UNLV dismantled in 33-point loss to BYU

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 | 2:43 p.m.

The Runnin' Rebels have a long way to go.

That was the prevailing lesson learned on Saturday, when UNLV traveled to Salt Lake City and got dismantled by BYU, 83-50. It wasn't just the margin of defeat that illustrated the gap between UNLV and a good team—the product on the floor made it as plain as day.

BYU is a top-25 offense according to efficiency metrics, and under first-year head coach Mark Pope the Cougars run the type of up-tempo, spread attack that T.J. Otzelberger wants to install at UNLV. But while the Rebels' roster is devoid of outside shooters and creative passers, BYU has an excess of both.

That led to BYU nailing nine of its first 12 3-point attempts, as the Cougars spaced their shooters around the perimeter and used ball movement to create open 3's at their leisure. At the other end, UNLV's offense mucked it up to the point that senior forward Vitaliy Shibel led the team in field-goal attempts at the half (BYU left him open for a reason, as Shibel connected on just 1-of-6 shots).

BYU trotted into the locker room with a 46-25 lead, and UNLV spent the rest of game trying to learn as much as it could from the experience.

The Rebels will have 11 days before their next game, and Otzelberger plans to spend most of it putting the players through their paces on the practice court.

"We"re going to hammer it," Otzelberger said. "We haven't had much [practice time] in a while. We've had so many games in a short period of time. That's definitely not an excuse for an effort like that, so I'm not saying that had anything do with it. I just think our group, the newness of our group, the habits we're trying to enforce, the competitive spirit we're trying to play with, those things are hammered home on the practice floor."

Otzelberger said his players appeared to be "shocked" by the pace at which BYU moved the ball in its halfcourt sets. The Cougars finished with 19 assists on 29 made baskets and shot 54.7 percent on the day.

"When you play a team with the skill and passing ability and ball movement of BYU, if you allow them to move the ball and be comfortable and settle in, they're going to be really good," Otzelberger said. "They were really good and we allowed them to be really good and do whatever they wanted."

UNLV forward Nick Blair explained why the Rebels were unable to keep up on defense.

"Teams like that, you've got to try to disrupt their rhythm," Blair said. "You've got to try and maybe deny one pass, maybe catch somebody, but they're a smart team. They thrive off ball movement and moving it quick, and they can counter anything you can do."

While BYU was raining 3-pointers at will, UNLV struggled to execute its own offense. The Rebels made 35.1 percent from the field and registered only six assists in 40 minutes of basketball.

Sophomore guard Bryce Hamilton, the hero of Wednesday's win over Fresno State with 21 points, managed just six points on 2-of-9 shooting. Junior forward Donnie Tillman followed up his 28-point explosion at Fresno with 13 points in 32 minutes against BYU.

Junior guard Amauri Hardy was held to single digits for the first time this season as he tallied nine points on 3-of-11 shooting.

Otzelberger said the Rebels' offense was not varied enough, and that BYU was able to force the ball into the hands of UNLV's non-scorers.

"They're not guarding certain guys," Otzelberger said. "We're not getting good offensive possessions."

UNLV is now 4-7 on the season. The Rebels will resume their non-conference schedule with home games against Pacific (Dec. 18), Robert Morris (Dec. 21) and Eastern Michigan (Dec. 28). Mountain West play begins in full on Jan. 1 when UNLV hosts Utah State.

"That was a non-competitive effort, so we've got to make sure our guys understand what that looks like," Otzelberger said. "I'm excited to practice on Monday so we can address it.

"I love practice," he continued, "because that develops habits. We certainly don't have the habits we need right now. We had signs of them on Wednesday. I think maybe we felt like we arrived, but we will get those habits starting on Monday."

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