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March 18, 2024

UNLV Basketball:

Blog: UNLV’s offense awful in 59-46 loss to Utah at MGM Grand

UNLV vs. Utah basketball

L.E. Baskow

UNLV guard Cody Doolin, right, and Utah center Dallin Bachynski fight for a loose ball at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014.

Updated Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 | 10:56 p.m.

Utah 59, UNLV 46

Game over

UNLV barely cracked 30 percent shooting on offense and Utah eventually wore down the Rebels at the other end, pulling away in the second half for a 59-46 tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Rebels fall to 7-3 with No. 3 Arizona coming to the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday.

The 14th-ranked Utes struggled offensively in the first half, leading by one, but they started breaking down the Rebels' defense and getting themselves layups and open looks. Utah shot 50 percent in the second half while UNLV was at 29.8 in the half and 32.7 percent for the game.

Utah's Delon Wright led all scorers with 17 points, followed by Brandon Taylor's 16. Rashad Vaughn needed 16 shots for his 16 points and he was the only Rebel in double figures. Chris wood finished with eight points and 13 rebounds.

The Rebels actually won the rebounding battle, but it didn't matter with how bad they were shooting. The game was close for awhile — Utah led by one at halftime in front of a pro-Utah crowd — and then about midway through the second half it quickly got out of hand for UNLV.

Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' loss.

UNLV Basketball Falls to Utah

UNLV head coach Dave Rice shouts orders to UNLV guard Cody Doolin (45) and teammates during their  basketball versus Utah at the MGM Garden Arena on Saturday, December 20, 2014. Launch slideshow »

For one night only, the hottest ticket on campus becomes at least a ticket on the Strip.

Tonight’s MGM Grand Showcase, which benefits Coaches vs. Cancer, started at 6 in the Grand Garden Arena with No. 15 Oklahoma vs. No. 16 Washington. Then around 8:30 p.m. (most likely later than that), the Rebels (7-2) tip off their first-ever game on the Strip against No. 14 Utah (7-2).

UNLV stayed at the MGM Grand last night as part of treating this like a true road game. Based on expectations that my walk in to the arena confirm, that might be not be far off.

We all expected a big Utah turnout with the football team playing in the Las Vegas Bowl earlier today, and the parking lot and casino floor looked filled with Utes. Of course, three of the four teams tonight are wearing shades of red and identifying colors is not exactly my strong suit, so take that for what it’s worth.

As for the game, this is clearly the best opponent the Rebels will have played to this point, yet it might turn out to be their third-toughest opponent in the next 16 days (No. 3 Arizona on Tuesday, at No. 10 Kansas on Jan. 4). The Utes have victories against Wichita State and at BYU, and close losses at San Diego State and to Kansas in Kansas City, Mo.

Utah has two 7-footers, another big body in 6-10 Jeremy Olsen and a burgeoning star in do-everything wing Delon Wright. Think of them as a souped-up version of UNLV’s last opponent, Portland, because the primary word UNLV coach Dave Rice used to describe Utah was balance.

To counter Utah’s inside-out abilities, the Rebels are going to have to employ a variety of defensive looks. Allowing the Utes to get used to one look simply isn’t an option.

Defensively, Utah is extremely poised. The Utes trailed Kansas by 18 last week and never panicked, using great defensive rotations and some different pressures to crawl their way back in it.

Simply put, it’s going to take UNLV’s best overall performance, from defensive rebounding to finding their stroke at both the 3-point and free-throw lines, to have a chance as 9.5-point underdogs.

Bern’s prediction: I’ve felt this way pretty much all week, so I’ll stick with saying the Utes win by eight on the scoreboard but it will feel like a lot more than that. Utah 68, UNLV 60

Season: 3-5 ATS, 3-5 O/U

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

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