While Nevada didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, there will still be playoff basketball for the Pack. Nevada will play in the NIT and host Murray State this Wednesday, March 18 at Lawlor Events Center.
Nevada enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed after a 22-12 season. Although the NCAA committee wasn’t kind to the Mountain West, Nevada will be one of five Mountain West schools to accept an invite for the NIT. New Mexico, Colorado State, UNLV and Wyoming are the other conference schools in the tournament.
Nevada would play the winner of George Mason and Liberty if it advances. This is the first time the Wolf Pack will play in the NIT since 2012, when they reached the quarterfinal before losing to Stanford. Nevada is 5-5 all-time in the NIT.
The first three rounds are hosted at the higher seeds’ campus sites, so if Nevada were to advance to the second round, it would also host that matchup as the No. 2 seed.
Murray State finished the season 20–12 overall and tied for third in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 12–8 league record. The Racers are ranked No. 122 in KenPom, compared to Nevada at No. 75. Outside of the seeding, Nevada should be considered a heavy favorite in the first round.
This matchup will also be a clash of some old blood between the two coaching staffs. Murray State head coach Ryan Miller was once an assistant coach at New Mexico under current Nevada head coach Steve Alford. Miller had that role from 2007-2012.
One of Murray State’s assistant coaches, Cullen Neal, is the son of current Nevada associate head coach Craig Neal, or ‘coach Noodles.’ Those storylines alone should make for a fun tournament game between these two programs.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST in Reno and will be streamed on ESPN+.
