Preview of exhibition game Washburn v. UNLV

     VS.  

Despite all of the hype surrounding the let’s run, 11.11.11 campaign, you can actually catch some UNLV basketball prior to that, starting November 1, 2011. The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels will host NCAA Div II Washburn in an exhibition matchup – meaning it will not reflect positively (or negatively) on our win-loss record.

The Runnin’ Rebels normally fluctuate between 1-2 exhibition games to start a season, and this year unfortunately its only one. The reason I say ‘unfortunately’ is because having installed a completely new coaching staff and offensive strategy, anyone in those circumstances could use as many tune-ups as they can get before the regular season.

If you believe you’ve heard of Washburn before, its because they are a familiar and regular exhibition opponent for UNLV, at least during Lon Kruger’s tenure. The Rebels have played them the last six seasons, five times as an exhibition, once as a regular season game. Although the Rebels have normally destroyed the Ichabods, the 2009-10 meeting gave a scare, as Washburn was up by 1 point late in the game, but the game ultimately was won by the Rebels 62-52. Speaking of Coach Krugers fixation on Washburn, the Ichabods aren’t finished with their exhibition schedule after meeting the Rebels this year, they’ll travel on to play Oklahoma (they are only team to face both UNLV and Oklahoma this schedule barring NCAA tournament matchups).

As with all divison II opponents, UNLV is expected to win by an impressive margin, as well as test some of the new look offense. But who are the Washburn Ichabods this year and is there anything to look forward to?

Not a ton of size – the Ichabods do not have anyone taller than 6’9”, and even that player is listed as a forward. So, you have a team with no natural center. What this means is that our big guys (Massamba and Lopez, as well as the undersized Thomas) should have their way at the basket both with rebounding and scoring.

Inexperience – the Ichabods only return 3 players from the team we faced last year, including only one starter. Not familiar whether that’s normal turnover at a D-II institution, but if it were D-I it’d be a disaster, or Utah!

Even at their media day, the Ichabods admitted they’ll have just a few weeks to have all of their new players mesh before taking on UNLV, and then Oklahoma. So, this is truly a David vs. Goliath situation.

What more can be said? Nobody has seen this Washburn team play, and expectations are low. Because of the pool of talent, UNLV likely challenged itself more in the Scarlet and Gray scrimmage, and against its own practice team.

Downsides and pitfalls to watch out for

Playing an opponent under these circumstances, here is something UNLV has to be careful of, and one they cannot avoid

1.       Run UNLV’s game plan – although this is clearly an overmatched opponent, UNLV must follow the game plan, run our offense and defense, and not let up on the gas pedal no matter what athlete is inserted into the game. The Rebels had a tendency to play down to the competition last season, I say show no mercy, win by as many as possible and show people UNLV still plays tough defense and limit their baskets, especially inside.

2.       A 10 day layoff – After this ‘tune-up’, the Rebels first official game will be ten days later. It will feel almost like a bye-week in football.  That’s a heck of a break between games, and probably isn’t a particularly great way to prepare for the season. The Rebels are going to have to find a way to stay sharp and challenge themselves when the next crack at competition comes more than a week later.
    Update: The Las Vegas Sun has reported that UNLV will host a closed scrimmage against Loyola Marymount in-between games. Not a bad compromise, but the fans miss out :(

Even though it isn't ideal circumstances, it's still UNLV basketball. Go to the game, and consider it an appetizer!

Season on

Now that we are starting the season, updates will be much more frequent and no longer necessarily only on Sundays. Hooray, Rebel basketball is back!


Sunday evening we'll bring you a preview of the Washburn game, which will be played this Tuesday. Hopefully some Ben Carter news will be available as well. Come back soon, and often as the season will be a fun one!

Season preview 2011-12

UNLV Coach Dave Rice being interviewed post-scrimmage. Credit to Jason Taylor

Welcome to the season preview! The chosen format is a series of questions about the upcoming season, followed by answers from myself, Jay Raman, and Jason Taylor. Hope you are as excited as we are to get this season started, if you missed the announcement buy your single game tickets now!

Given that the Rebels will win 20+ games again, what match-ups are toss-ups or losses?

Jay Raman: The tough games on the schedule are the following, USC, UNC (if we play them), UCSB, Wichita State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Cal, UNR, SDSU, CSU, and New Mexico. That’s 14 of the 32 games on the schedule.

Of that list, UNC is the overwhelmingly voted #1 college basketball team by pre-season poll, and Cal checks in at #24. Other teams getting votes that we play only include New Mexico.

Being realistic of the hard-list of teams we play, here’s how I see it:

UNC – loss (they’re just too good and we’ve not had good luck at the Orleans)

USC – win

UCSB – win

Wichita State – toss-up (loss)

Wisconsin – toss-up (loss)

Illinois – win (revenge)

Cal – toss-up, win

UNR – toss-up, win

SDSU – win, both times

CSU – win, both times

New Mexico – split series (home win, road loss)

Ok, so that would make the record 28-4, maybe a bit too optimistic – but why not?

