Pack mentality: Nevada is no fluke

Nevada’s bus pulled into Loyola of Chicago’s arena and the Wolf Pack made their way to the locker room. Even behind closed doors, one of college basketball’s most derisive chants rang in their ears: “Overrated!”

Of course the Ramblers’ fans laid it on thick last week. Nevada nearly derailed the team’s storybook run in the NCAA tournament last season.

“We’re getting used to this,” coach Eric Musselman said.

No. 6 Nevada has matched its 8-0 start from last season, winning its games by an average of 20 points.

“We’ve had this number next to our name preseason before we even played a game, and we hadn’t proven anything, so we’re just trying to continue to validate who we are as a basketball team,” Musselman said.

Last season, Nevada went 29-8, won the Mountain West regular-season title and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They beat Texas and Cincinnati to reach the Sweet 16 before losing to Loyola 69-68.

Last week, the Wolf Pack avenged that heartbreaking defeat with a 79-65 victory.

They play 20th-ranked Arizona State on Friday at Staples Center as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic tripleheader. It will be Nevada’s second trip to Los Angeles in a week, having beaten USC 73-61 last Saturday.

Furman stays hot: Alex Hunter and Matt Rafferty each had 18 points as No. 25 Furman defeated host Elon 98-77 on Tuesday in its first game since the program’s debut in the AP Top 25. Matt Rafferty also scored 18 points and Clay Mounce added 17 for the Paladins (9-0), who own wins over Final Four teams Villanova and Loyola.