UNM Prepares for a Talented, Unpredictable UNLV Team With a Chance to Get a Conference Road Win
UNLV’s Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn celebrates a made basket after during UNLVs 89-85 win over Boise State. Photo courtesy of UNLV Athletics.
It does not matter who is coaching UNLV men’s basketball, the Runnin’ Rebels seem to have the same identity they’ve had a for the last handful of seasons: a talented roster capable of beating the Mountain West conference’s best teams, but also a team that lacks discipline, consistency, and that doesn’t play to its full potential night in and night out.
The Runnin’ Rebels are no different this season under first-year head coach Josh Pastner. UNLV boasts impressive road wins over Stanford (No. 72 NET) and Utah State (No. 26 in NET), but embarrassing home losses to Tennessee State (No. 216 NET), UT Martin (No. 190 in NET), and Montana (No. 156 in NET).
UNM men’s basketball hopes it gets the bad version of the Runnin’ Rebels when they take on UNLV at 9 p.m. MST on Tuesday night in another key Mountain West game.
The Rebles are coming off an 82-71 loss to league leader San Diego State on Saturday in a game where it built a six-point first half lead, but failed to finish easy baskets at the rim and shot only 54% from the free throw line (12-of-22). They are alone in fifth place with their three league losses.
“We’re probably not the most prettiest of teams,” Pastner said after the SDSU game. “We’re going to have to survive on toughness and flying around and grit and it’s what we’ve got to be. You can’t have as many empty possessions…”
“Tonight or this afternoon and in some of our other losses, we’ve left a lot of points on the board for two main reasons; a lot of missed free throws, but a lot of short missed layups and a lot of missed and-one opportunities.”
UNLV gets to the free-throw line frequently, ranking sixteenth nationally in free throws attempted per game (26.4 per contest), but the Runnin’ Rebels struggle to convert, shooting under 70% and rank second to last in the Mountain West in free throw percentage.
The outlier for UNLV’s inefficiency on offense is Evansville transfer guard Dra Gibbs Lawhorn (6-1), who is averaging 19.3 points per game on 42% shooting from the 3-point line during Mountain West play. Gibbs-Lawhorn is also a strong finisher at the rim for his size, and shoots nearly half of his shots in the painted area at an efficient rate.
The Runnin’ Rebels have some inside presence with freshman Tyrin Jones (6-9) and seven-foot sophomore Emmanuel Stephen. Jones was the hero in UNLV’s win over Utah State last Tuesday, scoring 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the free throw line. But Jones has been one of UNLV’s most inconsistent players, and was only 2-of-10 at the line vs. SDSU along with being unable to finish at the rim through contact.
Stephen arrived at UNLV from the University of Arizona with plenty of hype and, after an early injury, had his best game with 18 points and 10 rebounds in UNLV’s win over Stanford. He leads the Runnin’ Rebels with six rebounds per game.
UNLV’s other double-figure scorer is senior forward Kimani Hamilton (6-8). Hamilton has been in double figures 15 out of 19 games for the Rebels, and averages 12.1 points and four rebounds per contest. His biggest problem is staying on the floor—he’s fouled out seven times this season.
Remember former UNM commit Isaac Williamson? The 6-foot freshman planned to be a Lobo under Richard Pitino, but is now with the Runnin’ Rebels and averaging 9.9 points per game on the season. Williamson has had a turnover problem in some games, as well as adjusting to defensive coverages at the D-1 level. He has the lowest +/- on the team according to Evan Maya with a -53.
Keys to the Game:
1. Take Care of the Ball: UNLV wants to press and force steals or turnovers. They are 70th in Ken Pom’s turnover% and force 8.65 steals per game, good for second best in the Mountain West. The Lobos gave it up 17 times on the road to SDSU, but if you take that game out, UNM averages less than 10 turnovers per game (9.5) in conference play. UNM’s primary ball handlers Jake Hall, Deyton Albury and Uriah Tenette will have to take care of the ball, but it will be a team effort for UNM to not get sped up against UNLV’s pressure.
2. Matchup with UNLV’s size and athleticism: UNLV is going to have some big athletes that could cause some disruption for UNM’s offense. The Lobos have struggled at times with some of the bigger or athletic teams they’ve had to play on the road.
a. Nebraska—UNM shot 38% and had 16 turnovers against Reink Mast (6-10), Berke Buyuktuncel, (6-11) and Pryce Sandfort (6-7) along with other tall wings;
b. Boise State—UNM shot 30% from the field (20 of 65) and 12% 3-point shooting percentage (3-of-25) against a starting five with an average height of 6-foot-7;
c. SDSU— UNM turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and dug themselves in a 15-point hole early in the second half. Albury and Tenette both struggled while Hall started hot, but cooled off in the second half.
UNLV could present some of the same kinds of problems with Stephens, Taylor, Hamilton all listed at 6-foot-8 and up. UNLV’s fourth starter Howie Fleming Jr. is listed at 6-5. The Lobos will have to find ways to score at the rim.
3. Defend the 3-point line: The San Jose State and SDSU games are the only times UNM has given up over 40% shooting from beyond the arc in league play. The Lobos just held Nevada to 26% from the 3-point line when the Wolfpack came in shooting 40% from distance in conference play. UNLV is shooting 38% on long range shots since conference started. Getting out on Gibbs-Lawhorn, Hamilton (40% in conference), (Fleming 38% in conference) will be key.
