6:59 p.m.: We’ve got about five minutes to tip-off. Looks like the crowd is going to be about the norm - full upper bow, lots of no-shows among season ticket holders.

As far as the game, Nevada is much more talented than Fresno State. The Bulldogs have some nice pieces, and coach Steve Cleveland has them running more offense, but losing players like Ja’Vance Coleman, Quinton Hosley, and Dominic McGuire from last year has left the lineup a bit bare. Damn, I can’t believe they never competed for a conference championship with that lineup.

The Wolf Pack’s biggest advantage is inside. Demarshay Johnson and JaVale McGee are the two best post players on the floor. Fresno forward Hector Hernandez is OK, but he has little to offer except for his outside shooting and some rebounding.

Actually, the most interesting matchup of the night might be who has the better facial expressions between McGee and Hernandez. Both of them spend most of games looking like they just got hit in the groin.

15:22 First Half - Wolf Pack leads 9-8. McGee hit a big three early, then grabbed one of Hernandez’s floaters out of the air to start a fastbreak that ended with a layup by Marcelus Kemp.

Speaking of McGee, I saw one fan walking around down here wearing a t-shirt with a photo McGee’s infamous ball kick in San Jose State with the words “Kickin’ it with McGee” around it. Brilliant.

14:09 First half

Wolf Pack leads 14-8 after two Kemp free throws. Hernandez got whistled. Needless to say, he’s winning the facial expression battle at the moment.

The Bulldogs might have to play more zone as the game continues. They have Hernandez at the 3 because he can’t guard McGee. He’s much to slow to guard Kemp, though.

11:48 First Half

The Wolf Pack just took a double digit lead after a Kemp 3-point play. He’s got 12 already. The Bulldogs don’t have an answer for him. Eddie Miller is too small and the aforementioned Hernandez is too slow.

Wolf Pack coach Mark Fox has already played 10 guys. He got a lot of heat for last year’s liberal rotation, but that was trying to get the Wolf Pack 5 freshmen ready to play this season.

His rotation this season is sort of baffling. The Wolf Pack really struggles finding a rhythm because nobody stays on the floor for extended minutes.

7:40 First Half

Nevada’s up big, 29-18. Kemp picked up his second foul early and had to go to the bench, but Brandon Fields grabbed a couple layups to make up the difference.

Fields is also doing a nice jobe on Miller defensively, he’s got six points on 3 of 7 shooting. Fields is going to have to guard Utah State star Jaycee Carroll on Saturday, and Miller is a fantastic warmup.

Cleveland runs Miller off a ton of screens to get him open looks, which is pretty much Utah State’s entire offense with Carrol. Miller’s not nearly the shooter Carrol is, but he’s much more athletic and going to the basket.

4:06 First Half

Blood on the floor. Timeout. Nevada leads 35-24.

Coach Fox is rocking a black suit with a silver tie tonight. He’s definitely the best-dressed coach in the WAC. Either he’s got impeccable fashion sense for a Mid-Western boy or his wife, Associate Athletic Director Cindy Fox, dresses him.

He looks much sharper than Cleveland, whose wearing a more conservative grey suit.

The Sagebrush has a longstanding tradition for evaluating coach fashion that stretches back to Trent Johnson. Fox and former assistant Dedrique Taylor, who is now at Arizona State, had some epic duels.

Half Time
The Wolf Pack dominated the last few minutes of the first half and leads 44-28. Kemp, Fields and McGee are already in double figures and the team is shooting 55 percent from the field.

The Bulldogs two stars, Kevin Bell and Miller, have 12 points combined on 6 of 18 shooting. Bell has torched WAC defenses for almost 18 a game this season, but he doesn’t shoot the ball all that well and the Wolf Pack’s size pretty much keeps from getting any easy layups. The Bulldogs have also missed all seven 3-pointers.

20:00 Second Half

I swear the athletic department picks the most unathletic people they can find to do the shooting and putting games. The shootout guy’s jumper looked like a combination between a back spasm and a car accident and the putter didn’t even hit the ramp.

I’m surprised they haven’t picked me for anything yet.

17:16 Second Half

The Wolf Pack’s up 52-37. Armon Johnson just delivered a Ramon Sessions-esque assist. He took the ball to the rim, went up for a layup, then ducked under Hernandez to throw a perfect pass to set Kemp up for a 3-pointer.

Kemp already has seven in the first three minutes of the second half. Hernandez just can’t guard him. He can look like a kicked puppy, though, and he’s doing a really good job of that.

11:59
Little Hector and LaGrone got tangled up in the post, which quickly turned into a shoving match, ending with LaGrone giving LH a big push.

LaGrone got double technicaled and booted and Hernandez just got a single technical. Seems like both players should have gotten booted.

Little Hector had a couple similar incidents with Nick Fazekas during Faz’s career.

7:07

Bulldogs just ran off a 9-0 run to get within eight. This game looked over about three minutes ago, but now the Wolf Pack has to finish the Bulldogs off again. That’s another mark of a young team, not playing with a lead.

6:33

Hernandez came back in at 7:07 after sitting for a few minutes and promptly picked up his fourth foul trying to keep Kemp away from the rim.

Kemp hit both free throws to put the Wolf Pack back up 10. He’s got 26 in the game, and he hasn’t even been on the floor a whole lot.

Final

The Wolf Pack seemed to lose composure after LaGrone’s shoving match, but then settled down to win 79-67. Kemp went off for 28 and he sat most of the first half with foul trouble. Fields and McGee both scored double figures, but Armon Johnson had his worst game in a few weeks.

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