UNLV2001 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 DATE: Saturday, January 25 TIME: 12 pm SITE: Tarkanian Court, Thomas & Mack Center (18,000), Las Vegas TV: FOX (Guy Haberman, Casey Jacobsen) RADIO: ESPN Radio 1100 AM & SiriusXM 83 (Matt Neverett, Curtis Terry, Steve Cofield) AUDIO: UNLV Rebels App & UNLVRebels.com STATS: Live Stats at UNLV Rebels App & UNLVRebels.com The series started in 1976 UNLV leads the all-time series 43-26 UNLV has won each of the last six games against New Mexico at the Thomas & Mack Center and is 25-11 all-time against the Lobos at home UNLV's last loss to UNM at the Thomas & Mack Center was in 2018 UNLV swept the season series against the Lobos last year, has won three straight against UNM and 10 of the last 11 The Lobos come to Las Vegas having won two in a row: home against Boise State (84-65) on Jan 17 and home against Fresno State (95-67) on Monday Their only loss in Mountain West play was at San Jose State (71-70) on Jan 14 New Mexico is 3-2 in true road games this season New Mexico is third in the country in fast-break points with 18.3 per game and 19th in scoring at 83.9 ppg UNM is led in scoring by Donovan Dent with 18.9 ppg (1st in MW) The team’s leading rebounder is Nelly Joseph with 10.1 rpg (1st in MW), while Dent leads in assists with 6.9 apg (T-1st in MW) The Runnin’ Rebels have won eight of their 10 games at the Thomas & Mack Center this season UNLV is 11-2 when leading at the half this season Since the 3-point field goal was adopted by the NCAA in 1986-87, UNLV has converted at least one 3-pointer in all 1,246 games played UNLV is 416-225 (.649) all-time against teams that currently make up the Mountain West 2 Quote
UNLV2001 Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 https://lasvegassun.com/news/2025/jan/24/unlv-basketball-at-a-crossroads-following-wyoming/ UNLV basketball at a crossroads following loss to Wyoming The UNLV basketball team suffered a devastating loss, falling at home in embarrassing fashion to a bottom dweller during the dog days of January. The listless performance left serious questions about whether Kevin Kruger’s squad has the fortitude to grind through the conference season and contend in the Mountain West in any meaningful way. We’re not talking about Tuesday’s 63-61 loss to Wyoming, but rather last year’s even-more-humiliating blowout defeat at the hands of lowly Air Force. That loss — a completely stunning, 90-58 rout at the Thomas & Mack Center on Jan. 23 — appeared to be the end of UNLV basketball altogether. Air Force was beyond bad (the Falcons finished 9-22 overall and 2-16 in conference play), and the defeat dropped a UNLV team that was expected to battle for the Mountain West crown to 9-9 and 2-4 in the league. Simply put, the Scarlet and Gray were not competitive against the worst team they would face all year. “There’s no words for that one,” Kruger said after the game. It was a low point for UNLV. It was also a turning point. The Scarlet and Gray responded by winning their next five games, closing the regular season on a 10-2 run and playing their best basketball in years. Though they weren’t able to win the Mountain West tournament, they went 21-13 overall, 12-6 in the league and earned a berth in the NIT. Is this team capable of doing something similar after the horrible Wyoming loss? There are some superficial similarities to last year’s Air Force debacle, starting with the timing and location, but those are superficial. The more important factor is how the twin defeats felt. After the Air Force game, Keylan Boone said UNLV “didn’t come out with the right mindset.” Rob Whaley concurred: “We came out flat and soft.” Junior wing Jaden Henley and junior center Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry delivered a similar message after the Wyoming loss, which was more competitive — UNLV staged a furious rally in the final minute before D.J. Thomas missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer. In the post-game press conference, Henley questioned the team’s competitive desire. “We weren’t competing for our type of shots,” Henley said. “I think we got a little bit selfish and kind of got tunnel vision and fell into their gameplan, and these are the results.” UNLV can certainly play better. That was evident in the two prior games, which saw the Scarlet and Gray topple No. 22 Utah State at the Mack and then go on the road and knock off San Diego State. Kruger’s squad is clearly capable of beating the best the Mountain West has to offer, so in that respect the 2023-24 and 2024-25 teams are comparable. UNLV is currently 11-8 overall and 5-3 in league play. The schedule is not going to make it easy to run off a five-game winning streak. UNLV hosts New Mexico on Saturday, then runs this gauntlet: at Utah State (Jan. 29), at UNR (Feb. 1), vs. Boise State (Feb. 4) and at Wyoming (Feb. 8). The next four opponents have a combined record of 57-21, and a road game at Wyoming is no gimme regardless of win-loss records. Kruger gave the team Wednesday off before resuming practice on Thursday. He wanted the players to relax, get away from basketball for a day and not think about everything that went wrong against Wyoming. Now it’s time for the team to respond, or not. “You’ve just got to get off the mat,” Kruger said. “You’ve got to get up and play another good team in this conference. You’ve got to have a better intent, better energy, bench has got to be more alive. The enthusiasm has got to make it all the way up to the concourse.” Quote
Soupslam Posted January 25 Posted January 25 Will the Rebels rebound from the loss to the Cowboys? The Rebels match up well with the Lobos so wouldn’t be surprised to see another upset. Quote
Lobonado Posted January 25 Posted January 25 Worried about this one. I think the Rebels will get up to play us. Hopefully we can start strong and demoralize them. 1 Quote
VincentVegaBond2 Posted January 25 Posted January 25 I'm at the tomb known as the Mack along with what looks like a couple hundred other Rebel fans. Tipoff in 10 minutes. I figured there'd be more simply cuz it's the Lobos. There is a lot to do in Vegas and now we have professional sports, yeah, but this should never be considered acceptable. Football got over 40k to a game last year which was once thought unthinkable. Give the fans a program that generates excitement and hope and they will turn out. 1 Quote
PTR Posted January 25 Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 12:09 PM, Lobonado said: Worried about this one. I think the Rebels will get up to play us. Hopefully we can start strong and demoralize them. Regardless of if UNM was bad or good, they've had our number over the past 8-10 years. Would like to see UNM play aggressively off the bounce, but not too recklessly. Dedan is one of the few 1s in the league capable of neutralizing Dent. I'm thinking it will probably be a one ot two possession game most of the way. Lobos 78 Rebs 74. Quote
Qwelish Posted January 25 Posted January 25 This is a good game. unm seems to have the edge inside, Ndyiae has made an early impact. UNLV guards and Hill have looked good against the lobos. KK has a nice group of guards this year. But team seems to lack interior finishing. Quote
NMBob Posted January 25 Posted January 25 magic hot spot for rebel 3s right in front of lobo bench, literally 15 inches away lol Quote
Rebelcuff Posted January 25 Posted January 25 Kruger running his little kid basketball offense. Team doesn't know how to guard. Lobos getting anything they want. 1 Quote
Qwelish Posted January 25 Posted January 25 I've never seen someone put a shot up behind the backboard. Quote
Rebelcuff Posted January 25 Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 3:41 PM, VincentVegaBond2 said: That Barack Obama ref SUCKS! Ticky tack. Calling fouls before anything happens. Worst kind of official. 1 Quote
NMBob Posted January 25 Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 1:41 PM, Qwelish said: I've never seen someone put a shot up behind the backboard. I didnt see the one you are referencing.... but its not legal to go over the top , game ended last week with desperate shot off the baseline with a second left and they waived it off fpr going over . This game will be tight at the two minute mark second half. Just waiting to get to the exciting end. Quote
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