 Jason Taylor: New Mexico provides the obvious toss up games.  Steve Alford is in his 5th year and has carefully crafted a solid line-up.  The difference in these games will likely come down to free throw percentages, rebound advantages, or a turnover or two.  Of course, Wallace catching fire against them again wouldn't hurt... he hit seven 3's the last time he played at the Pit, and he handily delivered the win.

I look forward to USC... In theory, we should win by a decent margin, but we should have beaten them last time we played them and they cleaned our clock.  North Carolina is the obvious "over-dog" if we get a chance to play them in the LV Invitational.  They have 9 players that were in the ESPN top 100 as recruits.  The worst of the 9 was the 32nd best recruit in the nation.  They're stacked taller than a Sunday morning table at IHOP! 

Wisconsin jumps out.  We play them "away" this year, and even though we edged them out early last year in our 9-0 run, they ended up ranked higher than UNLV over the long haul, and deserved it.  Illinois destroyed us so thoroughly in the tournament, I cringe to think we'll be playing them "away" as well.  Hopefully we learned some lessons... we actually won the second half of that game by 3 points (How's that for lookin' at the bright side?).  Cal seems to have our number over the years as well.  I don't know their ins and outs, but my sense is that we should edge them out. 

Then, of course, comes UC Santa Barbara, who has eternally held "our number" firmly in its grasp.  Can we please scribble their names off of all future schedules???

The MWC is weaker this year, so we shouldn't lose more than 2-3 conference games, hopefully.

My guess:  28-5 thru the MWC Tournament.

Will the Rebels actually run?

Jay Raman: Yes, they will definitely run. Coach Rice showed at BYU that he can run an up-tempo offense with remarkable efficiency and success, he should be able to do the same at UNLV. As long as UNLV defense remains hated by opponents and we generate an alert transition offense, then we’ll run. The Rebels definitely have the athletes to make it happen, and this is a much more athletic team having lost Willis and Jasper, and gaining Moser and Smith. Provided there are no injuries to key guys the team has the potential to be something very special, they can win games, entertain fans, and attract recruits. I don’t know whether it was part of their practice game plan, or if it was just to entertain the fans but the 10 second shot clock during the scrimmage was a step in the right direction.

Jason Taylor: Paradoxically, yes. 

Why "paradoxically?"  Kruger often ran "smaller" with 3 guards and 1 "big", and now Rice will run with a pair of guards, a true small forward, like Chase, and 2 bigs.  So, we'll be playing bigger and faster. 

Coach Rice has stressed style of play since day 1, and his style "Runs"!

Will this year's schedule be the RPI builder of years past?

Jay Raman: Hard to say, I don’t have the math but I feel that last year’s non-conference schedule was consistently better, meaning more overall quality opponents. This years is a mixed bag of some very good and very terrible teams. The conference schedule is weaker this year as well, so that hurts it too. Sports Illustrated has said that we have a weak schedule, whereas ESPN has said we have one of the hardest. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Provided we win all the games we are supposed to win and win at least half of the games that are hard, it should give us some credibility come tournament time. At least it isn’t a Utah State kind of schedule.

Jason Taylor: The RPI gives heavy weight to home vs. away games.  Neutral games, for instance, are factored by 1, which means they are not weighted.  Away wins and home losses are multiplied by 1.4, so home wins and away losses are multiplied, conversely, by .6.  Then, heavy weight is given to the record of our opponents, and then, to a lesser degree, the records of our opponents' opponents. 

Now that that is perfectly clear (ya, right!)... It's important to play quality teams.  If you lose to a really good team, their record will help offset the loss, especially if it's an away game.  If you can beat really strong teams in away games, you're RPI will skyrocket.

We have the ability to build a quality RPI the first half of the season with a possible UNC neutral game, and away games at Wichita St (picked to win their conference), Wisconsin, and Illinois.  Cal is one of the few possible RPI building home games.  The rest of the non-conference games are dangerous because we play some very weak opponents... we must win pretty much all of them to even maintain an RPI position.  Some games we'll win, and still go backwards in the RPI (i.e. Louisiana-Monroe at home). 

RPI watchers hope teams in your conference win all their non-conference games.  This year, that's questionable.  New Mexico will be a potential RPI builder, but UNLV likely cannot lose more than 2-3 conference games in a weakened MWC and hold on to a good RPI. 

Overall... It's fragile.  We will likely need to win 24-26 games to generate a strong season-end RPI, and we can't drop "easy" games.

Last year the average attendance at the T&M was one of the best on the west coast at 13253.  What will the average attendance be this year?

Jay Raman: The average attendance should be closer to 15,000 this year. There are some factors that hold that number down (it should actually be higher).

