Nevada Basketball: The three keys or “B’s” to beating Texas

7-seed Nevada faces a tough test in their NCAA Tournament opener: 10-seed Texas. But three B’s can help the Wolf Pack advance past the Longhorns.

It’s one of the most dangerous seeds to have in the tournament.

If you earn a No. 7 seed, you’re taking on a team that’s dangerous enough to beat you, but the seed gap is just enough to make it an upset.

A No. 9 seed winning doesn’t turn many heads. Their game against a No. 8 seed is considered pretty much a toss-up.

But if you lose to a No. 10 seed, it’s an upset. You just lost to a double-digit seed.

And even if you win, your prize is a game against a No. 2 seed.

It’s not very fun to be stuck at No. 7.

That’s exactly where Nevada finds themselves, facing a formidable Texas team that has more than enough talent to pull off the mild upset.

If the Wolf Pack want to hold off the Longhorns and move on to the Round of 32, there are three things they need to do to survive and advance.

1. Crash the boards

Nevada isn’t a particularly good rebounding team. They average roughly 36 boards per game and give up almost the exact same amount to their opponents.

Texas is the exact same. Both their rebounding and rebounds allowed are carbon copies of the Wolf Pack.

So with two mediocre rebounding teams, why would this matter?

Because Nevada wins basketball games when they win the battle of the boards. The Wolf Pack are 15-1 in games in which they out-rebound their opponents. If they lose or tie on the boards, they turn into an average basketball team.

They’re not taking on an elite rebounding team, so the opportunity is there to control the boards.

If they can do that, they can control the game.