Mississippi State (Butler or Northwestern) vs UNLV - Tempe AZ

[UNLV2001]

Looking at the rest of the non-conference schedule 

11/29 Northwestern (Tempe AZ) = Loss (4-3)

12/7 at Creighton = Loss (4-4)

12/14 vs Pacific (Henderson) = Win (5-4)

12/17 at Dayton  = Loss (5-5) 

12/21 vs UC Riverside = Win (6-5) 

Predicting a 6-5 record going into MWC play where UNLV lucks out & gets first three games: vs Fresno; at Air Force; vs SJSU which could be a 3-0 MWC start .....after that it gets tougher 

[VincentVegaBond]

On 11/28/2024 at 10:15 PM, UNLV2001 said:

After six games it's obvious that UNLV's roster took a step back 

There's not a single "GO TO" guy who can attack & create a scoring situation

As of this game I see UNLV being a .500 team at best & probably a 6th to 8th place MWC team with no post season 

Unless this group can mesh & clean up the glaring issues - Kruger will be under pressure if he comes back next season 

Plus the 4,000 attendance will not help 

Going to be a long season - Rebels might put one together here & there and surprise a middling MWC team, but realistically this is a bottom half MWC team 

 

 

I think they are probably mid tier (4th - 6th) but your point stands.

[VincentVegaBond]

On 11/28/2024 at 9:42 PM, ph90702 said:

Chris Mack is a good coach.

So was Rick Pitino, Chris Beard, George Karl, Rick Pitino, Jason Kidd, Mick Cronin, Rick Pitino, Ben Howland, Thad Matta and the countless others who were 100 percent coming to coach the Rebels. Point being, we are still waiting for one of those coaches to actually come.

[mundyc3]

I am letting the guy coach the season. Tournament or bust. Get healthy. 

[ph90702]

Not even UNLVRebelGrl was defending Kevin Kruger after last night.  She didn’t even tweet about the game.

[Droga]

Kruger wont even get this team to qualify for the cbi tourney lwt alone the nit or ncaa. UNLV alreast made the mistake of firing a coach midseason so dont do tgat again. The second the last game is over, probably first day of mwc tourney, fire him before he even gets out of the Thomas and Mack center. 

[Rebelcuff]

On 11/29/2024 at 1:15 AM, UNLV2001 said:

After six games it's obvious that UNLV's roster took a step back 

There's not a single "GO TO" guy who can attack & create a scoring situation

As of this game I see UNLV being a .500 team at best & probably a 6th to 8th place MWC team with no post season 

Unless this group can mesh & clean up the glaring issues - Kruger will be under pressure if he comes back next season 

Plus the 4,000 attendance will not help 

Going to be a long season - Rebels might put one together here & there and surprise a middling MWC team, but realistically this is a bottom half MWC team 

 

 

If he is back next year that means Harper gave him an extension. Do you really think they let him coach a 5th year on a 5 year contract?

[ph90702]

On 11/29/2024 at 7:20 AM, Rebelcuff said:

If he is back next year that means Harper gave him an extension. Do you really think they let him coach a 5th year on a 5 year contract?

Kevin Kruger is getting fired or extended.  No in-between.

You can’t bring somebody back for a 5th year without an extension.  That’s setting up somebody for failure.  Not as much as before the NIL/portal era, but still an issue.

[ph90702]

There is ZERO reason for UNLV to be this bad with Bear Cherry and DJ Thomas.

[ph90702]

Why not hire Lindy La Rocque?

I think UNLV could do better, but she wins.

[VincentVegaBond]

On 11/29/2024 at 7:57 AM, ph90702 said:

Kevin Kruger is getting fired or extended.  No in-between.

You can’t bring somebody back for a 5th year without an extension.  That’s setting up somebody for failure.  Not as much as before the NIL/portal era, but still an issue.

You are right... and if they give him an extension, they are essentially waving the white flag on the program.

[ph90702]

On 11/29/2024 at 9:21 AM, VincentVegaBond said:

You are right... and if they give him an extension, they are essentially waving the white flag on the program.

I would be SHOCKED if he gets a 5th year.

[Quickdraw]

[ph90702]

On 11/29/2024 at 9:29 AM, Quickdraw said:

Bruce holds the tip of his dick and teases it between the cheeks, giving Victoria thrills throughout her body.

[B_Lootz]

On 11/29/2024 at 8:57 AM, ph90702 said:

There is ZERO reason for UNLV to be this bad with Bear Cherry and DJ Thomas.

