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twitterUNLV BASKETBALL:
Programs familiar with big-time play meet on smaller stage
UNLV returns to Bluegrass State for second time this season
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | 2:10 a.m.
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UNLV Rebels (21-10) at Kentucky Wildcats (20-13)
- Where: Memorial Coliseum
- When: 6:30 p.m.
- Coaches: Lon Kruger is 112-52 in five seasons at UNLV and 430-285 in 23 overall seasons; Billy Gillespie is 38-24 in two seasons at Kentucky and 138-84 in seven overall seasons.
- Series: Kentucky leads, 3-0
- Last time: The Wildcats won, 64-61, in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Salt Lake City in 1985
- TV/Radio: ESPN/ESPN Radio 1100-AM
THE REBELS
- G Tre’Von Willis (6-4, 195) 11.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg
- G Wink Adams (6-0, 200) 14.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg
- G Oscar Bellfield (6-2, 175) 6.2 ppg, 3.3 apg
- F René Rougeau (6-6, 210) 11.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg
- F Joe Darger (6-7, 225) 9.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg
- * Bench: C Darris Santee (6-8, 225) 5.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg; G Kendall Wallace (6-4, 190) 4.5 ppg; F Mo Rutledge (6-3, 225) 4.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg; C Brice Massamba (6-10, 255) 2.1 ppg.
- * What to watch: UNLV has lost six of its past 10 games. Adams scored a season-best 26 points on Thursday in that league tournament quarterfinal loss to San Diego State. The Rebels had a season-low 5 assists against the Aztecs. They are 13-for-57 from 3-point range in their past three games.
THE WILDCATS
- G Jodie Meeks (6-4, 208) 24.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg
- G Michael Porter (6-3, 198) 4.1 ppg, 2.6 apg
- F Patrick Patterson (6-9, 235) 18.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg
- F Perry Stevenson (6-9, 207) 7.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg
- F Ramon Harris (6-7, 218) 5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg
- Bench: F Darius Miller (6-7, 223) 5.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg; G DeAndre Liggins (6-6, 202) 4.4 ppg, 3 apg, 2.6 rpg; C Josh Harrellson (6-10, 265) 3.8 ppg; F A.J. Stewart (6-7, 218) 2.1 ppg.
- What to watch: The Wildcats have lost nine of their past 13 games. They are third in the country with 6.8 blocks a game, fifth in free-throw percentage (77.7) and ninth in defensive field-goal percentage (38.7). They turn it over 17.5 times a game, which is 322nd in the nation.
Rebels: NIT Bound
After losing in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, UNLV is headed to the NIT as a four seed to face fifth-seeded Kentucky Tuesday night.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Not so long ago, a postseason matchup pitting UNLV against Kentucky would have had major implications, possibly even a Final Four berth on the line.
Some electric players would have attracted a significant television audience.
Instead, tonight’s game between the Rebels and Wildcats is relegated to secondary status – in the National Invitation Tournament – because neither squad quite made the NCAA grade.
Appropriately, it will be played in a secondary gym, too, since Rupp Arena has been booked for the state high school tournament. Bluegrass basketball fans have their priorities.
So the 59-year-old Memorial Coliseum, an antiquated barn that seats about 9,000, will be the venue for fifth-seeded UNLV (21-10) and fourth-seeded Kentucky (20-13).
This isn’t exactly the big time.
Then again, ESPN will show the 6:30 p.m. game and both programs could use a victory as a springboard to a likely second-round game at Creighton in Omaha and retain hopes of reaching New York City.
The semifinals and final of the NIT will be played at Madison Square Garden.
That UNLV was forced to travel 1,700 miles for a postseason game also is appropriate, since its success against Kentucky likely will hinge on its ability to hit from long range.
Fittingly, long-distance shooting will be a barometer for both the Rebels and the Wildcats.
Try telling anyone in Las Vegas, too, that NIT selection committee chair C.M. Newton, a former Kentucky athletic director, didn’t have any influence in UNLV being sent to his own backyard.
