Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNLV comes up short in home loss to Fresno State

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Steve Marcus

UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger walks the sidelines as the Rebels play the Wichita State Shockers during the Roman Main Event tournament at T-Mobile Arena Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021.

A late run by UNLV came up short as Kevin Kruger's squad dropped a home game to Fresno State on Friday, 73-68.

UNLV trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half until some late fireworks by Bryce Hamilton and Donovan Williams narrowed the deficit to three, but ultimately they couldn't finish the job. Hamilton pulled up for a 3-pointer from the left wing that would have tied the game with 19 seconds to play, but his shot caromed off the rim and Fresno State secured the rebound.

Hamilton finished with 24 points as UNLV dropped to 9-7 on the season and 1-2 in Mountain West play.

Quality opponent blues

A very distinct pattern has developed through the first half of the season: UNLV can beat mediocre and bad teams, but they can't stand up to good competition. So far Kruger's crew is 9-0 against teams they “should” beat (teams outside the KenPom Top 100) and they're now 0-7 against quality opponents (teams in the Top 100). The closest thing to a good victory for UNLV was a 55-52 decision over Cal (KenPom No. 112) in the second game of the season, which was almost two months ago now.

Fresno State continued that trend, as the No. 62 Bulldogs played more physical and dominated the interior, outscoring UNLV, 32-20, on points in the paint while building a rebounding advantage of 36-27.

What does that track record say about UNLV? Well, there are plenty of Mountain West teams outside the Top 100, so the Scarlet and Gray should be able to pad their record a bit as the season goes on. But in order to compete in March — in the only games that matter — they're going to have to find an extra gear.

Handsy defense

Fresno State won the game at the free-throw line.

UNLV played an amazing stretch of defense in the first half, allowing just one basket over a span of 8:50. During that time the Scarlet and Gray used a 15-2 run to take an early lead. But Fresno State stayed true to its game plan and continued to work the ball inside to center Orlando Robinson, and UNLV had no answers when it came to defending the 7-footer.

Robinson made just 6-of-15 shots from inside the arc; Kruger will live with those numbers any day. The problem was UNLV's big men kept fouling Robinson. He drew 11 personal fouls and made 9-of-11 free throws to keep the Fresno State offense working even as the Bulldogs struggled to make shots. UNLV center Royce Hamm spent most of the game in foul trouble; the frontcourt rotation of Hamm, Victor Iwuakor and David Muoka combined to commit 11 fouls in 43 minutes. Robinson finished with 24 points.

In a game UNLV ended up losing by five points, Robinson powered Fresno State to a 17-10 advantage in made free throws. The good news is, there aren't many other Mountain West centers who can bludgeon their way to the basket like Robinson. Still, post defense is an area UNLV will have to shore up over the next two months.

Point problems

It was a rough night for UNLV's point guards. Starter Jordan McCabe made 1-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with five points in 35 minutes. Freshman Keshon Gilbert missed both of his 3-point attempts and committed three fouls in nine minutes. And senior Marvin Coleman committed two turnovers in five minutes while going scoreless. Add it all up and it left a big hole in UNLV's offensive attack.

Some of that can be attributed to Fresno State's team defense. The Bulldogs are stingy; they ranked third in the nation in scoring defense (55.9 points allowed) and 41st in KenPom's defensive efficiency ratings. But this has been a season-long issue for the Scarlet and Gray, as their point guard triumvirate is now shooting 38.6% from the field.

A little more offensive punch from that position would go a long way toward helping UNLV be more competitive against good teams.

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

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