Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Live blog: BYU goes wire to wire in 83-50 blowout of UNLV

UNLV beats Jackson 80-57

Las Vegas News Bureau

UNLV Rebels head coach T.J. Otzelberger yells to his players during their NCAA basketball game against the Jackson State Tigers Tuesday, November 26, 2019, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau)

Updated Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 | 1:48 p.m.

UNLV will have 11 days off before its next game, and the Rebels may need that much time to get over the beating they took in Salt Lake City today.

BYU used good spacing, precise ball movement and hot shooting to blow out UNLV, 83-50. The Rebels drop to 4-7 on the season.

One year after Noah Robotham beat the buzzer with a game-winning 3-pointer against BYU in Las Vegas, the Cougars got their revenge by hitting 14-of-27 from beyond the arc. Guard Alex Barcello led the way with 13 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting (3-of-3 3FGs), while forward Yoeli Childs also scored 13.

UNLV got 13 points from Donnie Tillman and nine from Amauri Hardy in defeat.

The Rebels' next game will be on Dec. 18 when they host Pacific at the Thomas & Mack Center.

BYU leads overmatched Rebels, 71-38

Things haven't gotten any better for UNLV in the second half, as BYU still has a 71-38 lead with 7:43 to play.

The Cougars are simply too good on offense and UNLV cannot match up. Very few shots have been contested by Rebels defenders, as evidenced by BYU shooting 8-of-16 in the second half so far, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. For the game, BYU has 18 assists on 25 made field goals.

Donnie Tillman is the only UNLV player to score in double figures to this point, with 10 points on 4-of-6 FGs.

BYU blowing out Rebels at half, 46-25

It's only halftime, but UNLV is getting run off the floor here in Salt Lake City.

BYU has a 46-25 lead at the break, and that hardly even tells the story of how badly the Cougars are beating UNLV today. BYU's offense has been dominant, creating wide-open shots against the Rebels' defense on every possession, and because of matchups and how crisply BYU is running its sets, UNLV has little hope of countering in the second half.

The Cougars are 9-of-13 from 3-point range (including a missed full-court heave at the end of the half), and that's not just a hot streak — the shots have mostly been in rhythm and completely uncontested.

UNLV's more deliberate offense yielded just 10-of-28 shooting from the field, and stop-gap starter Vitaliy Shibel currently leads the team in field-goal attempts (1-of-6 for three points).

In short, BYU looks like a buzz saw, and the Rebels are in the way. Let's see if T.J. Otzelberger can cajole his guys into giving a good effort in the second half despite the score.

BYU shooting lights out against UNLV

BYU can get an open 3-pointer on every possession, and so far the Cougars have done just that, making 7-of-9 from deep to build a 28-15 lead over UNLV with 7:50 left in the first half.

Guards Connor Harding and Alex Barcello are both 3-of-3 from beyond the arc to lead the home team. UNLV has gotten five points from Bryce Hamilton, but as a team the Rebels are shooting just 6-of-17 from the floor.

BYU's shooters are too good to just start missing on their own; unless UNLV tightens up its perimeter defense, the Cougars are going to keep hitting 3's and extending their lead.

Tillman in foul trouble, Rebels trail early at BYU

BYU has taken an early 8-5 lead over UNLV, but the Rebels' bigger concern is foul trouble. Junior forward Donnie Tillman picked up two personals in less than three minutes and he is now on the bench.

In his place, T.J. Otzelberger subbed in sophomore guard Marvin Coleman. UNLV is already extremely thin due to injuries, and Tillman's foul trouble will only exacerbate the depth issues for the rest of the half.

Vitaliy Shibel has three points to lead the Rebels, while Tillman scored a driving bucket to account for the rest of the offense. BYU has a pair of transition 3-pointers, so UNLV will have to be diligent about getting back on defense after missed shots.

UNLV basketball forced to get creative with thin roster

UNLV came into the season with a short roster due to two redshirting transfers, but head coach T.J. Otzelberger seemed prepared to combat the lack of depth by settling on a tight, eight-man rotation early in the year.

But now, with starting guards Elijah Mitrou-Long and Jonah Antonio out for extended periods of time due to injuries, the Rebels' full roster is being called upon to pick up the slack.

The lesser-known Rebels came through in a big way on Wednesday, when they helped UNLV come out on top in a double-overtime slugfest against Fresno State.

Can they keep it up on Saturday, when the team takes on BYU in Salt Lake City?

Sophomore guard Marvin Coleman was the star off the bench against Fresno. The former walk-on played a season-high 25 minutes (he came in averaging 6.6 minutes through the first nine game, with three DNPs) and contributed five points and four rebounds. His 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in regulation cut the Rebels' deficit to two points and set the stage for Bryce Hamilton's tying shot on the final possession.

Hamilton credited Coleman for coming up clutch and keeping UNLV's comeback hopes alive.

"Marv, he's a hard worker," Hamilton said. "He's been ready for these moments and he came out and played well today."

Most important, Coleman posted a plus-minus rating of 0 in his 25 minutes. For a team that has generally struggled when forced to go to the bench, UNLV could really use a player capable of simply holding the fort when the starting guards get some rest.

The same is true at the center position, where starter Mbacke Diong is enjoying a good campaign (8.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.4 blocks per game). Behind him, junior Cheickna Dembele has not seen much playing time, but like Coleman he came up big when UNLV needed it against Fresno State.

Dembele averaged 5.8 minutes per game heading into the Fresno State contest, but with Diong in foul trouble Otzelberger turned to Dembele and got 18 solid minutes out of the 6-foot-11 big man. Dembele didn't score, but he was only -4 during his time on the court. Otzelberger would sign up for that every night if he could; for the season, however, Dembele is -5.6 per 40 minutes while Coleman is -9.7 per 40.

Mitrou-Long is expected to be out 6-8 weeks, and Antonio isn't likely to play until Dec. 18 at the earliest. Whether the reserves can keep producing like they did at Fresno State, Otzelberger is going to have to lean on them.

"I'm really proud of the guys," Otzelberger said of his bench unit. "Especially with Eli and Jonah out, a lot of guys stepped up throughout the course of the [Fresno State] game ... I thought Cheickna and Marvin, guys who hadn't played early in the year much, gave us such valuable minutes late, in overtime and beyond."

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

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