Elijah Mitrou-Long’s status unknown for MWC tourney

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Monday, March 2, 2020 | 1:58 p.m.

No player has been more important to UNLV's late-season surge than Elijah Mitrou-Long, so when the senior point guard crumpled to the floor late in Saturday's win at San Jose State, clutching his knee and slapping the floor in frustration, the Rebels no doubt saw their 2019-20 campaign flash before their eyes.

The team received some positive news on Monday, however, as an MRI revealed no structural damage to Mitrou-Long's knee. A team spokesman categorized the injury as a "severe knee contusion" and said Mitrou-Long's status for Thursday's Mountain West tournament opener is unknown.

Mitrou-Long has already suffered through one extended absence this season, as a broken thumb forced him to miss 12 games in December and January. But since returning he has established himself as the ignitor of UNLV's small-ball attack and has led the team to five straight wins.

Mitrou-Long has averaged 17.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game during the streak while hitting 50.7 percent of his shots and 37.9 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Some quick thoughts on why Mitrou-Long's status is so important for UNLV:

Small-ball MVP

Sophomore guard Bryce Hamilton was named to the All-Mountain West first team on Monday and it was a well-deserved honor, but make no mistake: Mitrou-Long is UNLV's most important player. The Rebels were floundering around .500 before Mitrou-Long returned from his thumb injury, and since T.J. Otzelberger committed to four-guard lineups with Mitrou-Long at the point, UNLV has turned into a buzzsaw.

Mitrou-Long's numbers have been outrageous during that stretch. When he was on the floor as part of a four-guard lineup, UNLV shot 49.2 percent and outscored teams by 16.1 points per 40 minutes. When the Rebels tried to play small without Mitrou-Long, they shot 39.1 percent and got outscored by a whopping 26.3 points per 40.

If Mitrou-Long is close to healthy by game time, UNLV is a contender to win the Mountain West. If he's not, the Rebels are probably cooked.

Next man up

If Mitrou-Long can't play, Otzelberger will have a decision to make — stay small, or go big?

As the numbers above show, the Rebels have not been good when trying to play small without Mitrou-Long. His ability to drive and shoot equally well is unique on this roster, and there's no other player who can replicate what he does. Plugging in Jonah Antonio or Jay Green as the fourth guard would not make UNLV any more dynamic than playing two big men like a traditional lineup.

The player to keep an eye on may be Donnie Tillman. He suffered a knee injury two weeks ago and was supposed to be out for the season, but he returned to practice on Friday and Otzelberger said he could be available for the MWC tournament. Tillman has been a disappointment on and off the court this year, but he's 6-foot-7 and he can score the ball. If he's healthy enough to play, he could soak up some of Mitrou-Long's minutes.

Will he play?

The team used the word "severe" to describe Mitrou-Long's injury, which makes it seem unlikely that he'll be at or near 100 percent this week. But with these being the final games of his college career, and with UNLV playing so well before he went down, you've got to think the fifth-year senior will want to get on the court one last time and see how far the Rebels can go.

Unless he suffers a setback in the next few days, Mitrou-Long will probably suit up and test his knee in pregame warmups on Thursday.

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