Fans, sportsbooks elated to see Pack in 'Sweet 16'

The University of Nevada bandwagon picked up a lot of new riders after the Pack basketball team upset Michigan State and Gonzaga on Saturday at the NCAA tournament.

Wolf Pack fever has gripped the entire Northern Nevada region, and locals will be in a frenzied state tonight when the Pack meet Georgia Tech at 6:40 p.m. in a regional semifinal game in St. Louis. Even the casual fan has taken notice that this is no ordinary event, or for that matter, no ordinary team.

"This is the crowning achievement of UNR sports - probably ever," said Eric Weigand, who works at the Carson Station sportsbook. "Hands down, this is probably the greatest UNR team in any sport."

Mike Longero, who played for the Wolf Pack from 1975 to 1979 and was on the school's first team to make a post-season appearance, said he was happy for this year's team.

"This school has had a lot of football success," said Longero, who teaches at Carson High School. "As far as basketball is concerned, this is definitely the benchmark (season) that future teams should be trying to match their success against.

"I've followed Nevada throughout the years since I played, but not super seriously. I'm thrilled with the progress the program has made. I had met Trent Johnson before, when he played at Boise State, and I was trying to decide between Reno and Boise, and he showed me around a little bit. Coach Johnson is definitely established. He came from Stanford and has high expectations. Those expectations are reflected in how the team is doing. I hope UNR can keep him here."

Longero was referring to rumors that Johnson is being courted by the University of Utah, among others. Johnson is in the second year of a contract, and Chris Ault, Nevada's athletic director, said he would like to extend Johnson's contract by three years as soon as the season is over.

Morey Tresnit, owner of Mo & Sluggo's Bar and Grill in Carson City, echoed that sentiment.

"They have had a great year," he said. "They tied for the conference title, won the conference tournament, they beat Kansas and they beat UNLV on the road. Then to come back and beat Michigan State like they did ... it was great."

The success of the Wolf Pack has obviously helped the local sportsbooks and the local sports bars bring in some extra revenue, and they're hoping for the same results tonight and Sunday.

"It's been big," said Walt Matson, Casino Fandango sportsbook manager. "We were having a grand opening for one of the new areas we opened up. The cheering was unbelievable. There is quite a support group in this county.

"Saturday's game was such a blowout, so it wasn't as loud. UNR got ahead early and stayed ahead. Thursday's game was much more exciting because they came from 16 points behind and came all the way back."

Matson said money bet was heavy on Nevada in both games.

"A lot of people here are very excited," Matson said. "This is good for this community."

Weigand said the crowd on Thursday was much smaller than on Saturday, and he hopes that the crowd is bigger because of the Friday-Sunday format this week. Other than the Super Bowl, he said the NCAA tournament draws the most interest from bettors.

"The Saturday games drew quite a crowd," he said. "There was a lot of money bet on Gonzaga. It was pretty loud. It was cool; exciting."

Arlin Tolbert, manager of Bully's, said his establishment is always busy when the Wolf Pack are on television.

"There's a lot more attitude," he said. "They cheer as a group. It's like one big group. With the Wolf Pack playing, we got a big group before, during and after both nights. We had around 200 last Saturday, and everybody was crowding around the TV sets. We're always busy on Friday, and tonight's game will just add to that."

And just maybe, the Wolf Pack will give the fans more thrills than ever before.