It should be higher because our home schedule is much weaker than our away schedule, which will hurt attendance. Additionally, we lose BYU and Utah – two teams that normally bring a lot of their fans to the arena and energize our base (to root against them), the rest of the MWC with the exception of New Mexico does not inspire attendance, and our best possible opponent, North Carolina, (should we play them) will be unfortunately at the Orleans. The number will be higher than last season because the team is overall better, and Coach Rice’s brand of up-tempo has already inspired this city and will spur more ticket sales than before.

 

Jason Taylor: As a fan, I want to say the Rice "Runnin' Era" attendance is going to skyrocket.  However, I don't think the T&M will get much of a boost this year.

The USC and UNC games will be played at the Orleans, which is a "neutral" court.  Our other big opponents are away games.  Cal, arguably our biggest home opponent in the non-conference schedule, will play at 2:00 pm on FRIDAY, of all days.  Reno, our in-state "rival", plays at the Mack on a Monday night... Grrrr. 

To add to it, the first time UNLV plays at home on a Saturday... January 21st, against New Mexico.

BYU is gone too.  So, New Mexico (Sat), SDSU (Sat), and Colorado State (Wed) will be our best T&M conference games. 

I really don't like to undercut the excitement of the Rice Era, but I think increased interest in the team will be offset by a lack of quality home games.  We'll still be one of the best attended basketball arenas on the west coast, but I think we'll maintain attendance numbers - until next year.

Will Marshall be a better PG than Bellfield?

Jay Raman: Not better, not worse, but different. I believe they are both good in the PG roll, but Coach Rice saw something in Marshall from a far, because the PG switch decision was implemented almost immediately. Individually, Bellfield could probably use a break from running the point with the amount of minutes he has logged in his career, and he gets to show everyone how he can be a good shooting guard. The opposite for Marshall, he needs more minutes, and more opportunities to show he can be a floor general. Bellfield’s assist to turnover ratio last season was 1.7, down from the previous year when it was 2.5. Whoever runs point needs to be extra-careful with the ball as the quicker pace greatly increases the potential to make mistakes. The one thing I would hate to see is Marshall as a PG who no longer looks to create his own shot – one of the few members of last year’s team who could do that.

Jason Taylor:  Putting the ball in Anthony Marshall's hands more often, I believe, offers up a pair of Loaded Diapers for defenders... Try guarding him one-on-one and he'll end up cramming it down your throat with his speed, strength, and explosiveness.  Apply "help D", and he'll dish or kick. 

AM:  "Excuse me, Sir Defender:  Would you like Loaded Diaper A, or Loaded Diaper B?"

I think Marshall has a higher overall ceiling than Bellfield.  He reminds me a lot of former Rebel Marcus Banks, who went the way of the NBA.  He lacks Banks' outside game, but makes up for it with hops and pecks!  If Marshall can build his way into the NBA, the Point is the perfect position for him to do it from. 

Bellfield is a very good "face-up" jump shooter, so I believe he'll actually benefit as well.

With that said, I don't think the switch means as much under Rice as it would have under Kruger.  Rice's offense will rely on multiple transition ball handlers, all the way up through the power forward position.  Guards, including Wallace, will immediately turn up court as they rebound, so Marshall will bring the ball up less often under Rice, I believe, than Bellfield brought it up under Kruger.

Which assistant coach are we likely to see standing up and being the most vocal during games?

Jay Raman: I think they all will be vocal, but I doubt we’ll see any standing from the assistants. Everyone has something to prove despite their accomplishments – Schroyer wants another HC job and by associating himself with UNLV and our success, he should be able to do that shortly (1-2 seasons). Hutson and Augmon both want to be head coaches, and part of getting there is being really effective assistants (see Dave Rice). I think players will hear from all of them from the bench, but likely mostly Hutson while the team is playing defense (if I have to pick someone).

Jason Taylor: My only guess is a long shot - Heath Schroyer.  He was a bit of a foot stomper as head coach at Wyoming, but who knows how he'll be as a non-alpha dog?  I have no idea about Augmon.  He seems generally reserved to me.  Same with Hutson... I just don't remember him jumping off the SDSU bench, but maybe anyone would seem quiet next to Steve Fisher, who would run the baseline if he could.

Whose game will improve the most over last season?

Jay Raman: Karam Mashour due to lack of previous playing time. I think he can be a really good roll player on this team subbing in behind Chase Stanback and Mike Moser. He should average at least 5-6 ppg, if not more.

As far as players we’ve seen last season, I’ve always thought Carlos Lopez has the ethic and talent to be really special, like NBA bound. Provided he can stay out of foul trouble I expect an impressive season from him, even in light of last season’s impressive season.

 Jason Taylor: Marshall may have a break-out year at Point Guard.

Quintrell will likely receive more minutes than Massamba at the "5", so there will be lot of opportunity to shoulder the effort.  I see him getting  8-10 more minutes per game than last year, greatly improving his overall stats.

Carlos Lopez is a late developer with a really high upside.  He'll be playing the Power Forward slot with Moser, and I think this is a great position for him and his skills. 

