Deep bench contributes to win

Bailey said he tried to get “one percent better” every day over the summer and fall.

He attributed the win Tuesday to team toughness, saying anyone on the roster can play and contribute without a drop-off.

“We’re going to play hard on the defensive end,” Bailey said. “We communicate well. That was the most I’ve seen us communicate since I’ve been here. … We have a deep team and we can all play. You can go as hard as you can on the court and you can get a breather.”

Nevada coach Steve Alford pressed throughout the game, something he said he has never done in his previous 34 years of coaching.

“We’re not going to be able to play 12 or 14 guys every game, but we do have the ability to play a lot of guys, throw a lot of people at you,” Alford said. “I’m most impressed with how hard we played. We played very hard and we ‘re starting to establish a physicality to how we play.”

He said the press slowed the Bulldogs’ attack, often forcing them to take up to nine seconds to cross midcourt, meaning the Pack only had to guard for 21 seconds.

It was the first meeting between the schools since 2012, when both were members of the WAC.

Alford said Bailey put in more work than anyone over the offseason.

“He’s ready for this. From when he was at Evansville, very good freshman, then he came here and put in some good minutes, playing behind a lot of old guys, and now it’s his turn and he’s making the most of it,” Alford said. “One game doesn’t all of a sudden make a season, but he’s had this kind of consistency throughout the entire summer and fall, so it’s not surprising he had a game like his.”

He added that Bailey will be likely become a focal point for opposing defenses.

Keys to the game

Nevada’s defense forced 13 turnovers.

The Pack outrebounded the Bulldogs, 45-26. The Pack had 17 offensive rebounds and got 21 points off those.

The Bulldogs had one offensive rebound.

Pack point guard Tyler Rolison did not score, but he had seven assists and two turnovers.

He also made sure other Pack players got in the game late in the blowout, namely Christopher Baudreau.

“His job as a point guard is to win. His job as a point guard is to establish who we are, identity-wise offense and defense,” Alford said of Rolison. “No points and he is yelling at me about Chris with two minutes to go. Sometimes I can’t see the whole bench. He is yelling at me to put Chris in. I don’t know if TR two years ago would have been thinking about Chris. That’s growth. That’s serving a teammate.”

Key stats

The Pack shot 25-of-56 from the floor, and 6-of-20 from the arc. The Pack was 21-of-29 from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs shot 18-of-50 from the field and 3-22 from the arc. Louisiana Tech hit 11-of-17 free throws.

No Bulldogs players were in double figures in scoring.

“As the word gets out, this is a fun team to watch,” Alford said. “It’s an exciting team. There’s tempo to it. There’s excitement to it. Our guys have some good personalities, especially on the defensive end.”

Pack had edge at halftime

Nevada led, 34-18, at the break, shooting 13-33 from the field and 3-11 from the arc.

The Pack had a 26-16 rebounding advantage at the break.

Bulldogs had six blocks in first half and finished with eight; Pack had two blocks in the first half and ended with three.

Sick, injured players as Nevada’s season begins

Alford said Vaughn Weems was not feeling well, but wanted to play anyway and he got 11 minutes on the court.

Pack freshman forward Ethan Coley missed the game with a sprained ankle.

Up next

Nevada hosts Pacific (0-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Pacific opens its season Wednesday against Life Pacific.

The Tigers are led by coach Dave Smart, who is in his second season. Elias Ralph, a fifth-year forward, was named to the 2025-26 West Coast Conference Preseason All-Conference Team.

The Pacific men’s basketball program was predicted to finish 10th in the WCC preseason coaches’ poll.