UNLV and Arizona State drastically different from last year’s meeting

By Taylor Bern

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014 | 2 a.m.

TEMPE, Ariz. — The most memorable individual performance in any UNLV game last season came at home when Arizona State’s Jahii Carson broke out for 40 points in an 86-80 victory. Fast forward nearly 13 months and the teams will meet again, this time in ASU’s Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Las Vegas time, and there’s nothing to gain from the film of Carson’s outburst.

“That was played a year ago with two very, very different teams,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “Both teams have had whole-sale changes.”

Only three combined starters from that game return this year and one of them is UNLV’s Kendall Smith, who is expected to be available but hasn’t played in the Rebels’ last three games because of an ankle injury. The Sun Devils (4-2) last year relied on Carson, who declared for the NBA Draft, and seniors Jordan Bachynski and Jermaine Marshall. The rest of the lineup scored only nine points in the Thomas & Mack Center, meaning Sendek and UNLV coach Dave Rice could compare notes on trying to replace production.

The Rebels (4-1) are coming off their best offensive performance of the season, so going to their first true road game and coming out with an upset — ASU is minus-5.5 — will require a similar flow on that end. It should start with freshman Rashad Vaughn, who is lethal when he makes his first couple of shots.

“The basket gets bigger and bigger,” Vaughn said of fast starts.

Coming off a career-high 29 points on 18 shots, Vaughn is at the top of the scouting report. That didn’t go too well for him the last time away from home — Vaughn was a combined 4-of-19 in New York — and Sendek’s defense will be focused on trying to help replicate those numbers.

“He’s very attack-minded. You have to account for his presence all over the floor,” Sendek said.

On defense, obviously the best situation is a team that can stop everything in front of them. However, that’s rarely reality, so coaches must decide whether to emphasize defending the 3-point line or cutting off driving lanes. Rice often chooses the former.

“The 3-point shot is the great equalizer,” Rice said. “A lot of times it’s worth psychologically more than three points.”

In last year’s meeting he stuck with that philosophy to a fault. The Sun Devils shot 5-of-20 beyond the arc while Carson continued to carve up the defense for drives and dishes all evening.

With ASU making better than 40 percent from 3 this season, that figures to be UNLV’s defensive plan once again. There’s no one on Carson’s level to carve them up and the Rebels’ perimeter defenders have backup with Christian Wood and Goodluck Okonoboh behind them. The Rebels rank second in the country in blocked shots (8.4 per game).

“It’s not just blocked shots but also shots that are altered and the impact that has,” Rice said. “It’s been a big deal for the progress of our defense.”

The Rebels are expected to go with the same starting lineup — Cody Doolin, Vaughn, Jelan Kendrick, Wood, Okonoboh — and freshman Dwayne Morgan could see some increased playing time after probably his best game in a Rebel uniform.

The Pac-12 hasn’t been kind to UNLV so far, from the closed scrimmage at UCLA to the 29-point loss to Stanford. This is a chance to show some improvement, and whatever happens just don’t expect a repeat of last year.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.