However, I'm going to cheat on this one a little bit and look at a transfer.  For comparison, since he sat out last year, I'm borrowing UCLA's stats from 2009-10.  My prediction:  Mike Moser WILL WIN this category, assuming he stays healthy.  He didn't get much playing time at UCLA... only 4 minutes per game.  He shot 20% from the field and made less than 10% of his 3's.  My prediction:  Moser will go from averaging less than 1 point per game for the Bruins, to leading the Rebels in rebounding and scoring for UNLV this year, and will compete for "MWC Newcomer of the Year" honors.

Crazy?  Maybe, but I'm stickin' with it!

Is bringing back ‘the shark’ the right thing to do moving forward?

Jay Raman: What I don’t understand is that it seems they have already brought back the shark under Coach Kruger, and I feel as though I’ve occasionally seen it on the regular since they dedicated the court to Coach Tarkanian – so I don’t know why Coach Rice or his people say they’re bringing back the shark, its already back. What I originally assumed he meant, was that he was bringing back the guy in the shark suit, the pseudo mascot. Evidence the Shark is back 1) Court named Tarkanian Court and has a shark logo; 2) Shark projection and jaws music has been used; 3) The slow shark clap has been done by the fans. Unless we’re talking about bringing back the guy in the suit, it’s more of a ramping up of something that’s already being done – featuring it every game.

I just want to make sure it remains a motivator and intimidating, rather than purely nostalgic.

Jason Taylor: OK... At the risk of being a bit corny here, there are a few things I envisioned when Rice came back and all of the sudden, it felt like old times.  Sights of Tarkanian, Augmon, Larry Johnson... it just feels like the good-ole-days.  So, YES!  BRING BACK "THE SHARK"!  Duh-da. DUh-da.  DUH-Da.  DUH-DA!

Rebs srtike out on 'Que'

UNLV loses out on Demarquise “Que” Johnson’s commitment, to Washington State University.

http://www.cougcenter.com/2011/10/22/2506917/wsu-basketball-recruiting-demarquise-que-johnson

Impressions and Video from Scarlet and Gray Scrimmage

UNLV Scrimmage – Impressions

By Jason Taylor

RebelReign Contributor

(rebelgrad95)

Are We Runnin’?

The most obvious difference in tactics came as 6’8” Power Forward Mike Moser, and 6’8” Small Forward Chace Stanback brought the ball up after their respective rebounds.  The guards were running ahead on the wings.  After made baskets, the Point pushed it up with tempo. 

Regardless of who brought the ball up, the offensive set was in motion very quickly.  The flurry of movement was evidenced as both teams huffed and puffed in fairly short order during a break. 

“Sub, Please.” 

Fortunately we’ll have plenty, as we likely will see a 9-10 man rotation, which will include Massamba, I believe, but probably not much from Mashour (dang’it).  Smith is definitely worthy, so we’ll see him after December 17^th, when he becomes eligible after his transfer from Marquette. 

The only fast breaks came after steals in a 20-minute scrimmage, but you can definitely see a difference in offensive pace.  There was no evidence of a zone defense.  Imagine combining Kruger’s intense defense with an equal offensive effort.

“Another Sub, Coach.  Please.”

A Myth, Tested

One myth was tested, and confirmed.  Reggie Smith is a highlight waiting to happen. 

Reports of a 44” vertical are a little hard to believe.  However, I stood on the court at 6’1” after the event and looked down at Reggie.  I had to check his calves for evidence of Pogo Sticks, because this kid is ridiculous.  He brought oooh’s and aaah’s dunk after dunk in “warm-ups”, and as a finale he threw himself a rainbow pass off the floor, jumped up to rim height, grabbed the ball, slung it through his legs and tomahawked it, bringing the crowd to its feet (see the “Part 1” video @ about the 2:50 mark).

The Worst Best News of the Night

#15 is a game changer.  He provided some of the more exciting dunks in warm-ups. He is confident, athletic, and can score in multiple scenarios inside, and outside of the arc.  He is Bryce Jones.  The worst thing about Bryce – under transfer rules, we have to wait a year before he hits the court.

The Best Thing Wrong

UCLA transfer Mike Moser (#43) has been described as another Chace Stanback.  Fans welcomed that idea. 

However, the description is WRONG.  From what he showed tonight, he’s different, and better. 

Imagine a combination of Quintrell Thomas (but more athletic) and Chase Stanback (but more energetic).  This is very likely the multi-talented big guy we’ve been missing for years.  And years.  And years.   

Prediction:  Mike Moser - Leading rebounder and scorer for UNLV, 2011-12.

Another Prediction:  He will be in the running for “MWC Newcomer of the Year”. 

Found on the web, the big video is the pre-scrimmage dunking, smaller ones are in order, left to right, top to bottom. If you wish to view these bigger, please go to the scrimmage video tab.

