No. 7 Nevada focused on shots as Colorado State visits

Nevada is ranked No. 7 in the nation but coach Eric Musselman isn't ignoring the club's warts.

Outside shooting has been a bit of a worry for the Wolf Pack.

The Wolf Pack will try to improve their aim against visiting Colorado State (7-11, 2-3) on Wednesday in Mountain West play at Reno, Nev.

Nevada (18-1, 5-1) has won four consecutive games but its most-recent victory surely wasn't artistic.

The Wolf Pack posted their second-lowest point total of the campaign in the 67-52 win over Air Force on Saturday and had to overcome shaky 5-of-27 shooting from 3-point range.

The 18.5 percentage continued a bad trend for Nevada as it marked the fourth time in six conference games that it finished at 27 percent or lower from behind the arc.

"Our guys got to start making 3s because we've tried everything," Musselman told reporters. "We've got to start taking less 3s if we are going to keep shooting this way. We can't keep trying to shoot our way out of it. We have to have better shot selection and the ball has to go inside more."

One of the biggest culprits has been star shooting guard Caleb Martin, who is shooting just 33.7 percent from the field and 28.8 from 3-point range during Mountain West play.

Martin was just 4-of-15 from the field -- and 2 of 11 from long range -- while scoring 10 points in the victory over Air Force.

Martin has scored 10 or fewer points in four of the six Mountain West games after scoring at least 12 in all 13 of Nevada's nonconference games.

He doesn't have an explanation for his shooting slump or the problems of his team.

"It's frustrating," Martin told reporters. "With the character of our guys, everyone is hard on themselves. It's nothing new for guys to get down on themselves whenever they miss their shots, including myself. I don't think it's making us play more timid. It's not making us play any different."

Despite his funk, Martin ranks second on the Wolf Pack in scoring at 18.1. Senior big man Jordan Caroline has team-best averages of 18.3 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Colorado State has a standout post player of its own in junior center Nico Carvacho, who averages a team-high 15.9 points and 12.3 rebounds.

Carvacho, who is shooting 60.4 percent from the field, has 11 double-doubles this season and 24 in his career.

"It's been fun to watch the work he's put in," Rams coach Niko Medved told reporters. "I think he's really grown in the way he looks at himself as a player."

Senior guard J.D. Paige (15.1 points) and junior guard Anthony Masinton-Bonner (12.9) also average in double digits. Masinton-Bonner has missed the past two games with an Achilles injury and his status may not be determined until close to game time.

Colorado State is 0-5 on the road this season, including Saturday's 87-72 loss at Utah State.

"We didn't give in," Medved said of the setback. "But at some point, playing hard is just the price of admission. We just had too many errors of discipline at both ends."

Nevada leads the all-time series 12-9.

--Field Level Media

Home