Nevada Basetball: 2018-19 keys for the Wolf Pack at Fresno State

RENO, NEVADA - JANUARY 02: Caleb Martin #10 of the Nevada Wolf Pack talks to teammate Jordan Brown #21 of the Nevada Wolf Pack near the end of the game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Utah State Aggies at Lawlor Events Center on January 02, 2019 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 10: Deshon Taylor #21 of the Fresno State Bulldogs shoots against the Nevada Wolf Pack during the first half of a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 10, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevada won 83-72. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

2. Huggins is the main focus, not Taylor

Coming into the season, senior guard Deshon Taylor was figured to be the best player for Fresno State. And early on, he absolutely was, averaging over 18 ppg early on and leading the team to a good start to the season. But an injury during the non-conference sidelined him for a few games. After a rusty couple of games back, the 6’3 guard looks to be back to his normal self, including 21 points to beat Colorado State last week.

But the key to the Bulldogs might not be as much as dealing with Taylor as it looks to be worrying about another guard going off. New Mexico State transfer Braxton Huggins is the team’s leading scorer at 18.9 ppg while shooting over 41% from three-point range. He’s coming off of a career-high 33 points in just 29 minutes over the win against Utah State, including going 8/13 from three-point range. That’s his fourth different game of at least making five made threes.

As a team, Fresno State has shown that they can light up the scoreboard, with four 90+ point games. If this does turn into a shootout like Nevada normally prefers, the Bulldogs are one of a few teams with the firepower to keep up. And while Taylor consistently puts up a 15-20 point effort when full healthy, Huggins is the one that can go off for 30 on a given night. That’s usually what has to happen for upsets to occur, so the Wolf Pack should be very careful with him.