Tournament time - What effort was in Vegas, stayed in Vegas - Season recap part 4

 

With the field for the Mountain West Championships finalized and UNLVs ever friendly home court, it looked to be a good tournament with two exceptions, BYU and SDSU were still dominant and still in the way. The draw put us facing Air Force in the quarter final, a team we had beaten in both matchups but we still played ugly basketball against previously. One of the measuring sticks of which Rebels team was appearing in the post-season would be how we played against Air Force this time.

The Falcons drew a 6 seed, the Rebels a 3. While it was likely the Rebels would get an at-large bid come Selection Sunday due to the finish to the regular season, Air Force needed to win the MWC tournament for a shot at the NCAA tournament. The Rebels out-hustled and out-muscled the Falcons to a 69-53 victory. The two people UNLV wanted to count on for production, Chace Stanback and Tre’von Willis, each had 20 points in the win. UNLV showed efficient offense production, shooting 50% from the field, and an impressive 55% from three. One troubling statistic was free-throw percentage, shooting only 65% on our home court (although UNLV didn’t have a ton of attempts). In other news, the Rebels impressively defended the bucket, tallying 8 blocks. This appeared to be the kind of team everyone wanted to see showing up to the tournament – great outing by the Rebels and certainly better than the other performances against Air Force this season.

UNLV then would have to deal with San Diego State, again on our home court. Unlike BYU, who was not playing the caliber of basketball they had been pre-Brandon Davies (if you’re not familiar, google Brandon Davies), SDSU was still firing on all cylinders. Each of the two previous matchups were agonizingly close, and could have favored the Rebels were it not for our shameful shooting percentages.

While the third meeting, this time in the MWC Semi’s, started off slowly for the Rebels, it became a close and interesting contest. As posted previously, here’s is how the Rebels hung with the Aztecs, but then lost the game:

   - 1st Half -
- Slow start for UNLV
- 3 ball not falling like previous games
- UNLV intensity very good, scrambling for loose balls, trying to make things happen
- SDSU early-on shooting at 80 pt pace
- Lots of turnovers
- UNLV makes its first run 2/3rds of the way through first half
- UNLV takes lead 5:35 left in half
- Stanback / Willis having great shooting nights again
- UNLV makes a critical error - intentional foul by Hawkins leads to 4 point swing
- Last 90 seconds of half terrible for UNLV, SDSU scores at will
- Aztec lead 10 PTS at half

   -2nd Half-
- Rebels 7-0 run to start half
- Quintrell big for us
- Rebels back within 2 @ 14 minutes in 2nd half
- WE HAVE NO ANSWER FOR KWAII LEONARD
- Both teams making their FTs
- 4 minutes to go 66-66 tie, K. Leonard picks up 4th foul
- We have lead at 2:53 mark
VERY TENSE from 2 minutes onward
- We score, we foul them, they make their shots
- Game tied
- Bellfield throws a pass to Stanback that's a bit too low, picked off
- DJ Gay takes ball up court, at least 3 rebels defend the shot from around FT line, 2pt lead Aztecs

Sequence on last play
5 seconds left, UNLV in-bounds ball, no time-outs left
- not looking like we are moving with any sense of urgency
- Willis / or Stanback takes last shot well defended from several feet behind 3, misses
- Buzzer sounds, Quintrell Thomas misses layup after buzzer

UNLV ends up losing the game 74-72. Another close loss to the #6 SDSU Aztecs. Again, like the previous games – it was winnable down to the last few seconds. It was heartbreaking to see SDSU, even though they were amazingly talented that season, beat the Rebels 3 for 3. The benefit was that all eyes were on this match-up, everyone saw the Rebels play the Aztecs tough, and losing to the #6^th ranked team in March isn’t a tragedy, even on your home floor.

Selection Sunday came, and while predictions were across the board as to where the Reb’s would land, at least they all had us getting into the tournament as an at-large bid. UNLV was selected as an 8 seed in the Southwest Regional to play Illinois, a 9 seed. In a bit of repetitive history, we drew the bracket that featured perennial favorite Kansas. Everyone believed that the Rebels could best Illinois and that we could perhaps look forward to another meeting with Kansas. Oh how wrong we all would be.

If someone made a list of lopsided spankings handed out in the first round of the NCAA tournament, UNLV would have to be on the receiving end of that embarrassing list. While the final score was 73-62, the game was nowhere close (similar to the Oregon game of years past). The Rebels started slow, and never took off. Illinois played basketball and scored at will. Our impressive Defense couldn’t save us. Our occasional offense was left in Las Vegas like a piece of missing luggage. Tre’von Willis blew out his knee and was of little use most of the game. Nobody else was able to help stop the massacre. Illinois shot nearly 60% from the field, UNLV almost 39%. Poor free-throw shooting and three point shooting were back. Illinois was the Globetrotters, UNLV was the Generals. UNLV was made fun of on the national stage, called by commentators “the walking Rebels”. Sadly, there was nothing to be proud of in this game.

