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UNR to face Iowa State in NCAA Tournament
The University of Nevada, Reno, faces a tough opponent in its first game in the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolf Pack, who won the Mountain West conference tournament in Las Vegas on Saturday, will play Iowa State at 7 p.m. PDT Thursday (truTV) in Milwaukee, Wis. The Cyclones, the Big 12 Tournament champs, are the No. 5 seed while UNR is the No. 12 seed.
Here are the team capsules:
UNR
Reno, 28-6
Nickname: Wolf Pack. Coach: Eric Mussleman
Conference: Mountain West. Bid: MW champion
Region: Midwest. Seed: No. 12
Tournament Record: 4-6, 6 years. Last appearance: 2007
Scoring: Team (80.0); Marcus Marshall 19.8; Cameron Oliver 15.8; Jordan Caroline 14.8; D.J. Fenner 14.1
Rebounds: Team (38.9); Jordan Caroline 9.2; Cameron Oliver 8.7; Lindsey Drew 5.0
Assists/Turnovers: Team (16.1/11.1); Lindsey Drew 4.8/1.9; Marcus Marshall 3.6/1.6
3-pointers: Team (.385); Marcus Marshall 113; D.J. Fenner 64; Cameron Oliver 62
Last Ten: 9-1
The Skinny: The Wolf Pack beat Colorado State to win the Mountain West Tournament. Getting to the line is key for Nevada. The Wolf Pack have attempted 254 more free throws than opponents
IOWA STATE
Ames, 23-10
Nickname: Cyclones. Coach: Steve Prohm
Conference: Big 12. Bid: Big 12 champion
Region: Midwest. Seed: No. 5
Tournament Record: 18-18, 18 years. Last appearance: 2016
Scoring: Team (80.9); Monte Morris 16.3; Naz Mitrou-Long 15.5; Deonte Burton 14.8; Matt Thomas 12.0
Rebounds: Team (34.9); Deonte Burton 6.2; Monte Morris 4.8; Naz Mitrou-Long 4.7; Darrell Bowie 4.1
Assists/Turnovers: Team (15.8/10.2); Monte Morris 6.1/1.1; Naz Mitrou-Long 2.8/1.7
3-pointers: Team (.402); Naz Mitrou-Long 94; Matt Thomas 84; Monte Morris 51; Donald Jackson 43; Deonte Burton 40
Last Ten: 9-1
The Skinny: The Cyclones are a dark-horse Final Four contender — if they’re hitting 3s. Bigger teams can push Iowa State around in the post, but the Cyclones have shown the ability to win despite a sizeable disadvantage on the boards.