The last thing the Nevada Wolf Pack expected to be doing late last Saturday night in Hawaii was playing a basketball game.
"I woke up at 6 a.m. to sirens," said Babbitt of a tsunami that was scheduled to hit Honolulu's shores Saturday afternoon. "I thought I was dreaming. But when they told me the game was canceled, I just went back to sleep to take a nap. I was going to hit the beach later."
A few hours later, though, the tsunami warnings were canceled and the Hawaii-Nevada game was back on as scheduled. The result was a 74-63 loss for the Wolf Pack and a long plane ride back home early Sunday morning.
"It was crazy," said Babbitt of the long day in Honolulu.
"We didn't know if it was life threatening or not," senior Brandon Fields said. "It was hard for us to get our focus back. We were all on the 26th floor just looking out the window at the water."
The Pack spent the majority of the day on Saturday thinking about everything but basketball.
"We spent the day looking at the ocean," Pack coach David Carter said. "Our mind wasn't on basketball. To switch it back on like that, it's just not realistic. My mindset wasn't about preparing to play a game. My mindset was about everybody's safety and getting back to Reno."
The Wolf Pack now does not have to leave Reno for the next two weeks. The Pack will play New Mexico State Thursday night (7:05 p.m.) and Louisiana Tech on Saturday (7:05 p.m.) at Lawlor Events Center to close out the regular season. The WAC tournament will also be at Lawlor on March 11-13.
"These next two games are very big," Fields said. "We want to get confidence for the WAC tournament. These next two games will set the tone."
The Pack (17-11 overall and 9-5 in the WAC) will finish second, third or fourth in the WAC regular season regardless of whether they win or lose these next two games.
New Mexico State (19-9, 11-3) still has its eye on first place. Utah State (13-2, 24-6), which hosts New Mexico State on Saturday, has already clinched a tie for first.
Louisiana Tech (22-7, 9-5) is currently tied for third with the Pack.
"We want to finish second," Carter said. "We know if we win both our games we have a real good chance to finish second. That's our goal."
The last thing the Pack wants to do is go into the WAC tournament with doubts. They also don't want to give New Mexico State or Louisiana Tech any added confidence.
"We definitely need these two games," said Ray Kraemer, one of four Pack seniors (the others are Fields, Joey Shaw and Richie Phillips) that will be honored before Saturday's game.
Shaw said the loss to Hawaii could benefit the Pack in the long run. The Pack, after all, is 8-2 after a loss this season.
"I think (a loss) focuses you," Shaw said. "It brings everybody back to reality. A loss always humbles you. You listen to your coach more."
Babbitt said the Pack can take its game to another level the next two weeks.
"We've been up and down," Babbitt said. "That's obvious. We've played real well at times and other times we've slipped up a little. But there's no reason we can't play our best right now, especially at home."
New Mexico State is led by guards Jahmar Young (21.0 points a game) and Jonathan Gibson (18.3). The Pack held Gibson and Young to a combined 27 points in a 77-67 win over New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M., on Jan. 4.
The Aggies, though, also feature center Hamidu Rahman (10.7 points, 8.7 rebounds) and forwards Troy Gillenwater (13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds), Wendell McKines (10.7 points, 9.4 rebounds) and guard Hernst Laroche (3.8 assists). The 6-foot-8 Gillenwater did not play against the Pack in early January because of an injury.
"He changes everything," Carter said. "When we played them and he (Gillenwater) was out, when they had to go to their bench, it weakened their front line. That won't be the case this time."
Carter said it is important for the Pack to defend their turf this week.
"Our goal all year has been to take care of home," Carter said. "If we beat these two teams (New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech), it will put doubts in their head."
The Pack doesn't want to be the team with the doubts next week.
"It's exciting," Babbitt said. "It's at the point now where it's do or die. Hopefully we'll get some momentum going into the WAC tournament."