With the perspective many months away from live basketball gives, and the events that have transpired in the meanwhile, maybe everything happened for a reason. While the initial blow on April 1, 2011 that Coach Kruger was leaving to rehabilitate Oklahoma’s basketball program was a turbulent time, the final product looks to be awesome – a coaching and recruiting dream team like few programs possess. Surely, had the Rebels progressed to the second round of the tournament, even the Sweet 16 again, Coach Kruger would likely have left anyhow and still would be overpaid by Oklahoma – its just too much money to refuse. Coach Kruger put the basketball program back in order, and now Coach Dave Rice is here to push us to the next level. While SDSU and BYU enjoyed their glory last year, it is the Rebels time to shine this year. Its not because BYU is gone (and much weaker) and SDSU is missing a lot of the keys they had, its because the Rebels needed to try something other than defense-defense-defense and the occasional wardrobe change motivation. The team had grown stagnant, but shows promise. We need to run, and have hired someone capable of making it happen. Last season was the final chapter of Lon Kruger basketball at UNLV, and by our standards it was neither good nor bad. I’m positive I’ll be writing a different recap next year where nobody ventures to call the Runnin’ Rebels “walking” again.

Be sure to check the new picture tabs for pictures of Runnin’ Rebels Weekend

Also, look forward to the season preview coming soon!

Here are some videos for season recaps:

Playing down to the competition - ugly wins and losses (season recap part 3)

You’ve guessed it, we’re talking about the conference schedule last season this week – and it was a heartbreaker.

UNLV, still ranked #25 at the beginning of the conference schedule had a home opener – a good way to start against familiar foes. Unfortunately, the Mountain West was competitive as ever last season, and in the way were two teams ranked and performing better than the Rebels – the BYU Cougars (ranked at the time #15), and the SDSU Aztecs (ranked #6 when we first played them).

BYUs rivalry with UNLV was among the highest of any programs vs. the Rebels. A UNLV/BYU game normally sold out the arena – and that was when the Cougars were just an above average team. On January 5th in front of a sellout crowd the Cougars did something they hadn’t in a long time – win at the Thomas and Mack. The Rebels kept it close in the first half, but then floundered and let the game get out of hand. Anthony Marshall and Brice Massamba had good games, everyone else was sub-par. More was going to be needed to beat the team that had only lost once – oddly to Cal. Besides not having Rebels offense clicking on all cylinders, Lon Kruger’s defense wasn’t equipped to prevent three-point capitalism. Jackson Emery was 6-9 from the arc, Jimmer Fredete was 7-13 from long range. While tragic, it’s doubtful that any team could have beaten BYU that night with those two lighting it up from the perimeter. The final was 89-77. With the loss, our Rebels fell out of the rankings.

The follow-up to the heartbreaker was a easy home game against TCU, who played sub-par non-conference basketball and whose real passion is clearly football. An easy 83-49 victory was scored at their expense. Optimism returned as our offensive production was solid with UNLV shooting 51% and TCU 31%. The first road game, a difficult one, was on the horizon.

Traveling to Viejas arena in San Diego had changed from previous years. The party school had hired a real coach, Steve Fisher, and were playing serious basketball in large part by a sophomore phenom and a collection of seasoned senior role players. Not only that, they were selling out games and had an enthusiastic fan base. Because of their success, as well as the Rebels, the game was featured on CBS college sports in HD. Man was it a nail biter. The Rebels had shown signs of greatness earlier in the season, but in this matchup UNLV played terribly – but so did #6 SDSU. The Rebels jacked up threes, bunches upon bunches and the result was that of a rigged carnival game – 1 of 18 from three-point-land as a team. We assumed the Rebels would be out rebounded, we were. What many had not assumed was that UNLV would be hanging right with SDSU till the very end. While it was another loss, at least it showed that the Rebels could hang with the #6 team in their gym, no small feat.

One step forward, two steps back seemed to be the theme of the conference schedule as well. After the close one in San Diego,  the Rebels traveled to play Air Force, and nearly gave away what should have been a guaranteed win. It took a late game (19-2) comeback for the Rebels to get the victory. Three point shooting woes remained, with the Rebels shooting a mere 25% from the arc. An ugly win in the low scoring affair, the Rebels would come back to Las Vegas haggard with their confidence shaken.

 Before the seasons started, most had it predicted BYU, SDSU, UNLV, and New Mexico as the teams prepared to make noise and perhaps all make the tournament. Those didn’t figure on Colorado State also being competitive. No matter how good or how bad teams are, if the bad team plays excellent and the good team plays very poorly, the bad team is likely to win. In one of the most unexpected losses of the season, the Rebels lost a home game to the CSU Rams. This loss really had people questioning the viability of the Rebels NCAA playoff chances.  The Rebels shot a miserable 13% from three, and never lead the game. The final score in this ugly game was 78-63, one of the worst home losses in recent memory.

