Curious events of Tuesday night impact UNLV

Illinois beats #5 Ohio State University -
Last night on a game televised on ESPN the Illini narrowly beat the 5th ranked Buckeyes. Yes, it took 43 points by Brandon Paul (UNLV held him to 7 points) for the Illini to up-end OSU, but this is a good thing for the Rebels.

Illinois, who UNLV beat on December 19, 2011 by a score of 64-48 in Chicago, was ranked #19 at the time and undefeated. But, since UNLV has knocked them off, they have dropped two additonal games, one at Purdue and one at Missouri. These losses, which were to very decent teams, pushed Illinois out of the top 25. The logic (and math) is that the better record and strength of the opponent that a team beats, the higher that teams own ranking and eventual placement in the NCAA tournament. So, the better that Illinois does, post the defeat at the hands of the Rebels, the better the Rebels look.

SDSU struggles to beat winless Chicago State

Chicago State, a team that is currently 0-16 came into San Diego and nearly beat the #22 Aztecs. San Diego was 'tested' by this pathetic opponent, and set themselves up for failure by playing a cream-puff schedule, especially recently (wins UC Riverside by 25 points, Elon by 26, Redlands by 51 and San Diego Christian by 31. ) The game was actually tied midway through the second half. Behind a scoring drought by Chicago State, as well as offensive wake-up-call by SDSU's Chace Tapley, San Diego State pulled out the win 73-65.

I believe that the slate of non-contending opponents they've lined up and beaten on their way to a #22 ranking, as well as last night's embarassment shows that SDSU is overrated, and may not be the tough opponenent UNLV fans feared they would be. That said, basketball is a game of matchups and streaks, if the Rebels dont matchup well with the Aztecs or shooters like Tapley get hot from distance, there could be trouble. Also, Saturday's game in San Diego is sold out - so their fans who are energetic and creative, will be there to push their team. It should be a good one, don't you dare schedule anything other than watching the Rebels @ 1pm on Saturday.

Early Christmas present for UNLV fans - UNLV beats Illinois 64-48

 BEATS

For everyone who still felt anguish, despair, and resentment towards Illinois for embarrassing us in last year’s tournament – this was a beautiful thing. For Mike Moser, it was a opportunity to shake off his injury that has hampered him the last several games (including the two losses) as well get a chance to play this time against the Illini. For the Rebels as a team, it was UNLV’s mission to knock off another ranked and undefeated team on a neutral* court.

Some of the issues that had plagued the Rebels in the last four games were slow starts and lack of defensive energy, especially in these mid-west road games. There was a team that had a lack of defensive energy, thankfully it wasn’t UNLV. Illinois only had one thing going for them all afternoon, and that was D.J. Richardson pulling off hide-behind-your-teammate 3 pointers. The Rebels successfully covered the passing lanes, handled the bigger more athletic center (who happens to lead the Big 10 in blocks), and create a deficit of confidence in the Illinois from the jump.

UNLV got out to a fantastic start, leading 4-0. They kept momentum by defending fiercely, and were very active in getting a hand in the face of nearly every shooter. Early on, two players from the Rebels got the ball rolling, Brice Massamba and Mike Moser. Massamba, who is 2-3x the player he has been in previous seasons, was dominate and aggressive. Moser, who was finishing recovery from a sprained wrist, gave himself a huge boost of confidence when he made a nice 3 point shot early. The lead went back and forth between UNLV and Illinois for awhile, then UNLV found some space with 6 minutes left in the half. That run, which helped UNLV get a 33-22 point lead at halftime, was the product of consecutive jumpers by Quintrell Thomas, a fastbreak layup by Justin Hawkins, a steal by Anthony Marshall that led to a 3 pointer (by him), a pair of free throws by Marshall, and a free throw by Quintrell Thomas.

First half shooting favored the Rebels 42% to Illinois 28%. The Rebels didn’t feel the need to jack up too many 3 pointers, and only made 2 of 6 attempts, where as Illinois jacked up 11 three point attempts and only made 3. The Rebels were also a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe and outrebounded the Illini 20-17. Both teams were fairly sloppy with the ball (UNLV 8 Illiniois 9 turnovers), but UNLV capitalized off those turnovers scoring 8 points to Illinois’ 1 point.

