Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

An unexpected starting lineup emerges for Rebels

UNLV Defeats Utah State, 70-53

Wade Vandervort

UNLV’s Mbacke Diong (34) encourages fans to cheer during a game against Utah State at the Thomas & Mack Center, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020.

Finding the right starting lineup hasn't been a linear process for UNLV this season. Injuries, inconsistency and other variables have all impacted which five players T.J. Otzelberger has chosen to send out for the opening tip.

And sometimes, as Otzelberger said wryly after Tuesday's practice, it has simply been a matter of which guys show up on time.

That level of uncertainty is not ideal. In fact, the one thing Otzelberger wants more than anything out of his starters is consistency.

"I want to start the guys that I think night-in and night-out, we know what we're getting from them," he said.

Fortunately for Otzelberger, the Rebels may have stumbled upon just such a lineup. Over the last three games, the combination of guards Marvin Coleman, Amauri Hardy and Jonah Antonio and forwards Nick Blair and Mbacke Diong has performed brilliantly, outscoring the opposition by 28 points in 26 minutes of court time.

For the season, that five-man lineup has logged 36 minutes together and posted a plus/minus of 33, outscoring their opponents, 72-39. That works out to an amazing +36.0 per 40 minutes.

In UNLV's overtime win at Wyoming on Saturday, that lineup started and eventually logged 10 minutes together. During that time, UNLV outscored the Cowboys, 16-7.

It took a while to get to this point. Otzelberger didn't put those five players on the floor together at all until they started against Pacific on Dec. 18, and though the Rebels lost that game in humiliating fashion, the starters performed admirably, finishing +3 in 7:28 of court time.

The lineup didn't catch on immediately — they played just 2:55 together over the next three games after Pacific — but Otzelberger started them again against Air Force and they outscored the Falcons, 23-10, in nine minutes.

Though the Rebels lost at Boise State, the starting five were +6 in seven minutes.

Otzelberger said he is willing to mix up his lineups and rotations based on matchups, but he also recognizes when one group is playing consistently good basketball together.

"I think there are different lineups and combinations for us that are effective depending on what the defense is doing," Otzelberger said. "I do think for one reason or another there ends up being chemistry with certain lineups that work, and I think the same holds true defensively."

Among the lineups that have played more than 15 minutes together this season, the Coleman/Hardy/Antonio/Blair/Diong group has been by far the most efficient. Their +36.0 per 40 is markedly better than the next-best lineup (Elijah Mitrou-Long/Hardy/Donnie Tillman/Blair/Diong at +20.3 per 40).

Hardy said the players work hard to develop chemistry on and off the court.

"Just practice," Hardy said. "We play with each other each and every day in practice. We've bene playing with each other since we got here in the summertime, so we have that chemistry amongst each other."

Barring any unforeseen injuries or lateness, look for Otzelberger to continue riding his unexpectedly excellent starting lineup today when the Rebels host San Jose State.

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

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