New-look Rebels play numbers game in exhibition blowout

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, Oct. 25, 2019 | 9:53 p.m.

Welcome to the modern era of basketball, UNLV.

It may have been an exhibition game against a vastly outmatched opponent, but on Friday the Rebels dove head-first into a new-age, analytics-driven style of play under coach T.J. Otzelberger. UNLV played small, shot quickly and embraced the 3-point line, and the result was a 112-54 win over West Coast Baptist College.

The most obvious example of the program’s paradigm shift in basketball strategy was the play of junior guard Jonah Antonio, who attempted 11 3-pointers in his 23 minutes of court time. The analytics-friendly approach paid off for the sharpshooter from Perth, Australia (by way of South Plains CC), as Antonio canned seven triples and finished with a team-high 23 points.

Many of Antonio’s long attempts came early in the shot clock, or even in transition, before the West Coast Baptist defense had a chance to set. It may be a shock to those with old-school basketball sensibilities, but Otzelberger has had great success with his fast-paced offensive system and he is committing UNLV to that strategy.

Against the slower, smaller West Coast Baptist squad, the Rebels attempted 70 shots from the field; last year’s UNLV team ranked No. 72 in the country with 59.7 attempts per game.

After the contest, Otzelberger said he wants the offense to play even faster.

“We’re making progress, certainly in that area,” Otzelberger said. “At times tonight, our push and our pace was really good. We got out and you saw some of those times, especially early, where Jonah Antonio was the beneficiary of some of that transition push, and he’s an elite shooter. It’s a work in progress. I think you saw some signs of what it could be tonight.”

One mild surprise was Amauri Hardy’s absence from the starting lineup. Convincing the junior guard to return to UNLV was one of Otzelberger’s top offseason priorities, but Antonio, Bryce Hamilton and Elijah Mitrou-Long were the starting guards in the team’s lone exhibition.

Hardy was the first player off the bench and ended up playing 21 minutes, fourth-most among Rebels. He tallied 14 points and 10 assists with no turnovers, and also contributed to another analytic point of emphasis, as he attempted five layups/dunks and two 3-pointers—and zero mid-range shots.

One of the tenets of Otzelberger’s offense is avoiding low-percentage, low-reward shots from the mid-range area, and the Rebels exercised tremendous shot selection on Friday. As a team, UNLV attempted 41 layups/dunks, 23 3-pointers and just six shots from the mid-range.

When asked about the shot selection, Otzelberger gave credit to the players for choosing their spots.

“You know, I am a little bit of a numbers guy,” Otzelberger said, chuckling. “I think overall our guys did a great job. We talked about wanting to get the ball into the paint. I think our team is highly successful when we can have a stubborn mentality to get it to the paint. And I trust our players. Their judgment and decision-making is tremendous.”

As for Hardy’s role as the sixth man, Otzelberger said it could be temporary, as he plans on shuffling the starting lineup from game to game depending on the matchup.

For his part, Hardy seemed more focused on how he played than when he played.

“Well, what I would say is, I just came in played with energy had fun,” Hardy said. “I enjoy playing with my teammates. It makes my job a lot easier when I got guys around me that can finish, guys that can shoot. So I just came in, brought energy, had fun and we won by a lot. Everybody played, and I’m enjoying this win right now.”

Junior center Mbacke Diong played 19 minutes and finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Junior forward Donnie Tillman chipped in 10 points in 18 minutes, and Marvin Coleman and Cheickna Dembele scored 12 and 11 off the bench, respectively.

As a team, UNLV shot 42-of-70 from the field (60.0%) and 9-of-23 from 3-point range (39.1%). West Coast Baptist College committed 21 turnovers and made just 19 field goals (19-of-57).

UNLV now has 10 days to prepare for its first regular-season game against Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 5.

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