UNLV beats Washington State to improve to 10-0 for first time since 1990

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022 | 5:17 p.m.

UNLV basketball is 10-0 after holding off Washington State on Saturday, 74-70.

It’s the first time the program has won its first 10 games to start a season since the 1990-91 campaign, when Jerry Tarkanian was coaching the defending national champions.

And it may not be long before the Scarlet and Gray break into the Top 25 rankings, as a 10-0 record tends to draw attention.

Kevin Kruger’s reaction to that big, round number?

“Settle down.”

UNLV’s second-year head coach did his best to downplay the team’s perfect record after his team dispatched Washington State at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and he practically leapt out of his seat to swat away any comparisons between his squad and the 1990-91 team.

“No, no, no, we’re not doing that,” Kruger said with a laugh. “We’re not doing that.”

But no matter how much the coach may want to avoid the topic, the fact remains UNLV is one of only eight remaining undefeated teams in the country, and the way they are winning games — with relentless defensive pressure — is probably going to lead to a lot more victories before the season is over.

On Saturday, the Scarlet and Gray forced 22 turnovers and converted them into 31 points, including a takeaway-fueled 18-0 run in the first half that allowed UNLV to seize control of the game.

Buoyed by a career-high 25 points from sophomore guard Keshon Gilbert and 20 from senior E.J. Harkless, UNLV extended its lead as high as 12 points in the second half and held off one final push from Washington State in the closing minutes.

UNLV has a week off before hosting San Francisco on Saturday, then the team will wrap non-conference play with a home game against Southern Mississippi on Dec. 22. The Scarlet and Gray will be favored in both contests, meaning they could very well enter the Mountain West season unbeaten.

Despite his tongue-in-cheek protestations, Kruger knows the hype is going to be unavoidable.

“It’s starting to get a little bit of attention, and every game is going to be a bigger challenge,” he said. “Hopefully we’re excited and hungry for that opportunity.”

Kruger trusts his team to handle it with the same attacking mindset they’ve maintained through the first 10 games.

“I know they look at social media, I know they hear a lot about it,” Kruger said. “But at the same time, I think it’s okay from a coaching standpoint because they play so hard.”

Gilbert led that charge on Saturday. He caught fire in the second half (17 points) and took over the game on both ends of the court, finishing with five rebounds, three assists, three steals. He also took a physical beating, drawing a game-high seven fouls (including a pair of offensive fouls on Washington State).

UNLV had to play most of the contest without starting guard Eli Parquet after the senior suffered a knee injury early in the first half. Senior reserve Justin Webster picked up some of the slack, scoring eight points in 31 minutes off the bench.

UNLV has now won at home, on the road, at a neutral site against a power-conference opponent, and on the Strip against a power-conference opponent.

Gilbert said a statement was delivered by beating a quality Pac-12 opponent for win No. 10.

“We can play with pretty much anybody,” Gilbert said. “We can win throughout different situations, different circumstances, with or without people. It was an all-around win for us. That was our statement.”

They also won despite Washington State shooting a scorching 56.5% from 3-point range (13-of-23), including a stretch to open the first half where the Cougars made five consecutive triples.

Harkless helped blunt that momentum by scoring UNLV’s first seven points out of the locker room at halftime.

Harkless, a fifth-year senior, was proud of UNLV getting to 10-0.

“It’s the first time it’s been done in I don’t know how many years, so everybody’s pretty excited,” Harkless said. “We put the work in. We had a tough summer. And just to get the outcome of 10-0, it’s great.”

After leading UNLV in scoring the past two games, senior wing Luis Rodriguez took a backseat offensively with six points, but he was a key to the defensive effort with three steals. Senior big man Victor Iwuakor blocked two shots and registered a plus-16 in his 18 minutes off the bench, the best mark on the team.

While a perfect record a third of the way through the season is great, Kruger seemed confident that his veteran-laden team will not be derailed by getting too far ahead of themselves.

“I joked with them the other day, between Lou, E.P., Web and E.J., they’ve got almost 20 years of college basketball experience between the four of them,” Kruger said. “Their DNA is their DNA. And so far, being at UNLV, it’s playing hard. It’s diving on the floor for loose balls, it’s helping a teammate out, it’s creating advantages for teammates. As long as we can keep that our DNA and at our core of how we play every night, we’ll have a chance to win a lot of games.”

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