Sixth-ranked Nevada leaves the friendly confines of Lawlor Events Center and heads south to Las Vegas to take on Tulsa on Thursday as part of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

With five fifth-year seniors in the starting lineup and a bench as deep as anyone in the country, Nevada (4-0) is flying high.

The Golden Hurricane are off to perfect 4-0 start, albeit maybe not as impressive as the Wolf Pack.

Nevada has played its four games in a 13-day span, sweeping BYU, Pacific, Little Rock and Cal Baptist by an average of 25.3 points.

Tulsa also has played four games in a 13-day span and beaten Alcorn State, South Carolina State, Cal Baptist and Little Rock by an average of 12 points.

The two teams have played two common opponents. The Wolf Pack defeated California Baptist 90-55, while the Golden Hurricane were 82-79 winners over California Baptist.

Tulsa also defeated Little Rock 88-78. Nevada rolled to an 87-58 win over Little Rock.

The only takeaway here is that the Wolf Pack and Golden Hurricane are taking care of business, although Tulsa's wins might be a tad too close for comfort for head coach Frank Haith.

But every good team has a capable floor general, and Haith and Nevada coach Eric Musselman each have one.

Sterling Taplin has started more than 60 games during his career at Tulsa. He is averaging 10.3 points and 7.0 assists this season and leads the teams in steals with seven.

And despite struggling from the free-throw line, where he has made just 8 of 17, Haith has 100 percent confidence in Taplin.

"A senior point guard is like a senior quarterback," Haith told the Tulsa World. "When you've got one of those guys, it makes things a lot easier. As when we had Shaq (Harrison) when he was a senior, having a veteran guy lead your team in that position is so vital.

"We've got a senior point guard who's been through it. He's played a lot of minutes. ... Because of that, he can be a part of the coaching staff in terms of giving good information to our players, being a big-time resource for those (younger) guys on what's to come."

Nevada's point guard has seen it all as well.

Cody Martin might not be the scorer that his twin brother, Caleb, is, but no one questions Cody's ball-handling skills and decision-making. He comes into Thursday's game averaging 7.3 points and 8.0 assists.

Martin is an extension of Musselman on the floor, making sure everyone is in sync and where they're supposed to be.

"He's a next-level point guard," Musselman said after the Little Rock game. "He's got a great basketball IQ. He's letting the game come to him. He's not forcing shots. He's not taking bad shots."

Martin is the perfect piece of the Wolf Pack puzzle. With so many scoring options, it takes a high IQ player like him to make the right moves.

Martin is helping Jazz Johnson become a force on the offensive side of the ball. While teams try to slow down Caleb Martin or Jordan Caroline, Johnson has stepped up.

"Right now, when Jazz comes in the game, the game has really changed from a positive standpoint for us," Musselman told the Reno Gazette Journal. "In the (four) years I've been here, he's probably been the guy off the bench that's done as much damage as anybody, as far as increasing the lead when he comes in the game."

Johnson has not started any of the four games, yet he is fourth on the team with an average of 24.3 minutes per game. He's shooting 54 percent from the field and has made 12 of 23 3-point attempts. Those 13 points per game off the bench help take the pressure off Caleb Martin and Caroline.

Tulsa is led by big men DaQuan Jeffries (15.0) and Martins Igbanu (14.3).

"He's really grown as a player and I believe this: If he continues, he can be (one) of the better players in our league as a post player," Haith said of Igbanu. "They're hard to come by, but he's just got to believe in himself -- which he has -- and continue to develop."

The Golden Hurricane aren't a great shooting team from long range and that might be the big difference between the two.

Haith's squad has made just 22 of 68 3-point attempts, a 32-percent clip. The Wolf Pack rely on the 3 as a staple of their offense and have hit 38 of 104 attempts.

Nevada is averaging 86.5 points on 46.4 percent from the field while Tulsa is averaging 79.2 points on 48.8 percent.