UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger calls out to players during the second half of an NCAA basketball game against the Colorado State Rams at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023.
Published Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 | 8:53 p.m.
More on UNLV basketball
San Jose State came into the Thomas & Mack Center and downed the home team, 75-66, in what may be the most sobering result of the season for UNLV.
UNLV simply could not stop SJSU on the defensive end, allowing the Spartans to shoot 48.2% for the night and 40.0% from 3-point range. Even with top scorer Omari Moore shooting 4-of-15 for 14 points, SJSU produced open looks every time down the court and averaged 1.12 points per possession.
E.J. Harkless led UNLV with 19 points and Keshon Gilbert chipped in 13, but it wasn't nearly enough to make up for the porous defensive showing.
With San Jose State sweeping the season series, UNLV falls to 15-10 overall and a disappointing 5-9 in Mountain West play. The Scarlet and Gray now sit in eighth place in the conference standings with four games remaining.
San Jose State leads UNLV basketball in second half
If UNLV wants to win this game, it's going to have to happen on the defensive end.
With 8:58 remaining, San Jose State still maintains a 57-53 lead, mostly because the Spartans are shooting 50.0% from the field. And that's with leading scorer Omari Moore having a subpar game (3-of-12 FGs), though he just canned a 3-pointer before the timeout.
Shane Nowell is giving UNLV a spark off the bench with seven points and five rebounds in 15 minutes. E.J. Harkless has 15 points and Keshon Gilbert has 11.
UNLV trails San Jose State at half
E.J. Harkless hit a runner just before the halftime buzzer to send UNLV into the locker room trailing San Jose State, 40-36.
Defense was an issue for the Scarlet and Gray over the first 20 minutes, as SJSU shot 51.5% from the field and made 6-of-14 from 3-point range. As in the first meeting between the teams, Trey Anderson is giving UNLV serious problems with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. That may be a result of UNLV being without senior wing Luis Rodriguez, who has the size to match up with Anderson.
Harkless leads UNLV with nine points. Keshon Gilbert has five points and three assists, while David Muoka has six points, two rebounds and a block.
We'll have to see if Kevin Kruger makes any defensive adjustments at halftime, or if he sticks to the plan and hopes for regression from San Jose State. Unless UNLV starts getting some stops, they are in serious danger of being swept.
Muoka back in starting lineup for UNLV vs. San Jose State
Kevin Kruger made some pretty substantial changes to his starting lineup, and with 11:16 remaining in the first half San Jose State has a 15-14 lead.
One of the moves was dictated by injury, as Luis Rodriguez is not dressed. Justin Webster took his place in the lineup and has already knocked down his only 3-point attempt.
The other change was re-inserting David Muoka as the starting center and shifting Victor Iwuakor to the bench. Iwuakor has started for the past month, but the team has consistently performed better with Muoka on the floor. So far Muoka has two points and two rebounds in five minutes, as well as two solid rim-protection plays.
One thing to keep an eye on: San Jose State already has three offensive rebounds. That was an issue for UNLV in the first meeting between these teams, so we'll have to see if the Scarlet and Gray can get that under control.
UNLV basketball looks to bounce back against San Jose State
A loss like the one UNLV suffered at San Diego State on Saturday can do bad things to a team.
Given the way SDSU physically manhandled the Scarlet and Gray for the full 40 minutes, the demoralizing 82-71 defeat could threaten to linger well past the final buzzer. It would be understandable if the players and coaches began to question themselves — and each other.
Such a fraying would be bad news this late in the season, especially for a team like UNLV that is already on edge.
Luckily for UNLV, head coach Kevin Kruger believes his veteran-laden team has enough character to weather the loss and play good basketball down the stretch.
No, according to Kruger there is no crisis of confidence.
“This is a group that has bounced back off some losses with good efforts,” Kruger said after Monday’s practice. “A group that is excited to prove that isn’t what the storyline of this year has been.”
If the throttling at San Diego State isn’t a true representation of this UNLV team, as Kruger claims, they can begin to prove it tonight when they host San Jose State (7 p.m., Mountain West Network).
SJSU won the first meeting on Dec. 28, shocking the Scarlet and Gray in the first game of conference play. UNLV has had a rocky go of it since then, stumbling to a 5-8 league record.
With five games remaining, it’s clear that UNLV’s dreams of an at-large bid have been dashed, so the team will soon shift its focus to preparing for the Mountain West tournament.
Senior point guard Jordan McCabe thinks UNLV is capable of beating anyone in the league in a tournament setting, as long as he and his teammates play their best.
“We look forward to that Mountain West tournament because we know everybody has a chance to win it and get that automatic bid. That’s the beauty of the game that we play. We’re trying to peak at the right time.”
Beating San Jose State at home would be a good sign that UNLV is keeping it together after San Diego State and trending in the right direction again.
Rodriguez banged up
UNLV may be without one of its key contributors on Tuesday, as senior wing Luis Rodriguez was limited in practice on Monday due to a leg injury.
Kruger said Rodriguez played through the injury at San Diego State, when he shot 0-of-8 from the field and 0-of-6 from 3-point range in 27 minutes.
“He was trying to play through some stuff,” Kruger said. “It’s killing him to not be able to be out there and contribute at the level he wants to, so we took a day here to see how it would respond.”
Rodriguez has been slumping for a while, possibly related to his injury. Through the first 16 games of the season he connected on 32.4% of his long-range attempts; over the last eight contests he is at 21.6% (8-of-37).
Who: UNLV (16-9, 5-8 MWC) vs. San Jose State (15-10, 6-6 MWC)
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Thomas & Mack Center
TV: Mountain West Network
UNLV leaders
Scoring: E.J. Harkless — 18.3 points
Rebounding: Luis Rodriguez — 5.5 rebounds
Assists: Keshon Gilbert — 3.6 assists
San Jose State leaders
Scoring: Omari Moore — 17.1 points
Rebounding: Sage Tolbert — 7.4 rebounds
Assists: Omari Moore — 4.9 assists
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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