Good, UNLV viewing Waves as good gauge

Steve Addy

Friday, Dec. 22, 2000 | 10 a.m.

Since Max Good took over as UNLV's basketball coach, the Rebels have lost to one clearly superior team (Cincinnati) and beaten one inferior club (Division II Alaska-Anchorage).

When Pepperdine (6-4) visits the Thomas & Mack Center tonight, the Rebels will be facing an opponent that should provide a truer measure of their progress since Good replaced the fired Bill Bayno 11 days ago.

Not only are the Rebels (4-5) finally approaching full manpower, since Chris Richardson has two games under his belt and Lou Kelly one, but the Waves just suffered a 13-point home loss to Utah, one of UNLV's top Mountain West rivals.

Because Pepperdine is coming off a 25-9 season in which it reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, tonight's game should be more revelatory than any the Rebels will play over the next three weeks (Monmouth, Old Dominion, Loyola Marymount and Chicago State).

At least the Rebels will be able to compare scores with Utah to see how they stack up.

"This should be a pretty close matchup," freshman guard Lafonte Johnson said. "We needed a win (against Alaska-Anchorage) just to get over everything that has happened to us, but now we need to show that we should be worthy of being a tournament team.

"This isn't going to be an easy game. Pepperdine is a pretty good team. They've had some close losses to good teams this year. They're physical and tough. We'll see how we do."

Before Tuesday's 69-56 loss to Utah, all of the Waves' losses were on the road against quality opponents (Indiana 80-68, Georgia 72-61 and USC 76-73). So, though their record isn't much better than UNLV's, they have played enough good clubs for the Rebels to put stock in a victory.

"They're very aggressive, very physical," Good said. "They will change defenses a lot, so we have to be ready for that. They'll give us a lot of different looks. I think we handled that pretty well when (Cal State) Northridge did that (on Nov. 25)."

The Waves are struggling on offense at the moment, shooting 33 percent in their last two games, in which they scored only 109 points, but they're led by two returning all-West Coast first-teamers, junior guard Brandon Armstrong and senior forward Kelvin Gibbs.

Armstrong is averaging 17.6 points, up from last year's team-leading 14.4, while the hulking Gibbs (6-6, 270), a third-year starter, is averaging 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds.

"Armstrong is good, and Gibbs is a tough cover because he's very strong and he's left-handed," Good said.

Junior guard Craig Lewis is also returning to the Waves' lineup. He scored 52 points in the first five games before suffering an ankle sprain.