The Nevada men’s basketball team hosts UC Davis 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.

UC Davis (3-1) at Nevada (3-1)

When: Tuesday, 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 12.5; total of 142.5

Three keys for Nevada to win

1. Defense-first approach: Nevada played elite defense in its season opener but has slipped in that area since, most notably in defending the 3-point line. UC Davis is not a great shooting team, having made just 27.6 percent of its shots from beyond the arc against Division I opponents. But it is a capable 3-point shooting team (it made 13 treys in its opener against Menlo, a lower-division school). The Aggies average 25.8 3-point attempts per game, so they will hunt those shots. That’s especially true of guards Connor Sevilla (57.7 percent from three on 6.5 attempts per game) and Isaiah Chappell (42.9 percent on 5.3 attempts per game). Those two will combine to shoot 10-plus threes. Nevada must keep them in check from deep with a defense-first approach, which will jumpstart its transition offense, too.

2. Domination in the paint: UC Davis’ defense is better than its offense with the Aggies holding its Division I opponents to 98.6 points per 100 possessions (Nevada, by comparison, is at 109.1). UC Davis won’t make it easy for Nevada to score, with the Wolf Pack’s big advantage coming inside. The Aggies have been vulnerable on the backboard with their 64.6 percent defensive rebound rate ranking 293rd in the nation. UC Davis has allowed foes to grab 13.3 offensive rebounds per game, which has been a strong suit for Nevada. The Wolf Pack was outscored 40-24 in the paint Saturday at Santa Clara, but the Broncos are much more equipped in the paint than UC Davis. Nevada should dominate down low.

3. Better finishing at the rim: Nevada has done an excellent job getting to the free throw line, attempting 128 shots from the stripe to its opponents’ 77. That’s a plus-51 margin in free throw attempts, almost 13 per game. Where Nevada has struggled is finishing around the rim. The Wolf Pack has made just 39-of-91 “close twos,” a conversion rate of 42.9 percent (its mark last year was 65.7 percent). The team’s top-five scorers – Tayshawn Comer, Corey Camper Jr., Joel Armtrading, Elijah Price and Chuck Bailey III – are 26-of-68 (38.2 percent) on “close twos.” UC Davis has one elite shot blocker in Niko Rocak (3.5 swats per game) but doesn’t have much rim protection outside of him.

Prediction

Nevada 79, UC Davis 65: UC Davis is the lowest-rated team on Nevada’s non-conference schedule per KenPom (235), so the Wolf Pack could dominate in this game. In order to do so, Nevada can’t let the Aggies get hot from three as Davis can struggle to score otherwise, and the Wolf Pack needs to play better defense than it has the last three times out. This could be a “get right” game for Nevada, although UC Davis is a tick better than last year and presents more danger than it has in past season. The Wolf Pack has won 15 straight in this series, its last loss to the Aggies in January 1973. I’d expect that streak to continue. Season record: 4-0

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