Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

24 HOURS IN CHICAGO

CHICAGO - UNLV's basketball players were a loosey-goosey bunch Thursday night over a dinner of burgers, fries, spaghetti and apple juice in the Davos Suite of the Swissotel.

When they sauntered over to the Neuchatel Suite for a final, 20-minute video review of Georgia Tech's patterns and tendencies, they were just as giddy in a room overlooking the Chicago River.

A Ferris wheel glistened in the distance, its lights gleaming off the river.

That is where Rebels coach Lon Kruger reaffirmed his game plan, which received mixed reviews Friday afternoon from the boss himself after seventh-seeded UNLV defeated the 10th-seeded Yellow Jackets, 67-63, inside a frigid United Center.

First and foremost, Kruger was concerned with Tech freshman guard Javaris Crittenton, who didn't score in the first half and finished with eight points, 6.6 below his season average.

In fact, the Tech trio of Crittenton, Anthony Morrow and Thaddeus Young - prime subjects of Kruger's Thursday's night chalk talk - combined to shoot 10-for-32 from the field.

Advantage: UNLV.

Kruger was also pleased with the way UNLV handled the Jackets' pesky press, turning the ball over only nine times. That was 2.3 below its average, which was the 10th-lowest in the country during the season.

Advantage: UNLV.

After the victory, en route from his United Center locker room to the court to watch second-seeded Wisconsin beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Kruger admitted that the Rebels lacked some punch on defense in the post.

"We didn't take care of that part," he said.

Actually, although it appeared bad late, UNLV fought Georgia Tech to a draw on the boards, getting more offensive rebounds (24-21) and more total boards (44-41) than the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech nearly scored inside at will in the final seven minutes of the game, but the resilient Rebels produced critical points to win their first NCAA tournament game since 1991.

Before finishing his cheeseburger at dinner Thursday, Kruger was anxious. Preparing since Sunday from assistant coach Steve Henson's scouting of Georgia Tech, the Rebels had finished their heavy work more than 24 hours before tip-off.

Earlier Thursday, Kruger passed some Kentucky coaches who playfully inquired about switching game times. The Wildcats played in the late game Friday, and waiting around all day takes a toll.

Kruger was glad to play first, even though it started about 9:30 a.m. Las Vegas time.

He even acknowledged that, although he has a senior-laden team, none have played on an NCAA stage and there would be "a certain amount of nervousness, for sure."

"Quite honestly, the event has grown so big," said Kruger, who played in his first NCAA tournament in 1972. "The Final Four didn't even sell out in arenas in the '70s. Now, the eight regions are sold out before anyone knows who's playing in them."

His own kid, senior point guard Kevin Kruger, froze up in the United Center, missing all eight of his 3-point attempts before a crowd of 18,237 and the CBS cameras.

The mammoth building is notorious for sending good shooters to rubber rooms, an explanation Junior harbored Friday afternoon.

"Sounds like a good excuse to me," Kevin Kruger said. "I'll take it."

Thursday night, in the Neuchatel Suite, he sat at the front of the room and exchanged jokes with Curtis Terry. Seven rows of chairs, seven across, pointed toward a large screen.

The players busted on each other like grade schoolers. "Take a right at D.I.," and something about "green slime" provoked repeated laughter. Wendell White talked into his cell phone.

When Lon Kruger entered about 15 minutes later, silence ensued. He pelted a few players about their assignment priorities, and each answered quickly and correctly.

Wink Adams would square up on Crittenton as much as possible. Within the game's final minute, Adams coerced a rare five-seconds call against Crittenton that enabled UNLV to take a 63-59 lead.

Gaston Essengue wouldn't give away angles to Ra'Sean Dickey. Terry would keep Thaddeus Young from going to his left. Kruger pointed out habits of each Yellow Jacket, and Georgia Tech plays, on the screen.

Jokes over, the Rebels were in rapt attention to Kruger's every syllable.

"Get after them from the start," Kruger implored. "Be the aggressor. Dictate. Take care of each possession. Get a body on 'em, no second shots. Attack. Attack.

"And trust each other. Do what we've been doing. We'll set the tone."

UNLV scored 29 of the game's first 44 points, then relied on defense, the backbone of the team, after Georgia Tech took its one and only lead (at 58-57) with 3:32 left.

The Rebels pestered the Jackets into committing a 35-second shot-clock violation, and then Essengue fouled Jeremis Smith, whose free-throw-shooting woes Kruger highlighted in the Neuchatel Suite.

Smith missed his first and made his second, tying it, 59-59. Overall, he was 1-for-3 at the line.

Essengue pounded his chest after getting fouled inside, then he drilled two free throws with 36.6 seconds left that gave UNLV the breathing room it needed.

"Coach did a good job," Essengue said. "Each player knew what he was supposed to do. He's tough. From the start of practice, we worked hard on defense and it transferred to games. It became our identity."

Now Lon Kruger has far less time to prepare his team for a second-round game against Wisconsin on Sunday. At least, though, his players now have some NCAA tournament experience.

archive