Chris Murray

cmurray@rgj.com

No player on the Nevada basketball roster has been through the ups and downs of a season or the ups and downs of a career like D.J. Fenner, the Wolf Pack’s lone fourth-year senior.

So, it should come as no surprise that Fenner, the veteran on a relatively young team, had this to say: “We’re going to hit adversity. It’s that simple. What will make us a good team is how we handle that.”

Fenner didn’t say that after Nevada’s 14-point loss at San Diego State on Sunday, which came on the heels of a 17-point loss at Utah State in its previous road game, back-to-back road duds that were as unexpected as they were eye-opening. Instead, Fenner said that four months ago during Nevada’s media day.

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“When things start going wrong, I have to be one of the guys who brings us back together,” Fenner predicted in early October, well before Nevada ever hit the floor for a game during the 2016-17 season.

That adversity has officially hit the Wolf Pack, which has lived a charmed life for most of the season.

Yes, Nevada did lose one starter suddenly (Elijah Foster, who was arrested in November and hasn’t returned) and another starter to injury (Josh Hall, who missed five games before returning last month).

Those issues limited the Wolf Pack’s depth and were forms of adversity, but the sailing was relatively smooth on the court despite those issues as Nevada lost just three of its first 19 games. But after losing three of its last six games, including those two blowout defeats on the road, the Wolf Pack has officially met adversity.

“We keep telling our guys that teams are going to come out and play better against us,” Nevada coach Eric Musselman said after the loss to SDSU. “They don’t understand that. Maybe one day they will. But right now they don’t. All we can do is coach as well as we can coach and put them into positions.”

The Wolf Pack heads to Air Force on Wednesday on the heels of its worst back-to-back road losses since defeats at Wichita State (by 29), New Mexico (by 12) and Fresno State (by 22) last season. Nevada responded to that trio of losses with a 23-point win at Air Force, its most-lopsided conference road win in its MW era (since 2012). The Wolf Pack is hoping for a similar bounce back in the same venue Wednesday.

“I’m just disappointed in the last two road games we’ve played,” Musselman said after the SDSU loss. “We have to get better next game. Our starters have to play better basketball.”

With practically no bench production, the Wolf Pack has leaned heavily on its starting five.

The quartet has been reliable for much of the year, but Marcus Marshall, the MW’s top scorer, has hit a funk in the last four games; Cameron Oliver has been up and down; Lindsey Drew’s defense has been the subject of criticism from Musselman; Jordan Caroline has only one double-double in the last seven games after posting eight in the first 18; and Fenner has served as the steadiest hand.

As Fenner predicted before the season began, adversity was sure to strike at some point. It took a while before Nevada faced it head on, but now it’s here. The Wolf Pack sits in third place in MW play with six games to go, a precarious position after back-to-back wins over Boise State and New Mexico just three weeks ago had the Wolf Pack in the driver’s seat at the midway point of the conference season.

After blowout losses in two of its last three games, Nevada is searching for its form from earlier in the year.

“We can’t just go on the road and get blown out whether it’s the first-place team or the last-place team,” said Fenner, who was critical of the team’s preparation before the Utah State loss but said Nevada did all of the right things in preparation before the SDSU loss. “It can’t happen if we want to contend for the Mountain West championship. We just have to go back and watch film and get better.”

The Wolf Pack has a venerable opponent Wednesday. Air Force has lost four straight and seven of its last eight, including an 83-76 loss at Nevada on Jan. 18. The Wolf Pack had a 15-point halftime lead in that game before the Falcons tied the game late in the second half. Nevada (19-6, 8-4) eventually held off Air Force (10-15, 3-9) to improve to 16-3. The Wolf Pack has split its six games since that win.

The recent slide likely knocked Nevada out of contention for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth but a regular-season MW title remains a possibility if the Wolf Pack sharpens its play. Nevada also could earn the MW’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament by winning the conference tournament. So, while Nevada has encountered some recent adversity, the Wolf Pack is out to prove that to be only a bump in the road.

“All I know is it’s possible for us to make the NCAA Tournament, period,” Fenner said. “We just have to win the championship. It’s possible and that’s all I’m focused on is getting there.”

WOLF PACK BASKETBALL

Who: Nevada (19-6, 8-4 MW) at Air Force (10-15, 3-9)

When: Wednesday, 6 p.m.

Where: Clune Arena (capacity, 5,858)

TV/Radio: None/94.5 FM

Online: ESPN3

Betting line: Nevada favored by 6