David Carter 150-7 It’ll be a veteran Pacific squad versus a new-look Nevada roster on the famous UCLA hardwood at Pauley Pavilion tonight when the Tigers and Pack square off for the 9th consecutive year. The early 5:30 PM start time is part of the NIT Season Tip-Off, with the doubleheader also featuring Pepperdine vs. UCLA in the nightcap. It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for numerous Nevada players, including talented freshman Deontè Burton, plus second-year head coach David Carter.

There is no scheduled television for the game featuring Pacific and Nevada, although a handful of pay-per-audio feeds are available. Here is a link to one via the University of Pacific;

Nevada-Pacific Game Audio Link

To watch the postgame video interviews of the Wolf Pack team after their opening win against Montana, please click the link below;

Video: Montana-Nevada Postgame Interviews

What to know about Pacific?

The Tigers feature four senior starters, plus a junior in what is a solid 5-man veteran rotation. Pacific head coach Bob Thomason has typically employed upperclassmen over the years, letting his young players learn the ropes and develop before getting a ton of court time. Considering Pacific has won twenty games or more in each of the past three seasons, and had a handful of NCAA Tournament runs this past decade, it is a strategy that continues to work.

The top player for the Tigers is 6-foot-9, 225-pound inside-out scorer Sam Willard. A native of South Dakota who was extremely under recruited until late in the process, Willard averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds per game last season, but popped home 19 points and 7 rebounds against Nevada last year during Pacific’s 61-58 victory. That game was extremely close, with Nevada making a pair of bad decisions late in the ballgame to not only let Pacific come back, but pull out the win in regulation.

Although he didn’t score much in the Tigers opening win on the road against UTEP, Allen Huddleston, a former two-sport prep standout at Merced high school in Merced (Calif.) who is now a sophomore at Pacific, is an extremely adept scoring option. He only tallied three points in the 66-61 win against UTEP, but he hoisted 7 shots, including four from behind the arc. Huddleston, who was a Pack football recruiting target before opting to play college hoops and is the cousin of Cal tight end Jarrett Sparks, is very athletic and can explode for big games. He appears to be the Tigers number one player of the bench this year, and will unquestionably be a starter next season.

ESPN Pacific Statistics

ESPN Pacific Roster

Nevada’s L.A. Connection

Nevada will counter with a team that has to be somewhat scary for the Tigers staff, as beyond junior Dario Hunt, there are a lot of unknowns with this year’s Wolf Pack club. Hunt, who led Nevada in scoring (18.0) and rebounding (7.0) against Montana during the Pack’s 81-66 victory on Saturday night, will match-up with Willard on the block. It’ll be a big early season test for Hunt, who needs to show his defensive patience and the improvement he’s made in an effort to shed his foul-prone label.

Photo by Mark Rauh

The aforementioned Burton had a sensational debut for Nevada in front of an excited home crowd. The potential newcomer of the year in the Western Athletic Conference, Burton will certainly be revved up as he takes the floor in front of numerous family and friends. Despite his freshman status and the fact that he has all but one-game under his belt, the former L.A. City Player of the Year is a tremendous weapon on both sides of the court. His ability to get to the free throw line and score is something Pacific will have to counter as well. Burton attempted 19 free-throws in an exhibition game against Seattle Pacific, and 7 more against Montana.

Other Nevada newcomers from Los Angeles that will likely be playing in front of numerous family and friends include sophomore Malik Story, and freshmen Jordan Finn, Jordan Burris, Kevin Panzer, Jerry Evans and Devonte Elliott.