In the second half, UNLV actually pushed the lead higher, outscoring the Illini 31-26. This game was furthered by impressive outings by our three post-players, Brice Massamba, Carlos Lopez, and welcome back Quintrell Thomas. Brice was simply agrresive and was not intimiated by the taller and longer Illinois defenders. Carlos Lopez was as creative as he could be, with ball and head fakes that lead to impressive moves under the basket. Even the Big-10 network announcers were highly impressed with his footwork. Missing in action since the North Carolina game, Quintrell Thomas provided hustle, energy, and did a lot of great things that helped the Rebels win the game. Quintrell’s active hands were responsivle for several Illinois turnovers, and he was able to finish many times at the rim, and shoot some great short range jumpers. Quintrell Thomas finished with an impressive 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and only 1 turnover and 1 foul! Brice Massamba finished with 8 points on 3-3 shooting, 2 rebounds and only two fouls in 9 minutes of action. Carlos Lopez had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. The effort of our big men will surely intimidate our foes in the future, and make them respect us more inside.

UNLV’s lead wasn’t always so high, in the second half the Illini cut the lead to as close as 8 points, mainly the work of D.J. Richardson and Leonard Miles. Richardson, who had things working for him all game, maintained his scoring throughout the game and finished with 19 points. Miles, didn’t achieve much in the first half but picked up his scoring and got some of the inside looks he missed in the first half. UNLV kept their feet and hands moving and created a significant amount of turnovers (10 to Illinois’ 6) in the second half. UNLV again shied away from the three pointer and only attempted 5 in the second half, making only 1. Illinois, as a team were completely unprepared for this game and missed a lot of free throws, open shots, and layups. In fact, I can’t remember a team having so many airballs – especially a ranked team.

Mike Moser was everything  great he had been in the past, and had an impressive 17 points, 11 rebounds. Moser had an uncharacteristic 6 turnovers, which frankly I didn’t personally witness even though I watched the game. The Rebels did a lot of good things despite not having their shooting rolling as well as games past. As a team, it was a block party – UNLV notched 9 blocks, many of them leading to transition buckets. Assists were still lacking at 11. The Rebels accumulated 10 steals, many leading to transition as well. Rebel Reign MVPS are Mike Moser and Quintrell Thomas, they simply brought it today.

Other odds and ends: UNLV had quite a decent traveling contingent at this game, they were visible and at many points you could hear the Rebels chant over the airwaves. Oscar Bellfield shot poorly, but did a lot of other things well – hopefully he’ll unlock a hot streak, especially from 3, soon. Chace Stanback, whom the announcers knew nothing of other than he was impressive against North Carolina, only had two points late in this contest. While, as I’ve said at least twice previously, UNLV is a deep enough team with multiple players other than Stanback who can light up the scoreboard, he needs to solve his shooting issues. Even in the UCSB game, he was pretty quiet until overtime. Getting Stanback some easy buckets early in the game may be key to his effectiveness, because something is clearly off. UNLV had at least 6 dunks, some by Moser were NBA jam worthy!

It was a great game, a statement game, a revenge game, and an excellent tournament resume booster. In the United Center, the Runnin’ Rebels may has well been the Chicago Bulls in the black and red uniforms. As impressed as I am with the road win, I am more impressed by our rookie head coach’s ability to pull of this win and correct the mistakes of the last couple games. GO REBELS!

In the wake of Coach Kruger: How his former teams performed after his departure

This website tries to go where the traditional media outlets don't. Here's my analysis of how the colleges Coach Kruger left performed in the three seasons following his departure.

Texas Pan American - with Kruger
1982-83 - 7-21
1983-84 - 13-14
1984-85 - 12-16
1985-86 - 20-8

Texas Pan-American Post-Kruger (Kevin Wall)
1986-87 - 16-12
1987-88 - 14-14
1988-89 - 15-13

Hard to say. You would really have to know Texas Pan-Am basketball to know whether the 85-86 season was an anomaly or not. But, what we're focused on here is that there was not a tremendous difference Post-Kruger (not a huge backslide). Kruger turned the program around (took 4 seasons) and Post-Kruger, the team was still comparatively prosperous.

