Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

REBELS BASKETBALL:

UNLV once again will try to speed up Air Force in MWC tournament opener

Rebels hope to atone for mid-season home victory over Falcons that felt more like a loss

UNLV vs. Air Force Basketball

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

UNLV guard Anthony Marshall is fouled by Air Force forward Derek Brooks on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, at the Thomas & Mack Center. UNLV won the game 49-42.

UNLV vs. Air Force

  • UNLV Rebels (23-7, 11-5) vs. Air Force Falcons (15-14, 6-10)

  • Where: Thomas & Mack Center

  • When: 8:30 p.m.

  • Coaches: Lon Kruger is 160-69 in his seven seasons at UNLV and 478-302 in 25 overall seasons; Jeff Reynolds is 51-70 in his four seasons at Air Force and 133-104 in eight overall seasons.

  • Series: UNLV leads, 25-8.

  • Last time: UNLV won, 49-42, on Feb. 15 in Las Vegas.

  • TV/Radio:The Mtn./ESPN Radio 1100 AM/98.9 FM

  • THE REBELS

  • G Oscar Bellfield (6-2, 185, Jr.) 11.3 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.4 rpg.

  • G Anthony Marshall (6-3, 200, So.) 9.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg.

  • G Tre'Von Willis (6-4, 195, Sr.) 13.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.4 apg.

  • F Chace Stanback (6-8, 210, Jr.) 12.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg.

  • F Quintrell Thomas (6-8, 245, So.) 6.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg.

  • Bench:G Derrick Jasper (6-6, 215, Sr.) 5.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.0 apg; F Brice Massamba (6-10, 240, Jr.) 3.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg; G Justin Hawkins (6-3, 190, So.) 5.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg; F Carlos Lopez (6-11, 215, Fr.) 5.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg; G-F Karam Mashour (6-6, 200, Fr.) 2.0 ppg.

  • What to watch: The UNLV player who took the biggest turn after the last meeting with Air Force was Tre'Von Willis. In four games since then, he's averaging 15.3 points on 50 percent shooting to go with 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. If UNLV wants to put up its definitive effort against the Falcons in the season's third meeting, he needs to stay the recent course.

  • THE FALCONS

  • G Michael Lyons (6-6, 190, So.) 13.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg.

  • G Evan Washington (6-4, 190, Sr.) 7.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.0 apg.

  • G Todd Fletcher (6-2, 180, So.) 5.0 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.4 rpg.

  • F Tom Fow (6-6, 205, Sr.) 12.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg.

  • C Taylor Broekhuis (6-10, 210, So.) 7.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg.

  • Bench: F Derek Brooks (6-5, 200, Sr.) 9.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg; F Zach Bohannon (6-8, 205, So.) 4.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg; F Taylor Stewart (6-5, 190, Jr.) 3.3 ppg; G-F Mike Fitzgerald (6-6, 195, So.) 3.2 ppg; G Shawn Hempsey (6-2, 180, Jr.) 1.2 ppg.

  • What to watch: Plain and simple, Air Force needs to hit its 3-pointers to win this one. In two meetings with UNLV this season, it's totaled 49 attempts from beyond the arc, hitting only 12 of them. That's not gonna cut it this time around if the strategy is the same.

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As far as the 2010-11 season goes for the UNLV men's basketball team, it's known as the win that didn't really feel like a win.

That game was the Rebels' 49-42 victory over Air Force at the Thomas & Mack Center on Feb. 15.

It was the type of game that visibly frustrated those taking part in it while putting those around the court to sleep. UNLV was just 14-of-42 from the floor in the effort, 2-of-14 from 3-point territory and had more turnovers than assists for the third time in four games.

The Rebels have played much better, more efficient basketball on both ends of the floor since that night, winning all four outings leading into the Mountain West Conference tournament.

And, of course, the Falcons are there waiting for them first. The two will meet in Thursday's quarterfinal round nightcap.

"We're just trying to get mentally prepared and not have an outcome like we did last game," sophomore guard Anthony Marshall said. "It's a very good vibe in the locker room. We feel like we're playing very good basketball right now, but the exciting thing for us is we feel like we can do a lot better. We haven't played up to our potential like we did earlier in the season, and we feel like we can play a lot better on both ends of the court."

The outcome was a win, but with the way the Rebels were carrying themselves afterward and the couple of days after, you'd have hardly guessed it.

After that game, UNLV regrouped and turned a corner and is now finally looking like the team that created some heavy national buzz in early November and December.

In the process, mostly with a crucial two-game road sweep of Colorado State and New Mexico, the Rebels locked themselves into the NCAA tournament field for the fourth time in five years.

Actually, it's now the first time in the last few seasons in which they don't enter the league tourney needing at least one win to be considered a lock by bracketologists and experts alike. At 23-7 overall, with a strong résumé and a respectable 11-5 finish in the MWC season, good for third place, whatever they get this weekend is seeding gravy.

Still …

"Our mentality is to win this thing," senior guard Tre'Von Willis said. "The big picture is getting to the (NCAA) tournament, but you want to win your conference tournament. We want to keep getting wins, keep this momentum going and just feeling like on any given day we can beat anybody."

Getting by Air Force will be tough enough for the Rebels. They've essentially escaped the Falcons' grasp twice this season.

In the last meeting, it was a one-point game late after a pair of Air Force 3-pointers, but a barrage of Willis free throws helped UNLV pull away. On the team's trip to Colorado Springs in mid-January, the Rebels closed the game on 19-2, making a 64-52 win look a much more spread out than it actually was.

The Rebels weren't the only MWC team to struggle with the Falcons this season, though. After hanging out in the league cellar for the past couple of seasons, they improved to 6-10 in conference play and played everyone in the conference close at least once.

After learning of the upcoming match-up following last Saturday's 78-58 victory at Utah, Willis joked about this being a match-up none of the Rebels are looking forward to.

The Falcons like a low-scoring game within their Princeton offense, which centers on motion, back-cuts and, above all, plenty of patience. UNLV's players are saying they want to try to speed Air Force up, but that's been tough to do in recent years, especially in Las Vegas. In the last five meetings between the two schools at the Mack — all Rebels wins — UNLV is averaging just 54.6 points per game. For reference, this year's team is averaging 72 points a night.

"it was a little joke, but at the same time, it's just grueling," Willis added. "It's going to be one of those types of games. It's not fun to watch from a fan's standpoint, either. But at the same time, a win is all that matters and we're going to try our best to keep getting better before we play them and try to put a good one together."

If UNLV gets by Air Force, what lies ahead this weekend is a potential grinder.

It's the final year of the Mountain West Conference as we know it, with BYU (WCC) and Utah (Pac-12) headed out after this season. TCU will bolt for the daunting Big East after next season.

The league still projects out to be strong, with a strong core of UNLV, New Mexico and San Diego State at the top and programs, but this weekend will be a last hurrah of sorts.

The winner of UNLV-Air Force, who are the No. 3 and 6 seeds, respectively, will advance to face whoever emerges victorious from the 6 p.m. tilt between No. 2 San Diego State and No.7 Utah at 8:30 p.m. Friday back at the Mack.

The day will start at noon with No. 1 BYU taking on No. 9 TCU, which defeated No. 8 Wyoming in Wednesday's play-in game, 71-60. Following that game is the day's most intriguing quarterfinal between No. 4 Colorado State and No. 5 New Mexico.

For full coverage as the day progresses at the Mack, stay tuned to lasvegassun.com/rebels for updates all along. Also, for more on Twitter throughout the quarterfinal round, head to twitter.com/ryanmgreene for streaming updates, 140 characters at a time.

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