The 16-1 Wolf Pack climbed from No. 19 to No. 15 in the latest Associated Press poll, and up two slots to No. 13 in the poll conducted by USA Today-ESPN.

The team's rise in the national rankings followed road games last week to San Jose State and Hawaii, in which the Pack showed it's depth without the 6-foot-11 Fazekas, a two-time All-American and Nevada's all-time leading scorer.

Also on Monday, Nevada guard Marcus Kemp was named Western Athletic Conference player of the week for Jan. 8-14. It was Kemp's second career weekly WAC award and the second for a Nevada player this year.

A junior, Kemp was instrumental in extending Nevada's winning streak to nine games as he averaged 23.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in three wins for the Wolf Pack, which hasn't lost since Dec. 9 against UNLV.

Fazekas, who is second in the NCAA with 12.1 rebounds per game, severely sprained his ankle when he landed on another player's foot Jan. 8 during the first half against Boise State at Lawlor Events Center.

Nevada won that game 90-86. Kemp scored 27 points and had five assists and six rebounds.

On Thursday, Kemp racked up 33 points and eight rebounds in a 72-63 win at San Jose State. He followed that up Saturday with 11 points in a 68-66 overtime win at Hawaii.

Nevada is tied for first place in the WAC at 4-0 with New Mexico State. The Wolf Pack returns to its home court Thursday to take on Fresno State before traveling to New Mexico to meet the WAC co-leader Saturday.

Coach Mark Fox said he's hopeful Fazekas will be back in action for this week's games.

"Nick on one leg is better than some guys on two. He's making progress," Fox told the Reno Gazette-Journal after Saturday's win in Honolulu. "He's able to walk with a smaller brace. He hasn't tried to run or jump yet. But he's getting better."

Ramon Sessions, who hit the go-ahead basket in overtime and scored 19 points against Hawaii, said playing and winning without Fazekas has been a confidence booster for the team.

"It will give confidence to our big men. With Nick out, they're getting more minutes than they would usually get," Sessions said. "It helped the rest of us, too, winning without Nick.