Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Upset special: Rebels knock San Diego State from ranks of the unbeaten

UNLV upsets San Diego State

Denis Poroy / Associated Press

UNLV guard Amauri Hardy (3) shoots over San Diego State forward Nolan Narain (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, in San Diego.

Updated Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 | 7:06 p.m.

So much for being a 14-point underdog. So much for San Diego State's undefeated record.

The UNLV basketball team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in program history today, going on the road to Mountain West rival San Diego State and pulling out a 66-63 victory. Undefeated San Diego State raised its Mountain West championship banner during a pregame ceremony. By the end of the game, it was the Rebels doing the celebrating.

Elijah Mitrou-Long made four free throws in the final 19 seconds to seal the victory, only after UNLV's double-digit lead with four minutes to play quickly evaporated.

Long led UNLV with 19 points, Amauri Hardy had 17 points on 6 of 14 shooting, and Bryce Hamilton had 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Rebels improved to 15-14 on the season. More important, it grabbed a signature win against a nationally ranked opponent — something first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger can build the program from.

Rebels trying to hang on at San Diego State

UNLV is trying to hang on, but the finish line must seem like it's a mile away. The Rebels have one field goal in the last nine minutes, and San Diego State has pulled within 62-58 with 1:03 to play.

The refs are reviewing the previous play, in which Malachi Flynn drove and appeared to lose the ball out of bounds. Depending on the outcome of the review, UNLV could have possession with a four-point lead and a minute to play.

If UNLV has to make free throws to preserve its tenuous lead, those haven't come easy, either. Elijah Mitrou-Long just missed two free throws, while Marvin Coleman is 3-of-4 in the last few minutes.

Rebels closing in on upset of undefeated San Diego State

UNLV is struggling to score, but the Rebels are somehow grinding their way through the second half and with 4:32 to play they've got a 55-46 lead at San Diego State.

The Rebels haven't made a field goal in more than six minutes, but Amauri Hardy just drew a foul to get to the free throw line for a pair (he made both), and Elijah Mitrou-Long just did the same (he'll shoot his after the timeout).

UNLVis shooting just 28.0 percent in the second half, so manufacturing offense by any means necessary will be huge down the stretch.

Rebels maintain double-digit lead at San Diego State

The game has gotten intensely physical in the second half, but UNLV is holding its own at both ends of the court and with 11:58 remaining the Rebels lead, 47-37

UNLV suffered through a lengthy offensive drought in which it hit just 1-of-8 from the field, but the Rebels played well enough on defense that SDSU was not able to get closer than seven points. Amauri Hardy has scored the last three points to restore the Rebels' double-digit lead.

Hardy has a game-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a beautiful driving layup a moment ago.

T.J. Otzelberger went to a five-guard lineup for a few minutes with Jay Green as the de facto center, and it seemed to stabilize the offense after a rash of turnovers to start the half. Mbacke Diong is back in at center now.

Underdog Rebels lead San Diego State at half, 37-25

UNLV closed the half with a 7-2 spurt, and the Rebels were spirited as they ran into the locker room with a 37-25 lead.

Amauri Hardy sat out the last few minutes of the half with three fouls, but he was the most vocal voice on the bench as the Rebels surged at the end of the half. He also produced in his 14 minutes on the court, tallying 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Elijah Mitrou-Long has given UNLV a boost off the bench with 11 points in 13 minutes, and Bryce Hamilton has nine points. Crisp passing helped the Rebels confuse San Diego State's defense over the first 20 minutes; seven of UNLV's 15 field goals were assisted. Marvin Coleman has a team-high three assists.

The Rebels have also done a good job of cranking up their defense. They have held San Diego State, one of the nation's most accurate 3-point shooting teams, to 2-of-12 from deep so far and 33.3 percent from the field overall.

UNLV may have come into this game as a two-touchdown underdog, but the Rebels completely controlled the first half. If they can play the second half with similar intensity, they could find themselves on the proper side of one of the biggest upsets of the season.