In what was assumed to be a more difficult task the Rebels next faced New Mexico at the T&M. It was widely accepted that to make the tournament we needed to win this game or rely on sweeping the MWC tournament. This was one of the better games of the conference schedule, it wasn’t brick-fest and Oscar Bellfield got to be a hero – a roll he’s played well throughout his career. This game seesawed till the final minutes, when the unthinkable happened for the Lobos. UNLV trailed 61-60 when Willis intercepted Tony Snell's pass and was intentionally fouled. Willis made the two free throws, and Oscar Bellfield made 1 of 2 free throws with 18 seconds left to make it 63-61.The Rebels won due to luck or destiny, and thankfully shot a respectable 46% from three.

The Rebels first meeting with Wyoming, another team filling out the bottom of the MWC. The Rebels struggled in the first half, trailing by eight but righted the ship in the second half. The final score was 74-65. Shooting woes for the Rebels remained, but were largely contained in first half shooting.

Utah was just lousy last season. The Utes, a team normally stocked with 7’ centers, became fodder for Quintrell Thomas’s breakout game. He tallied 16 rebounds and 15 points, and the Rebels won the game 67-54. Carlos Lopez also nearly had a double double, so it just wasn’t Utah’s season. More evidence that even though Utah sucked, we might have lost this one – our shooting. UNLV shot almost 37% from the field, and only 16% from three. Luckily, Utah shot poorly as well. An ugly win to say the least, but congrats to our centers.

While the Rebs floundered, their next opponent, #8 BYU maintained the excellence they started with. Meeting them in Provo turned out to be as damaging as the previous meeting, they dominated us, winning 78-64.Poor shooting doomed the Rebels, on 30% shooting and 26% 3pointers. To make matters worse, BYU was nearly perfect from the charity stripe. Hopefully Coach Rice can instill that kind of work ethic in our players – make the free throws, their supposed to be easy, that’s why they are called ‘free’. This came was never that close.

UNLV’s second meeting, this time in Ft. Worth, TX,  had the feeling of a practice gym match. Due to weather issues, many failed to show up. While the reported attendance was “3813” the real number was more like 500, including the band and staff. UNLV won the game with their most impressive offensive outing of the conference schedule, with 94 points, but let the hapless Horned Frogs score 79 points. That’s not UNLV defense, especially against such a bad team in an odd atmosphere. Everyone was at least hopeful that the offensive production would continue when we faced SDSU next.

The first outing showed that SDSU appeared beatable by the Rebels – and that was in their gym. In another ugly loss, the Rebels lost another close one to #6 SDSU on our court, 63-57. The game was close almost all of the way, and it was most frustrating because UNLV could have legitimately beaten the Aztecs, both the previous time and this time. Here’s two things that the Rebels could have done better and won the game #1 make your free throws, 63% at home is simply unacceptable. #2 – stop shooting three pointers when you only make 1 of 15 (6%). I realize that SDSU has intimidating inside players who can throw a block party at a moment’s notice – but don’t get lazy and sit out on the arc all day when you’re one of the worst three point shooting squads in the NCAA. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t bounce our way.

The following game vs. Air Force was an ugly affair for both teams, but someone had to win and someone had to lose. Tallying a remarkable 49 points, the Rebels won the game (Air Force only had 42). This was painful to watch, I know they say a win is a win, but come on – it seemed more like a 0-0 tie in soccer. The Rebels only shot one more three pointer than against SDSU, this time going 2-14 from the arc. We were lucky that Air Force stunk like few before them have.

Fortunately for the fans, the Coaching staff didn’t see it as ‘a win is a win’ and decided drastic times call for drastic measures. But most calculations, the Rebels needed to win the final games of the Regular season to have a legitimate shot at an at-large bid. That meant avenging Colorado State @ Colorado, beating New Mexico @ the pit, and then two easy ones – Utah and Wyoming. Given the way the Rebels were shooting the ball (terribly), that would be a tall order. The staff banished the players to non-UNLV threads during practice. They said that the players were not representing UNLV basketball well, and they didn’t deserve to wear the uniform. Given how bad the Rebels had played and how fortunate our record was in spite of the bad basketball, few were convinced that this psychological move would right the ship and produce wins over the final four games. We were wrong, that (or luck) did the trick.

The Rams and the Rebels had been fighting over third place in the MWC, and for either team to win the matchup would swing that place considerably given the amount of basketball left to play. The Rebels produced shooting an amazing 42 % from the arc and 37% for the game. Fortunately for the Rebels, CSU played bad basketball, and we held on for a 68-61 victory. Looking back, had we lost this game, but won the other three, our tournament hopes may have been short lived – very important win.