DJ seems to be going through a slight sophomore slump, so far, productivity wise and just uncharacteristic play. Cherry’s injury didn’t look very good so knows if he’ll be playing tonight.

[SDSUfan]

On 11/28/2024 at 9:19 PM, ph90702 said:

Who are your candidates to replace Kevin Kruger?

I would call Chris Mack myself.

LOL.  If I cared to look on the old board, I could show you where YOU and the other delusional Rubble morons were having this exact discussion this time last year.  By the end of the season you were gargling his nut sack and declaring him the BESTEST EVAH.

But keep it up.

It's highly entertaining

 

[ph90702]

On 11/29/2024 at 10:57 AM, SDSUfan said:

LOL.  If I cared to look on the old board, I could show you where YOU and the other delusional Rubble morons were having this exact discussion this time last year.  By the end of the season you were gargling his nut sack and declaring him the BESTEST EVAH.

But keep it up.

It's highly entertaining

 

Kevin Kruger will be gone.  I called for his firing 8 games into his tenure.

[UNLV2001]

On 11/28/2024 at 10:44 PM, VincentVegaBond said:

I think they are probably mid tier (4th - 6th) but your point stands.

IF UNLV can finish 4th or better then things might be better that we've seen this far --- granted, injuries aren't helping at the moment, but also I'm not seeing any great hope overall unless this team is still jelling and that comes over time 

[UNLV2001]

TEMPE, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team (4-2) saw its three-game win streak come to an end with an 80-58 loss to No. 25 Mississippi State (6-0) on Thanksgiving night in the Arizona Tip-Off at Mullett Arena. 

Jailen Bedford scored a season-high 13 points, while Jalen Hill had 11 and Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 10 with six assists for the Runnin' Rebels.

The Bulldogs were led by KeShawn Murphy's double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds. Josh Hubbard added 11 points for Mississippi State, which outrebounded UNLV 46-29 including a 19-4 advantage on the offensive glass.

STAT OF THE GAME: Mississippi State outscored UNLV in second-chance points, 30-3.

TURNING POINT: With a five-point lead at 22-17 with 12 minutes to go in the first half, Mississippi State went on a 12-2 run to take a 15-point lead with 6:30 left until halftime and led 45-32 at the break. The Bulldogs then used an 11-0 run over an almost four-minute stretch in the second half to take a 62-36 lead with 12:50 to play, taking full control of the game.

QUOTABLE: "We have to figure it out. There's a fun approach to that too. It doesn't have to be doom and gloom. We played a really good team tonight and of course, it wasn't the way we wanted it to go, but there's a lot of really good things we can take from it. They sped us up, they had us doing some things offensively in the second half, especially, that we have to avoid. Defensively, they did some things that we've got to do better at covering. Obviously the defensive rebounding sticks out, but there were a lot of times where we had a good chance to get them, we just have to finish the possession. So hopefully we are looking back at this game in a few weeks and we say that was a nice little eye-opener for us, because that's a tournament team. They are going to win a lot of games and compete for an SEC title. But the fun has to be in preparing and figuring out now how we are going to go compete against another really good, really physical team tomorrow, and we will start as soon as we get back to the hotel." - UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger.

NOTES: 
- This was the third meeting all-time between the two schools in men's basketball with UNLV still holding a 2-1 advantage.
- UNLV dropped to 7-3 over its last 10 games vs. ranked teams under Coach Kruger. 
- UNLV, which was without Jaden Henley, Rob Whaley Jr. and Jace Whiting because of injuries, lost Bear Cherry early in the second half because of a back injury. He had scored eight points and was 4 of 5 from the field with two blocks.
- Bedford was 3 of 6 on 3-pointers.
- Jacob Bannarbie, Brooklyn Hicks and Hill all recorded five rebounds.
- UNLV shot 56% (14 of 25) in the first half, but managed just 7 of 23 in the second.
- Mississippi State made 7 of 14 3-pointers in the first half.
- Mississippi State committed just 10 turnovers, while UNLV had a season-high 15.
- Mississippi State's bench outscored UNLV's 48-13.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,233 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will play Northwestern (5-2) on Friday, Nov. 28 at 5 p.m. MST/4 p.m. PST in the Arizona Tip-Off's third-place game. The Wildcats lost to Butler, 71-69, earlier on Thursday. Friday's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network and the radio call may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 AM in Las Vegas.

TICKETS: UNLV men's basketball tickets may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-3267 or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office. 

[UNLV2001]