UNLV leads at San Diego State, 25-16

If you were to draw up a blueprint for a UNLV upset today, it would look a lot like the first 12 minutes of this game. Everything seems to be going the visitors' way, and with 7:43 left in the half the Rebels have a 25-16 lead.

UNLV's outside shooting has been on-target (4-of-9 from 3-point range), the ball-handling has been solid (just two turnovers) and the defense has been pesky enough (42.9 percent shooting for San Diego State with four turnovers forced). And Amauri Hardy and Bryce Hamilton have both started hot, combining for 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting so far.

The Rebels have also done a good job of turning defense into offense. They have forced two live-ball turnovers, and they converted both into layups at the other end. Against SDSU's elite halfcourt defense, easy baskets will be worth their weight in gold today.

If UNLV can keep this up over the next eight minutes and head into halftime with a lead, you can officially fire up the upset alert.

Rebels start quick after SDSU hangs banner

If the Rebels needed any added motivation for today's game (they shouldn't), San Diego State may have delivered it via a pregame ceremony in which the program raised its 2019-20 Mountain West regular-season championship banner.

The Aztecs are 15-0 in league play and have already clinched the title, so the banner isn't premature, by any means. But hanging it during the season, just before tipoff against a rival could serve to fire up the Rebels. UNLV players huddled up during the ceremony as redshirt David Jenkins delivered a hype speech.

UNLV get off to a hot start, as 3-pointers from Bryce Hamilton and Amauri Hardy helped stake the visitors to an 8-4 lead, but San Diego State has evened things up at 8-8 with 13:34 left in the first half.

Three keys for UNLV basketball at San Diego State

UNLV comes into today’s game at San Diego State as a 13.5-point underdog, but based on the teams’ first meeting a few weeks ago (a 71-67 SDSU victory that went down to the wire), the surging Rebels may be poised to spring an upset.

What will it take for UNLV to shock the world? Three keys for the Rebels:

Limit mistakes

After San Diego State won a tight contest at UNLV on Jan. 26, Rebels coach T.J. Otzelberger was most impressed by SDSU’s mistake-free execution down the stretch. UNLV will have to match that level of precision today on both ends of the floor. That means no unforced turnovers on offense, no defensive breakdowns leading to layups or open 3’s, and no empty trips to the free-throw line. San Diego State is good enough as it is — the Rebels can’t afford to make it any harder on themselves.

Spread the floor

When these teams met the first time, UNLV was just beginning to dabble with its four-guard lineups. Otzelberger went super small for about 12 minutes in that game. Now it’s the Rebels’ primary alignment, and they figure to run four guards for at least 30 minutes today. With more shooters on the floor, UNLV has knocked down 17-of-40 from 3-point range over the last two games (42.5 percent). That’s the kind of outside shooting performance the Rebels will need on the road today to crack a very tough San Diego State defense.

Scramble on defense

The shift to four guards has made UNLV a different kind of defensive team, one that is more reliant on quickness to disrupt opponents. Elijah Mitrou-Long has a big part of that, with five steals over the last two games. The Rebels don’t want to have to score exclusively against SDSU’s halfcourt defense, so getting out in transition is key; the best way to do that is to create live-ball turnovers and race the other way. UNLV’s best chance to win is to rack up double-digit steals.

TV: CBS Sports Network, 4:30 p.m.

UNLV: 14-14, 9-6 MWC (KenPom No. 114)

Coach: T.J. Otzelberger

Leading scorer: Bryce Hamilton, 15.6 points per game

Leading rebounder: Mbacke Diong, 8.1 rebounds per game

Leading assists: Elijah Mitrou-Long, 3.5 assists per game

San Diego State: 26-0, 15-0 MWC (KenPom No. 4)

Coach: Brian Dutcher

Leading scorer: Malachi Flynn, 16.7 points per game

Leading rebounder: Nathan Mensah, 6.8 rebounds per game

Leading assists: Malachi Flynn, 5.1 assists per game

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

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