Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The NCAA Tournament Selection Show took its sweet time Sunday in letting the Florida Gators know they were invited to the party. 

"Oh my god, man," fifth-year senior swingman Jalen Hudson said about watching watching 65 (of 68) teams revealed before seeing the word "Florida" pop up on the big screen in the Courtside Club at Exactech Arena. "They waited for the last bracket to put us in, so I was getting very anxious. But I'm glad that we were able to sneak in there."

Of course, the slot that showed up just ahead of UF's read, "Nevada." 

That would be the University of Nevada, a team that has won 110 games the past four seasons playing out of the Mountain West Conference, and last year came seconds from reaching the Elite Eight before falling to Loyola Chicago 69-68 in an NCAA Tournament South Region semifinal of Cinderellas. 
 

The No. 10-seed Gators (19-15) will face the No. 7-seed Wolf Pack (29-4) in Thursday night's West Region opener for both teams at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Coach Mike White and his coaching staff were up late into the night and early Monday morning crunching numbers, watching tape, calling coaches and formulating the scouting report of the opponent that will tip off their third trip to the March "dance" in as many years. Nevada will bring a battle-tested bunch that starts five seniors, including a trio of transfers in twin brothers Caleb and Cody Martin (both by way of North Carolina State) in the backcourt, and forward Jordan Caroline (from South Illinois) at the forward spot. All three average in double figures, with Caleb Martin at 19.1 points and Carolina at 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds. 

"They're terrific. They've won a ton of games over the past couple years. They're big and their old," White said of the Pack. "They're trying to play eight guys and six are seniors. They've got to be, probably, the oldest team in the country. Experienced, talented, athletic, versatile. Defensively, they're long and athletic and can get away with a lot of switching. Offensively, they're very efficient. They're very well coached. They get to the foul line a bunch. They do an unbelievable job of taking care of the basketball. Just a very skilled team. Really good." 

Nevada rolled out its first team in 1913. Florida's first basketball team played in 1915. It's 104 years later and this will be the first meeting between the two programs. 

Here's some get-to-know-info on UN. The school and the team. 


UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA 
 

Where: Reno, Nev.
 
Founded: 1874 

Enrollment: 21,000 (est.)

Colors: Blue and silver. 

Nickname: Wolf Pack 

 Mascot: Alphie  

Conference: Mountain West
 
 

Fun facts: Nevada's coach is Eric Musselman, who once was head coach of the Golden State Warriors for two seasons (2002-04). His father, Bill Musselman, was the first coach of the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves in 1989. … The Wolf Pack's 29 wins this season tied the school record set last year when the team broke the previous mark of 28, which was set the season before. Translation: Musselman has the program rolling. … Three head coaches ago, Nevada was led by Trent Johnson, who parlayed the only other Sweet 16 run in school history (2004) into the Stanford job and, after that, the LSU job. Two head coaches ago, Nevada was led by Mark Fox, who reached the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons there and eventually was hired at Georgia.


ABOUT NEVADA BASKETBALL 

First season: 1913
All-time record: 1,326-1,1176 (.530) 
Conference championships (22): Far Western Conference — 1920, 1927-28, 1932, 1938, 1956-58, 1961, 1964, 1966. Big Sky Conference — 1984-85. Western Athletic Conference — 2004-08. Mountain West Conference — 2012, 2017-18.  
NCAA Tournament appearances (9): 1984-85, 2004-07, 2017-19 
NCAA record: 6-8
Best NCAA run: Sweet 16 (2004 and 2018)
Best all-time player: Names like Luke Babbitt, JaVale McGee, Ramone Sessions and Edgar Jones are better known for their time in the NBA, but Nick Fazekas was the second UN player to have his jersey retired and transformed the program into a conference powerhouse. Fazekas, a Japanese/American from Arvada, Colo., arrived as a freshman for the 2003-04 season and proceeded to guide the team to four straight NCAA tournaments, including the Sweet 16 as a freshman, and along the way set the program's all-time scoring record with 1,877 points. He was a three-time WAC Player of the Year and second-team All-American in 2007. Fazekas was drafted in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks, eventually was released and played four seasons overseas. 


MOST FAMOUS ALUM 

University of Nevada claims politicians, Pulitzer Prize winners, some B-list (maybe even C-list) actors, as well as the guy who invented the first roller-coaster that went upside-down and the most prominent boxer referee in the history of the sport (anyone remember Mills Lane?). But none of the names are as instantaneously recognized as Colin Kaepernick. As a four-year starting quarterback and two-time WAC Offensive Player of the Year, Kaepernick, completed 58 percent of his passes for 10,098 yards, 82 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, while rushing 600 times for another 4,112 yards and 59 touchdowns. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of 2011 NFL Draft. In his second season, Kaepernick helped guide the Niners to Super Bowl XVLIII with both his arms and legs, then — after his production fell off significantly in the ensuing seasons — made a lot more headlines with his knee. Just guessing here, but doubt any other UN alum has 2.1 million Twitter followers. Wonder if he'll be at the game Thursday?