The Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team needs one more victory this season to avoid making history.
Last year's team won 28 games (28-7) and came within one victory of equaling the school record for victories in a season, set by the 2006-07 Pack that went 29-5. This year's Wolf Pack is just 12-15 with just three games remaining in the regular season and a guarantee of just one game in the Mountain West Tournament.
The drop off from 28 victories to 12 would equal the school record for the biggest decline in wins from one season to the next. The 1965-66 Wolf Pack went 21-6 and the 1966-67 team fell off to just 5-20 for a decrease in victories of 16.
Unless this year's Wolf Pack wins seven more games this year it will join just four other years in school history that saw a decline in victories from one year to the next of at least 10.
The biggest one-season falloffs in victories in Wolf Pack history . . .
- 16: 1965-66 (21-6) to 1966-67 (5-20). Coach: Jack Spencer
- 11: 1978-79 (21-7) to 1979-80 (10-19). Coach: Jim Carey
- 10: 1991-92 (19-10) to 1992-93 (9-17). Coach: Len Stevens
- 10: 1946-47 (19-13) to 1947-48 (9-16). Coach: Jake Lawlor
- 9: 1945-46 (28-5) to 1946-47 (19-13). Coach: Jake Lawlor
- 8: 2009-10 (21-13) to 2010-11 (13-19). Coach: David Carter
- 8: 2006-07 (29-5) to 2007-08 (21-12). Coach Mark Fox
- 8: 1997-98 (16-12) to 1998-99 (8-18). Coach: Pat Foster
- 8: 1984-85 (21-10) to 1985-86 (13-15). Coach Sonny Allen
- 8: 1937-38 (14-7) to 1938-39 (6-9). Coach Doc Martie
- 8: 1932-33 (13-9) to 1933-34 (5-7), Coach Doc Martie
The 1965-66 and 1966-67 Pack teams have something in common with the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams. The 1965-66 Wolf Pack won a school record 16 games in a row, a record that was equaled by the 2011-12 team.
The falloff in 1966-67 wasn't a total surprise. The Pack, after all, lost senior starters Nap Montgomery, Larry Moore, Bill Nicholson and Frank Bruno off the 1965-66 team.
This year's falloff also isn't a total surprise. Wolf Pack lost senior starters Olek Czyz and Dario Hunt off the 2011-12 team and entered a tougher conference in the Mountain West.
