MILWAUKEE – At the end of his team’s final film session before its game Thursday night against Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament, Nevada coach Eric Musselman left his players with a message.
“I don’t want this to end,” Musselman said. “I hope you don’t either.”
But facing an Iowa State team as deep as it is dangerous, Nevada’s magic season was cut short, although the Wolf Pack didn’t go down without a fight. Trailing by 13 at halftime, Nevada made some spirited second-half runs, cutting the deficit to four twice, before falling 84-73 in front of 18,025 fans at the Bradley Center.