There’s a lot to like about this UNLV basketball team

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022 | 2 a.m.

It’s too early to project if this hot start to the season by the UNLV basketball team will lead to a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

But all signs are pointing in that direction through the initial seven games, possibly signaling a revival for the program that is going on a decade without playing in the third week of March.

These Rebels play strong defense, have worn out opponents in the second half and have a certain approach — diving for loose balls and playing with energy — that’s downright refreshing.

They improved to 7-0 on Saturday by smashing Life Pacific of California, 126-54, at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Although we didn’t learn much about UNLV’s prospects moving forward because a game against an NAIA team isn’t all that telling, the manner in which they dominated spoke volumes.

There was no overlooking an inferior opponent. There was no let down after beating Minnesota on Wednesday to win a tournament in California.

Rather, the Rebels did what they were supposed to in jumping out to a quick lead, eventually clearing the bench and coasting to a commanding win.

Fourteen players scored, including a game-best 20 points and 12 rebounds from Karl Jones. Jackie Johnson III added 14 points and Keshon Gilbert had 13 points and four assists in 14 minutes. Gilbert, a local from Durango High School, has emerged as the heart-and-soul of the team because of his defensive intensity.

Even walk-on Nick Walters of Coronado High School, in his first action of the season, recorded a field goal. That basket brought his teammates on the UNLV bench to their feet in celebration.

“They respect and appreciate how each other works everyday,” said coach Kevin Kruger, who in his second season has his alma mater back in the national conversation. “They look after each other. We’ve had a handful of situations where older guys have kind of taken younger guys or new guys under their wing. When you talk about the core group of returners, you know that they want to win. When you have a group that just wants to win, you can have a good chemistry.”

UNLV picked up five votes last week in the Associated Press top-25 poll. The Rebels likely will garner a few more votes when the new rankings are released Monday.

That speaks volumes to the job Kruger has done in getting the most of out of a team that had to replace its top three players from last season — leading scorer Bryce Hamilton, Royce Ham and Donovan Williams. UNLV even had to replace a few assistant coaches.

Instead of filling out the roster with the biggest names or transfer who averaged the most points in their most recent stop, Kruger was determined to get players who fit into the vision of what he was building in Las Vegas. First and foremost, they had to play good defense and be good teammates.

And that’s exactly what’s been seen out of Victor Iwuakor (Oklahoma), Johnson (Duquesne) and Luis Rodriguez (Ole Miss) to start the season. This team, despite only being together a few months, has a certain chemistry and an unselfish style of play that’s fun to watch.

"Winners expect to win and that's what we expected to do," Johnson said.

Of course, the strong play is partially credited to competing against a schedule of weak opponents.

The Rebels’ strength of schedule is No. 141 nationally out of 363 teams, and needing to rally in the second half at home against High Point doesn’t necessarily strengthen your resume with the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

But a win against No. 21 Dayton does. Same with beating Minnesota of the Big Ten Conference at a neutral site.

And let’s not forget about the overall record, as UNLV is five wins away from going undefeated in nonleague games. The Dec. 10 game against Washington State at MGM Grand Garden Arena is likely the one game that stands in the way.

Sure, UNLV could also slip up against San Diego, Hawaii, San Francisco or Southern Miss. Over the last decade, that’s what the program has done — lose games they shouldn’t.

It’s just this version of UNLV basketball seems different. They play hard game in and game out, especially on defense — just like Kruger drew it up.