UNLV Rebels head coach T.J. Otzelberger gives directions to UNLV Rebels forward Moses Wood (1), UNLV Rebels forward Cheikh Mbacke Diong (34) and UNLV Rebels guard Caleb Grill (3) during a game against the New Mexico Lobos at the Thomas & Mack Center, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021.
Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021 | 9:33 p.m.
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UNLV took the floor for an important basketball game in Reno on Sunday night, but after the scarlet and gray put forth 40 listless minutes in an 89-60 beatdown at the hands of in-state rival UNR, head coach T.J. Otzelberger was left questioning just where his team is headed with only nine games remaining in the regular season.
His initial postgame assessment: UNLV is a team desperate for leadership.
“There’s such a thing as personal pride, pride in your program, daily habits,” Otzelberger said. “Our guys have a responsibility to play at a much higher level competitively.”
UNLV played without junior guard Bryce Hamilton (ankle), but UNR came into the game ranked 141st in the nation in KenPom’s adjusted offense and Hamilton ranks fifth on the team in defensive rating according to Sports-Reference.com, so his absence should not have led to the complete collapse UNLV experienced on that end of the floor.
Simple, easy passes led to wide-open 3’s for UNR, and the Wolf Pack hit 8-of-12 in the first half to take a commanding 46-30 lead at halftime. In the second half UNR connected on 50 percent from the field, hit another 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and led by as many as 31 points.
The eventual 29-point margin is the worst defeat UNLV has suffered in conference play since Otzelberger arrived in Las Vegas.
Without Hamilton and his 18.3 points per game to prop up the offense, UNLV tried a little bit of everything. The early strategy was to work the ball inside to center Mbacke Diong. Then freshman guard Nick Blake tried to get downhill off the dribble via ball screens. Wings David Jenkins and Caleb Grill ran dribble-handoffs. Moses Wood spotted up in the corners.
None of it worked.
Jenkins and Wood led UNLV with 13 points apiece but combined to make just 8-of-27 shots.
After his players didn’t seem phased by the blowout, Otzelberger said his veterans need to take control of the team and raise the overall level of play if UNLV is going to salvage anything from the 2020-21 campaign.
“Overall what needs to happen is our older guys — we don’t have a lot of them, but the ones we do have — need to have that personal pride kick in first, and then the pride in the team so they let everybody know that level of effort and compete is not acceptable,” Otzelberger said. “I’m going to do my part in that equation as well. I think our team lacks maturity right now as a group.”
“The guys who are older that are playing, David, Mbacke, Caleb, Moses, those guys have played years of college basketball. They need to be able to lift our level and hold guys accountable.”
After a three-game winning streak pumped some life into the program, UNLV has lost two in a row by double digits to drop to 3-4 in Mountain West play. The team is 6-8 overall, and time is running out to turn things around.
If UNLV is going to build an identity and close the season strong, Otzelberger said the team’s leaders will have to prove they want it.
“This is inexcusable,” Otzelberger said. “It causes me to really evaluate pride point for some of those older guys. How important is it? How much does it matter? How much do they care? That’s what we have to continue to address.”
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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