The Nevada men’s basketball team plays Southern Illinois on Saturday. Nevada Sports Net’s Chris Murray breaks down the game with his three keys to victory and prediction. This feature is presented in partnership with Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney.

Southern Illinois (2-0) at Nevada (2-0)

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Lawlor Events Center (11,536 capacity)

TV/Radio: Nevada Sports Net/95.5 FM

Online: NevadaSportsNet.com

Betting line: Nevada by 11.5; total of 147.5

Three keys for Nevada to win

1. Continue the bully ball: The Wolf Pack’s biggest strength this season has been the activity and energy provided by its frontcourt. Power forward Elijah Price and center Joel Armotrading have pulled down 39 rebounds, including 23 on the offensive glass, while combining to shoot 30 free throws through the team’s first two games. They’ve been a handful for the opposition. Southern Illinois is a bigger and more physical team than Nevada’s first two opponents, so this will be a nice test to see if the Wolf Pack’s frontcourt can continue its bully-ball ways, with Price and Armotrading being outstanding thus far.

2. Defend the 3-point line: Nevada is playing more press defense this season, and the tradeoff for that goal of creating more turnovers can be allowing open 3-pointers for teams that break the press. Louisiana Tech was not able to take advantage of that in Nevada’s first game, shooting 3-of-22 from beyond the arc. But Pacific did cash in more than its fair share of threes, hitting 15-of-33 attempts from distance to nearly upset the Wolf Pack. Nevada must defend the 3-point line better if it’s going to continue to press. Southern Illinois is not a prolific 3-point shooting team, hitting 30.8 percent of its 19.5 attempts per game, but 3-point defense must be a focus after Saturday’s issues against Pacific.

3. Better ball movement: It’s unlikely Nevada is going to be a great shooting team this season, so it will need to run good offense to score a high clip. Head coach Steve Alford wasn’t happy with his team’s ball movement against Pacific on Saturday with the Wolf Pack mustering 10 assists but surviving thanks to its 18 offensive rebounds that led to 36 points in the paint and 39 free throw attempts. Nevada needs better ball movement in this game as it prepares for the best defense it has faced this season, although Southern Illinois is not elite there. Nevada has gotten the job done offensively so far this season, averaging 119.4 points per 100 possessions, a strong mark, but that offense remains a work in progress.

Prediction

Nevada 76, Southern Illinois 70: The Wolf Pack is a double-digit favorite but could be challenged in this game. Southern Illinois is led by one of the nation’s most underrated coaches in Scott Nagy, who has won 350 Division I games at a 63 percent clip after stops at South Dakota State, Wright State and now Southern Illinois. The Salukis returned five key players from last season and added two quality transfers and a good prep player who is making an impact. They’ll go nine deep with each averaging at least five points per game. Nevada needs to clean up some of its miscues from Saturday’s game – 3-point defense, distance shooting, free throw accuracy – to win this one. Season record: 2-0

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter at @ByChrisMurray.