RENO - What does it take to win on the road in the Western Athletic Conference?
Mental toughness. Good big men. Catching a team at the right time. Those were a few of the answers conference coaches put forth to explain Nevada's quick 4-0 start away from the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center.
Nevada is the only undefeated road team in the WAC thus far, and that's impressive when you consider travel in the WAC is much tougher than in the ACC or Pac-10 where the schools are much closer to each other.
The Wolf Pack (16-5, 9-2) have won the four games by a total of 24 points coming into a tough road swing this week at Boise State (Thursday, 6:05 p.m.) and UTEP (5:05 p.m.), .
The margin of victory shouldn't surprise anybody. A visiting team will rarely blow out a home team. Winning on the road is about survival, and nothing more.
"The key to our success, and I've said it before, we've caught people at the right time," Nevada coach Mark Fox said during Monday's WAC teleconference. "We caught Tulsa just in time. They played better in the second half and ended up beating Fresno State after us.
"We've played a smarter brand of basketball on the road than at home. I think that's been a key to our success."
Fox also credited the Wolf Pack for not looking past any WAC team.
"To be honest, our kids play pretty much one game at a time," he said. "I don't think they've ever looked past a game."
Nevada's success tells UTEP coach Doc Sadler something else.
"It tells me they are a pretty mentally tough team," Sadler said. "Obviously Mark (Fox) has them playing well. If you look at them, Louisiana Tech and SMU, they are predominantly inside teams."
Sadler also said that if a team has good big men it tends to be a more consistent road team, and Nevada has the best tandem in the league in Nick Fazekas and Kevinn Pinkney.
Boise State's Greg Graham echoed Sadler's sentiments.
"They're a very good basketball team," said Graham. "Like Doc said, they are very mentally tough. The (NCAA Tournament) experience really helped. That's why they are a good road team and will be a good tournament team."
Another reason for Nevada's success away from home is defense. The Wolf Pack give up just 62 points a game, and only three times this year have they failed to score 60 or more points.
"They are every bit as good as last year," Graham said. "They are a little quicker. Having two veteran big men really helps. It's allowed the perimter guys to jump in defensively (and make an immediate impact). Their defense was ahead of the offense earlier this season, and now the offense is catching up."
