Nevada Basketball: 2017-18 season preview

MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 16: A Nevada Wolf Pack fan holds a flag in the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 16, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 11: The Nevada Wolf Pack celebrates their team’s victory over the Colorado State Rams in the championship game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas /

Expectations for the season

Nevada will almost assuredly be a work in progress for the first half of the season. With up to four new starters (all being transfers), there’s no telling how the pieces will fit. It’s one thing to get a bunch of talented players; it’s another thing for all of them to gel together.

The positive aspect of these transfers is that they all spent a year in Musselman’s system already. So, the learning curve won’t be as difficult to deal with as having to plug grad transfers immediately in.

Expect a huge impact from Jordan Caroline both on and off the court as well. Being the main contributor coming back, expect the Wolf Pack to lean on Jordan early on in the season as the other players get situated.

As a team, the Wolf Pack should once again contend for the conference crown. While the league as a whole seems to be starting to trend up, there seems to be few top-tier contenders. The Aztecs should be one of them, and will fight tooth and nail for the regular season title.

Ultimately though, the offense is too much from Nevada for San Diego State or anyone else to deal with. Nevada should take back to back regular season titles and make it either as an auto bid or an at large. Of course this all will depend on how these transfers all gel with one another.