The next tough challenge was New Mexico, in The Pit. Even though the Lobos were still rebuilding, wining in the atmosphere of The Pit is a very difficult task, one that the Rebels accomplished in winning form. Many heroes to this game, Tre’von Willis with his 25 points, Oscar Bellfield for tieing the game and forcing overtime at 67-67, and Bellfield and Quintrell Thomas for scoring points in overtime and getting the win. This was probably the most entertaining game of the season, with overtime and 9 lead changes. UNLV’s 3 point shooting was much improved at a scorching 47%. It was a fantastic win, and potentially the hardest of the final four contests needed to secure an at large bid. The Rebels powered through to a 77-74 overtime win.

The final two, Wyoming and Utah, were games where the Rebels played like team people anticipated they would be coming into conference play. The Rebels finished beat Wyoming 90-77 at home, and Utah 78-58 away. Three point shooting was incredible, field goal percentage in general fantastic. In these two final wins the Rebels finally did not have to win ugly, and did not play down to their competition.

With the post season upon them, the question in everyone’s mind was which Rebel team would show up – the team who had struggled so mightily to make a shot, or the one who defended with the best of them and dominated?


Next week:
Tournament time  - What effort was in Vegas, stayed in Vegas

Following those, comes the season preview!
Want to discuss, or did I miss something? Talk about it in the forums: Link

Rocky finish to the non-conference schedule - Season recap part 2

Following all the success and momentum built up over the first nine games, came a rough patch for last year’s Rebels.

Not counting the Anaheim classic, the first true road test was familiar foe Louisville, a team who at the time was 7-0 but hadn’t really played anyone of consequence yet, and hadn’t left the cushiness of playing at the KFC Yum! center. UNLV was their first real test, and unfortunately  Louisville passed the test. The game was fairly close through all but the five minutes of the second half, where Louisville pulled away. Willis and Bellfield did their best to keep it close, but Stanback had an uncharacteristic (up to this point) slump that game, shooting only 2-8 from the field.

Following the loss,( which was a bit shocking given how well the Rebels had played up to that point) UNLV came home to face UCSB. The Gauchos were at the time 4-3, but they’d been unfortunately potent when playing the Rebels, having beaten us in the last two meetings. Although Chace got his point production back, the entire team shot the ball like crap, capitalizing at only 29% from the field, vs. UCSB’s 50%. The Rebels first home loss of the season, while still ranked, came at the hands of those damn Gauchos. Let’s hope for some revenge this season.

Having unexpectedly lost to UCSB, the Rebels worked them selves into the mindset to beat  Southern Utah, at the time 3-8. Best statistical measure of the Rebels’ dominance that game- Points in the paint-SUU 20,LV 38. Points off turnovers-SUU 3,LV 22. Although it stopped the losing streak – beating SUU in our house was not a major accomplishment by Rebels standards.

Luck is a funny thing, and one of the luckiest things that could have happened to the Rebels happened last season when we traveled to Kansas to play #11 Kansas State. In a game few expected the Rebels to win (and the same team that dominated us at the Orleans the previous season), that luck came in the form of a suspension of two of K-State’s best players, Jacob Pullen and Kurtis Kelly (NCAA infraction for receiving impermissible benefits). At that point, most would have expected the Rebels not only to win, but win big (example: imagine right before we are to play SDSU last season Chace Stanback and Anthony Marshall are suspended – welcome to a slaughter) given the loss of their best weapons, and the shock of having lost them so close to game-time. UNLV did pull of the win, but only by 4 points. Still a great win, but come tournament time the ‘quality’ of the win would be diminished.  One of the main factors that prevented the Rebels from the newly anticipated landslide victory, was continued shooting woes (Rebs actually shot worse than Kansas State, 38.2% vs. 40.4%).

The Rebels came back home and then dominated lowly Central Michigan (3-9) by 26 points. While teetering in and out of the rankings, the Rebels finished the non-conference slate ranked #25. During the best times, the Rebels were ranked was #19, well behind both SDSU and BYU.

During this finish to the non-conference schedule, the Rebels were consistently inconsistent. When we were good, we were great. When we were not so good, we were terrible. The bottom fell out on the remarkable ability of the Rebels to play the frenetic defense as well as make teams pay with tenacious offense. Properly discounting what happened at Kansas State, this was not the place the Rebels wanted to be coming into the conference schedule, with the MWC as tough as it had ever been. First opponent of that schedule – BYU.

Summing up the non-conference slate, during the 9-0 run the Rebels average margin of victory was 18.2 points. UNLV was beating quality opponents in convincing fashion, both home and away. During the rocky finish, the Rebels’ shooting percentage was 41.3%. Looking back on it all now I would have to say the #19 ranking during the 9-0 run was a bit underrated, but we retained a top-25 ranking due to the potential that the Rebels could return to the dangerousness that possessed the team that won the Anaheim classic. Also, won and lost, we hung with Louisville as well as K-State who were also ranked teams.

Playing down to the competition  - ugly wins and ugly losses

Tournament time  - What effort was in Vegas, stayed in Vegas

Following those, comes the season preview

Want to discuss, or did I miss something? Talk about it in the forums: Link