Robotham still remembers Rebels’ pivotal loss at San Diego State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 | 2 a.m.

UNLV is currently 5-1 in Mountain West play and riding a wave of momentum after back-to-back blowout home wins over San Jose State and New Mexico. There should be a positive feeling around what the Rebels are doing right now.

But Noah Robotham remembers a similar situation last season. Though he sat out the year as a redshirt after transferring from Akron, he recalls how the 2017-18 Rebels won three straight games — including an intense victory at UNR — to move to 8-5 in the MWC, positioning themselves for a strong finish near the top of the league standings.

That 18-19 team was vibing right up until they met reality in the form of a road game at San Diego State. The Aztecs trounced UNLV, handing the surging Rebels an embarrassing 94-58 defeat that sent the team spiraling into a five-game losing streak to end the regular season.

So while there may have been some good feelings in the air after UNLV finished off a season sweep of New Mexico on Tuesday, Robotham was already looking ahead — and back — at the next game on the schedule.

A road trip to San Diego State on Saturday.

Just minutes after totaling 11 points, nine assists and two steals against New Mexico, Robotham said he had already flipped the switch and begun to prepare himself mentally for the showdown at Viejas Arena.

“I’m already flipped right now,” Robotham said from his seat at the postgame press conference. “The New Mexico game is over with. I’m ready to go on to San Diego State.”

Robotham did not try to underplay the fact that this is going to be a big game for UNLV, and he didn’t try to underplay the reason why. Even though he didn’t play in last year’s game at SDSU — even though he wasn’t even in the arena — that loss is so seared into his brain that he recalled the final margin immediately on Tuesday.

“It’s no mystery,” Robotham said. “Everybody in the locker room knows we lost by 38 … You don’t lose by 38 and forget that loss.”

“I was watching the game at home, but I’m ready to play against them so we can get that one back.”

San Diego State has proven to be an enigma so far this season. The Aztecs have one of the Mountain West’s most talented rosters, but they are just 2-3 in conference play (10-8 overall), with perplexing losses to Brown and San Diego. On Tuesday, while UNLV was dispatching New Mexico with ease, San Diego State squandered a 20-point lead in a 66-62 loss at Fresno State.

So while UNLV will enter Saturday’s meeting tied for first place and San Diego State will sit eighth in the standings, Robotham and the Rebels aren’t taking the game lightly — especially after what happened there last year.

“They’re a great team at home,” Robotham said. “They’re a tough team, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

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