Game day: UNLV basketball heads north for rivalry showdown at UNR

2 months ago 16

UNLV vs Alabama State

UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger calls out to his players during the second half of a NCAA basketball game against the Alabama State Hornets at Thomas & Mack Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. Photo by Wade Vandervort

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 | 2 a.m.

What: UNLV at UNR
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Lawlor Events Center (Reno)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 1100 AM, 100.9 FM

The UNLV basketball team really needs a win right now, and there are few potential victories that would be more satisfying that Saturday’s showdown at UNR (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

Can the Scarlet and Gray snap their three-game losing streak with a rivalry triumph over their in-state rival? Three keys to watch:

Looking in the mirror

UNLV and UNR find themselves in a similar spot as the Mountain West season enters the back stretch: Both are squarely outside the NCAA Tournament bubble and need to discover something over the final 10 games if they want to make a tourney run to claim the MWC’s automatic bid.

Kevin Kruger believes his team is close to turning things around — as is Reno.

“They’ve had some heartbreakers and some really close ones, as have we,” Kruger said. “They can turn the corner at any point.”

The tale of the tape shows this to be a very even matchup. UNR is No. 85 in the KenPom rankings, slightly ahead of UNLV at No. 97. UNLV is 5-5 in Mountain West play, UNR is 3-7. Both are 11-10 overall.

A win in hostile territory could really spring UNLV into the stretch run, and sophomore point guard D.J. Thomas is confident his squad won’t be defined by its current losing streak.

“We went through a little rough patch, but we’ll get out of it,” he said.

Where’s the juice?

This game could be good for UNLV in another sense, as the team is looking for a spark.

Thomas has mentioned several times over the past two weeks that the team has not had enough “juice” early in games, and coming out flat has hurt them in each of the three straight losses that dropped the Scarlet and Gray from third place in the standings to sixth.

“We come out with no energy,” Thomas said. “The past few games we came out slow. That’s just something we definitely have to fix.”

On the road in a rivalry atmosphere, UNLV will have no choice but to come out hot.

“It’s a lot of intensity, a lot of energy, a lot of hype around this rivalry,” Thomas said. “It’s definitely something you’re excited for. It’s going to be a great game, superhyped, great atmosphere.”

Standings watch

It’s not too early to start thinking about the Mountain West tournament, especially as that seems to be UNLV’s only credible path to the big dance.

As of now, the Scarlet and Gray sit in sixth place at 5-5. The top five teams receive a bye on the first day of the MWC tourney, so UNLV will spend the next 10 games trying to climb the standings. Directly above are Boise State (fifth place, 6-4) and San Diego State (fourth place, 7-3).

UNLV has already lost to Boise State, and last week’s loss to Wyoming (seventh place, 4-6) was painful. Kruger’s squad can’t afford many more losses to teams below them in the standings, such as UNR.