On weekday mornings, Nevada Sports Net will recap three big headlines of the day in its Morning Download. Read below for today’s topics.
1. Nevada football eliminated from bowl contention
The Nevada football team was eliminated from bowl contention after its 24-3 loss to Boise State on Friday night at Mackay Stadium. The Wolf Pack fell to 1-7 overall and 0-4 in the Mountain West, losing its 15th straight league game. Nevada will miss a bowl for a fourth straight season, its longest stretch since missing eight straight bowls from 1997-2004 (the Wolf Pack was bowl eligible in 2003). Nevada’s elimination from bowl contention was delivered by Boise State during the Broncos’ 24-3 win over Nevada in which the Wolf Pack had five turnovers. “That’s a team that, candidly, they were ready to get beat,” Nevada football coach Jeff Choate said. “But we just didn’t take advantage of that opportunity, and that’s a tough pill to swallow.”
2. Nevada hoops caps exhibition season with win
The Wolf Pack men’s basketball team capped its exhibition season with a 73-52 win over Eastern Washington. Nevada’s defense created 23 turnovers that led to 31 points and piled up 22 fast-break points, which was a point of emphasis this offseason. Ten Nevada players logged at least 10 minutes with nobody playing more than 23 minutes. Vaughn Weems led Nevada in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Chuck Bailey III (11) and Elijah Price (10) both hit double figures in points. Nevada made 40.4 percent of its shots, including 5-of-18 from three (27.8 percent). The Wolf Pack opens the regular season next Tuesday against Louisiana Tech.
3. Wolf Pack alum Kenan Blackshear a first-round G League pick
Former Nevada basketball standout Kenan Blackshear was picked in the first round of Saturday’s G League draft, going 12th overall to Grand Rapids. It will mark Blackshear’s G League debut after he played last season overseas. Playing for WKS Slask Wroclaw in Poland last year, Blackshear averaged 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, shooting 43.7 percent from the field, including 20 percent from three, in 21 games. Blackshear played for Nevada from 2021-24 and was a two-time All-Mountain West honoree following a two-year stint at Florida Atlantic.