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SALT LAKE CITY -- Nevada has its highest seed in the NCAA
tournament, thanks to a 14-game winning streak and the Western
Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles. The Wolf Pack's last two NCAA appearances didn't hurt, either. Nevada (27-5) is the fifth seed in the Minneapolis region and
opens the tournament Thursday against Big Sky champion Montana
(23-6). "We did get a little bit of respect from the selection
committee as far as the five seed, but we played ourselves into
that respect," center Nick Fazekas said. "We played a great
season." Nevada made it past the first round with upsets the last two
years, including a 61-57 victory over Texas last season as a No. 9
seed. "We have more of a team than we did a year ago and that has
been a real key part of our success," second-year coach Mark Fox
said. Fox said other members of the Pack probably don't get the
attention they should because of Fazekas, who was the WAC player of
the year for the second straight season after averaging 22 points
and 10 rebounds. The Grizzlies also enjoyed a jump in the seedings from a year
ago, when they were saddled with the dreaded No. 16 -- the only seed
never to win a tournament game. They followed suit, losing to
Washington. They're seeded 12th this year. "We've been here. We kind of understand what's going on and
hopefully we'll be ready those first five minutes," guard Kevin
Criswell said. "I'd say it was a big surprise for us to see that
12 seed. But we're definitely going to take it. We're not going to
argue about it." Montana has made the tournament six previous times, but never in
consecutive years. The Grizzlies also haven't won in the tournament
since beating Utah State in 1975. Coach Larry Krystowiak, the
school's all-time leader in scoring and rebounding from his days as
a player in the mid-80s, knows how much a victory in the tournament
can get a school noticed. Krystowiak said there isn't a lot of difference in the seeds or
the schools. Both play in the West and in leagues that don't enjoy
the profile of conferences like the ACC or the Big East. But they're also the kind of teams that fans love to root for. "They (fans) say, 'There's Montana. They're a little like me,"
Krystowiak said. "'I take my lunch box to work every day, day in
day out, punch in and no one ever writes about me."
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