Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

NCAA TOURNAMENT:

Breaking down the rest of UNLV’s pod in Tulsa

Kansas poses a monster threat to whoever triumphs in Friday’s UNLV-Illinois showdown

Kansas

AP FILE PHOTO

Kansas drew the top seed in the Southwest Region of the 2011 NCAA tournament, and should it get by No. 16 seed Boston University, will face the winner of Friday’s battle between No. 8 UNLV and No. 9 Illinois in Tulsa, Okla., on Sunday.

Ryan Greene talks UNLV basketball

"Sports Night in Las Vegas" talks with Ryan Greene of the Las Vegas Sun about the Rebels in the NCAA Tournament.

UNLV on Selection Sunday

Members of the UNLV men's basketball team celebrate as their name is announced in a NCAA tournament selection show being shown at the Cox Pavilion at UNLV on Sunday, March 13, 2011. The Rebels will play Illinois on Friday in Tulsa, Okla. Launch slideshow »
The Rebel Room

Rebel Room: Selection Sunday Edition

The UNLV basketball team received a No. 8 seed Sunday for the NCAA Tournament and will play Illinois at 6:20 p.m. Friday in Tulsa. The winner will likely play top-seeded Kansas. UNLV has been in Kansas' pod in its last three tournament appearances. Additionally, Rebels' coach Lon Kruger is a former coach at Illinois, leading them to three appearances in the NCAA second round before leaving in 2000 to coach the NBA Atlanta Hawks. His successor? Current Kansas coach Bill Self. Ray Brewer, Ryan Greene and Case Keefer discuss the coaching storyline, the rest of the intriguing angles and offer opinions elsewhere within the field of 68.

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UNLV will head to its fourth NCAA tournament in the last five years later this week. The Rebels drew a No. 8 seed on Sunday and take on No. 9 Illinois this Friday night, and have an uphill climb ahead of them if they want to make it into the to the tourney's second weekend.

Here's a closer look at the rest of the UNLV's four-team pod in Tulsa, Okla.

No. 9 Illinois

Record: 19-13 overall, 9-9 Big Ten

RPI: 48

Strength of schedule: 19

Quality wins: Gonzaga, Wisconsin

Bad losses: Illinois-Chicago, Indiana

Who to watch for: Senior point guard Demetri McCamey is the Illini's ringleader, averaging 14.8 points and 6.1 assists per game. He's capable of a monster game at any moment. Two guys who have been up and down this season but are also capable of exploding are former McDonald's All-Americans D.J. Richardson and Jereme Richmond. Richardson, who played his senior year of high school ball at Findlay Prep two years ago, averages 8.1 points per game and is a 40.4 percent 3-point shooter, while the 6-foot-7 Richmond is both super-skilled and versatile.

Why they're dangerous for UNLV: One word — Length. Between the senior trio of Bill Cole, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale and freshman Meyers Leonard, the Illini have four guys standing at least 6-foot-9 to throw at the Rebels. They'll often two on the floor at the same time, which may force UNLV to break some of its normal rotation patterns. While the guards are a wash, the 7-foot-1 Tisdale could be a big difference-maker. He averages 10.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, and can also step outside to score, shooting 43.5 percent from long range this season.

Why UNLV is dangerous for them: It's a matter of momentum. UNLV won six straight before dropping a two-point decision to seventh-ranked San Diego State on Friday night in the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals. In other words, they're playing some of their best ball of the season and head to Tulsa with a full head of steam. Illinois, meanwhile, is 8-12 in its last 20 games after starting the season 11-1. The Illini haven't won consecutive games since Jan. 6. Where will their heads be at after sneaking into the field of 68?

No. 1 Kansas

Record: 32-2 overall, 14-2 Big 12 (conference regular season and tournament champions)

RPI: 1

Strength of Schedule: 9

Quality wins: Arizona, UCLA, Memphis, Michigan, Texas, Kansas State, Missouri (x2), Texas A&M.

Bad losses: None

Who to watch for: Kansas's leading scorer this season is junior forward Marcus Morris … and the Jayhawks basically have two of him. Marcus and twin brother Markieff combine to average 30.9 points and 15.4 rebounds a game, and can throw an opposing defense completely off-balance. They can score in several ways inside, but also step out to cash the three.

Why they're dangerous for UNLV: It's not just the Morris twins who post a problem to the Rebels, but it's KU's depth. The Jayhawks have 10 guys who average at least 11.3 minutes per game and waves of guys to throw at opponents at seemingly every position. UNLV isn't alone on the list of teams that KU can simply overwhelm in numbers.

Why UNLV is dangerous for them: Like UNLV, Kansas's outside shooting has come and gone at times this season. If the Rebels were to defend against the Jayhawks like they did in Friday's second half against San Diego State, they can hang with just about anyone. One of Kansas's strengths in the Bill Self tenure has been its defense, but it's gotten into many more shootouts this season than normally accustomed to, which could play into UNLV's hands as well.

No. 16 Boston University

Record: 21-13 overall, 12-4 America East (conference tournament champions)

RPI: 129

Strength of Schedule: 216

Quality wins: Vermont (x2), George Washington

Bad losses: Marist, Northeastern, New Hampshire

Who to watch for: 6-foot-5 senior swingman John Holland is the Terriers' rock, leading the team in scoring (19.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg). He and second-leading scorer Darryl Partin combined to hoist 11.7 3-point attempts per game.

Why they're dangerous for UNLV: The odds of BU getting past Kansas are beyond slim, but they chuck up enough threes that, if they happen to be hitting, they'll be dangerous to anyone.

Why UNLV is dangerous for them: It would take a massive, near-perfect effort to become the first No. 16 seed to take down a No. 1. If it so happened that both Boston and UNLV advanced, the Terriers would have the Rebels' attention and likely ratchet up the intensity on the defensive end big-time, likely overwhelming the America East champs.

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