UNLV basketball at a crossroads following loss to Wyoming

UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger reacts to a play during the second half of an NCAA basketball game against the Wyoming Cowboys at Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo by Steve Marcus

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.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.