a very short pool of games we’ve played, but we’re very happy we’re 4-0.”
The Wolf Pack, led by Nick Davidson (18 points per game, 8 rebounds per game), Kobe Sanders (16.8 ppg, 4.8 assists per game) and Tre Coleman (12.5 ppg, 4.5 apg), rank second in the country in 3-point percentage (48.6 percent), led by Davidson’s 9-of-11 showing behind the arc.
Nevada plays at a plodding pace (321st nationally in KenPom’s adjusted tempo at 17.6 seconds per possession).
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt (4-0) plays at a quicker tempo, fueled by a deep rotation that has nine players averaging between 15 and 25.5 minutes.
The Commodores have four double-figure scorers: Jason Edwards (17.5 ppg), Devin McGlockton (16.0), Tyler Nickel (12.0) and AJ Hoggard (11.0).
McGlockton (10.0 rpg, 3.0 blocks per game) and reserve guard Tyler Tanner (3.0 steals per contest) have excelled on defense for Vanderbilt.
The Commodores had a one-turnover game in their opening-night win over Maryland Eastern Shore, registered 18 steals in a win over Cal on Nov. 13 and went 16-for-38 on 3-point attempts in a 94-81 victory over Jackson State on Sunday.
“We’ve won in different ways so far. The first three games we hadn’t shot the ball well,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said. “I thought we really shared the ball (against Jackson State) and played the right way.”
The winner between the Commodores and Wolf Pack will play a tournament semifinal game against either Seton Hall or VCU on Friday. The other side of the eight-team bracket features Miami (Fla.), Drake, Oklahoma State and Florida Atlantic.
This will be the first meeting between Vanderbilt and Nevada.
The victory over Santa Clara was Alford’s 100th win at the school in his sixth season in Reno. Alford joined Lefty Driesell as the second coach in Division I history to win at least 100 games at four schools.
