No alarm needed, Nevada hosts Fresno State on Saturday night

Last week, it dawned on Nevada senior Lindsey Drew that his time playing college basketball is rapidly winding down.

Drew is known for being one of the most laid-back, calm players on the Nevada men's basketball team. He sets an alarm to remind him about team meetings.

Drew and the Wolf Pack men host Fresno State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.

It is the only meeting between the two teams this season.

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Nevada (17-10, 10-5 MW) has been hot lately, winning its past four games and past 19 straight Mountain West home games.

Fresno State (10-17, 6-10) is coming off a win over Air Force and has won two of its past three games.

Drew became the first Nevada player to score 900 points, grab 600 rebounds and 500 assists after the win over New Mexico on Tuesday. 

Drew leads the Pack with 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He is third on the squad scoring 11.1 points per game.

Nevada coach Steve Alford said the laid-back Drew has done everything he has asked.

"He is unique because of all the things he does," Alford said. "To be able to score more, that's kind of not his DNA. Now, if he can just finish the season the way he should and finish academically, the way he should, you're looking at someone who has had a very special career here."

He said Drew sets his phone alarm to go off 5 minutes before every team meeting.

"I've told him, you want to at least be in range of 4 minutes,'" Alford said. "You don't want to be 10 minutes out of range and your alarm goes off."

He said Drew's calm demeanor is a good trait for an athlete.

Drew said the Wolf Pack's Sweet 16 run in 2018 and the games against UNLV are two memories that stand out to him in his time at Nevada.

He said sitting out last season after suffering a serious Achilles injury was the hardest thing he's had to go through, and that it was a humbling experience.

"Last week it hit me that I've only got a couple more games, two more games at Lawlor," Drew said Friday morning. 

 Alford said the entire Nevada team has shown a lot of poise and confidence in its recent hot streak.

The Pack won at UNLV then at New Mexico in front of large, hostile crowds and led most of those two games

"We haven't had success on the road up until then," Alford said. "i do think it's a gradual progression with this team."

Nevada junior Jalen Harris leads the MW scoring at 21.7 points per game and his 25.9 in conference play is also first. Harris has scored in double figures in the last 23 games.  He is second on the team in rebounds (6.5 rpg) and assists (4.0 apg). 

Senior Jazz Johnson has scored in double figures the last three games after missing two with a shoulder injury. 

Johnson's 16.2 points per contest is second on the team and seventh in the conference. He is the top 3-point shooter in the MW and has made three or more 3-pointers in 18 games this season.

The Wolf Pack has won the last five games in the series and is third in the conference standings at 10-5 with three games remaining in MW play. 

Fresno State is eighth in the conference.

Orland Robinson leads the Bulldogs scoring 12.7 points per game.  New Williams (11.9 ppg) and Nate Grimes (11.6 ppg) are also scoring in double figures.  Grimes is averaging a double-double grabbing 10 rebounds per game to go along with his 11.6 points per contest.  Robinson is second on the squad with his 6.8 rebounds per game.

After Saturday's home game, Nevada plays at Wyoming on Tuesday, then its Senior Night will be Feb. 29 against San Diego State.

TV/Radio: ESPNU, 94.5 FM

• Nevada's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee  is sponsoring a coat drive with Big Brothers and Big Sisters over the next two games at Lawlor Events Center – Saturday's men's game against Fresno State and Monday's women's game against Wyoming.

Bring a coat to donate to the coat drive at either game and receive free admission. Donations bins will be located at every entrance and a voucher for a free ticket is available for each donation.

Jim Krajewski covers high school and youth sports for the Reno Gazette Journal. Follow him on Twitter @RGJPreps. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.