Nevada Basketball: Keys to Round of 64 matchup with Florida

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 15: Caleb Martin #10 and Cody Martin #11 of the Nevada Wolf Pack walk up court during a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament against the San Diego State Aztecs at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 15, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. San Diego State Aztecs won 65-56. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

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LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 25: Kevarrius Hayes #13 of the Florida Gators shoots the ball during the game Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on February 25, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2. Defensive rebounds

There is no way around it, the Florida Gators are an offensive rebounding machine. You should call them Windex because of how well they clean the glass… (No? Just crickets? My apologies for the dad joke.)

But I digress, the Gators record an impressive 11 offensive rebounds per game, which gives the team a substantial amount of opportunities for second chance points, which could be lethal for the Wolf Pack. The barrage on the offensive glass for Florida is led by senior, center Kevarrius Hayes.

Hayes has improved in every statistical category from his junior season and is a candidate for SEC Most Improved Player of the Year. He is arguably going to be the most important player on the floor for the Gators during this NCAA Tournament and I imagine he does not want this game to be the last game of his college career.

Now, Nevada has the ability to push the pace of the game at times, which causes the players on the floor to anticipate fast breaks and leave space under the basket available on the defensive end. This cannot happen on Thursday. Wolf Pack head coach, Eric Musselman, will need to have his team disciplined enough to focus on five players crashing the glass every time a shot goes up as opposed to a rapid battle of the fast breaks.