Kansas State - with Kruger
1986-87 - 20-11 (NCAA 2nd round)
1987-88 - 25-9 (NCAA Elite Eight)
1988-89 - 19-11 (NCAA 1st round)
1989-90 - 17-15 (NCAA 1st round)

Kansas State - Post-Kruger (Dana Altman)
1990-91 - 13-15
1991-92 - 16-14
1992-93 - 19-11 (NCAA 1st round)

Kruger achieved remarkable success at K-State. They hadn't been to the tourney since 1981-82 prior to his arrival. There was a considerable drop off in winning once Kruger left to coach Florida. Although not reflected in the above statistics, in the post-Kruger era the Wildcats would only make the tournament twice in the 90's (losing both times in the first round) and then not make it again until 2007-08 when they hired Frank Martin.

Florida - with Kruger
1990-91 - 11-17
1991-92 - 19-14 (NIT Semis)
1992-93 - 16-12 (NIT 1st round)
1993-94 - 29-8 (NCAA Final Four)
1994-95 - 17-13 (NCAA 1st round)
1995-96 - 12-16

Florida - Post-Kruger (Billy Donovan)
1996-97 - 13-17
1997-98 - 14-15
1998-98 - 22-9 (NCAA Sweet Sixteen)

Florida improved with Kruger, he rebuilt a team that was mired in investigations and sanctions.  They achieved remarkable success - who goes from the NIT losing in the first round to going to the NCAA Final Four the next season? Talk about a Cinderella story. But, then they cooled off - they are cyclical that way. Also not reflected in the statistics is a few years prior to Kruger, the Gators reached the Elite Eight. Also not mentioned, but should be common knowledge to any sports fan is that Billy Donovan was given a lot of time and patience, and the Gators were a dominant force from 2000 to 2007. In 2006 and 2007 under Donovan, they won back-to-back NCAA championships. Kruger got them back on the right track, and was a good steward, but Donovan brought them to the promised land.

Illinois - with Kruger
1996-97 - 22-10 (NCAA 2nd round)
1997-98 - 23-10 (NCAA 2nd round)
1998-99 - 14-18
1999-00 - 22-10 (NCAA 2nd round)

Illinois - Post-Kruger (Bill Self)
2000-01 - 27-8 (NCAA Elite Eight)
2001-02 - 26-9 (NCAA Sweet Sixteen)
2002-03 - 25-7 (NCAA 2nd Round)

Lou Henson had a lot of success before Kruger's arrival, but the program had problems which led to his leaving. Kruger again righted the program, was a good steward and won a lot of games. He got them to the NCAA tournament 3-4 times. Post-Kruger, Self was a definite upgrade as he took the Illini further. Self left after his third season to coach Kansas. Self took Kansas to a championship in 2007-08 (right after Florida).

UNLV - with Kruger

2004-05 - 17-14 (NIT 2nd round)

2005-06 - 17-13

2006-07 - 30-7 (NCAA Sweet 16)

2007-08 - 27-8 (NCAA 2nd round)

2008-09 -  21-11 (NIT 1st round)

2009-10 - 25-9 (NCAA 1st round)

2010-11 - 24-9 (NCAA 1st round)

Before Kruger, nobody really had UNLV running with any measure of consistency or success since Jerry Tarkanian. Kruger fixed UNLV basketball, and getting to the Sweet 16 put UNLV back in the national conversation. NCAA tournament appearances in 3 of the last 4 last years have made UNLV a prominent basketball program again.

Kruger failed to repeat or better the success of 2006-07. Many feel that its due to his lack of skill as a recruiter, seeing many local products and Finlay prep players seek schools elsewhere - even other MWC schools. Some feel that his offensive mindset is considerably dwarfed by his defense. 

Looking at all of his coaching scenarios, you could liken his UNLV stay most closely to Florida. Hopefully, we land someone like Donovan who can bring us to the promised land again. Patience by everyone involved is the key, walking into a team and winning a championship rarely happens overnight. Kruger was an excellent coach, but he perhaps did hit a ceiling and hopefully better days lie ahead, as they did in Florida.