The Rebels, losers of six of their past 10 games, have stumbled into the postseason. But the Wildcats, who have lost nine of their past 13 games, have been tripping over themselves since losing to Ole Miss at home on Jan. 27.
Four days after UNLV upended Louisville in Freedom Hall on New Year’s Eve, Kentucky lost to the Cardinals on the same court.
A recent ESPN story pointed out that Rick Pitino, who inherited a probation-plagued program, lost seven home games at Rupp during his eight-year run. The Wildcats have lost six at home this season.
The seeds for tonight’s teams easily could have been reversed and the game played in an arena, the Thomas & Mack Center, twice the size of Memorial.
But Bluegrass blood is thicker than the water sprouting from the Bellagio fountains, right C.M.?
Kentucky has long and athletic players, led by 6-foot-4 junior gunner Jodie Meeks and 6-9 sophomore forward Patrick Patterson. Think San Diego State, but better.
Then again, the Aztecs probably wouldn’t fare any worse than, LSU, Georgia, Mississippi State or South Carolina – all of who beat Kentucky on its own court this season – have against the Wildcats.
UNLV, everyone in Memorial and the national cable TV audience will be glued to Meeks, who averages more than 24 points a game.
He has taken more than 35 percent of Kentucky’s shots, which means he’s in a tight fraternity of players at major Division-I programs who look to the rim with impunity.
Iowa State’s Craig Brackins (36.6 percent), Meeks (35.2), Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody (34.8) and DePaul’s Dar Tucker (34.3) are the gunners royale from elite teams who take more than a third of their team’s shots.
In horse-racing parlance, which is so rich around here, that’s known as playing with your blinders on.
The Wildcats don’t take care of the ball very well, as they turn it over on nearly a quarter of their possessions. That’s 325th in the country.
What they do is let Meeks, and sometimes Patterson, shoot to their desires. The other Cats crash the boards.
But the most impressive aspect about Kentucky is its incredibly stingy defense inside the 3-point arc. Foes are only making 40.5 percent of their attempts within 20 feet of the rim, which is fifth in the nation.
For a team like UNLV, which so heavily favors the bombs-away approach, that could mean a school record for 3-point attempts.
The Rebels set that standard with 46 launches from beyond the arc against UNR in December 1990.
Wink Adams, Joe Darger, Tre’Von Willis, Kendall Wallace, Oscar Bellfield and Mo Rutledge must have relished seeing the Wildcats’ 3-point defense of 34.7 percent.
Figure Darger or Rougeau to trail Patterson, and Willis should get the call on Meeks.
Willis will have plenty of help, especially since few other Wildcats are dangerous. But Willis will have to watch his fouls, because UNLV coach Lon Kruger will need Willis’s energy and drive, and defensive tenacity, for as many minutes as possible.
Only Willis and Adams played with passion and desire in that quarterfinal defeat to SDSU in the Mountain West tournament.
Plus, Meeks, at 89.4 percent, is dangerous at the free-throw line.
Last Friday, LSU hounded Meeks, who only tallied eight points. It was the first time he was held to single digits all season. The Tigers switched frequently and often had a taller player shadow the Wildcat’s ace.
Meeks is a catch-and-shoot player or a driver; there isn’t much mid-range to his game. And he can be forced to drive into trouble.
He scores in bunches, but turnovers also come in droves. Meeks had nine against Kansas State in late November at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
He has 57 assists and a team-high 94 turnovers this season.
Willis, the former football player, won’t back down from a physical challenge. It was on that field in high school, in Fresno, Calif., where he had his right shoulder separated as a sophomore.
That’s the shoulder that still stings him today. Twice he has had cortisone injections this season to relieve constant pain, and he will contemplate surgery in the offseason.
“It was in practice, too,” Willis said in one of the few interviews he’s granted in recent weeks. “That’s ironic. I was running a sweep. There was no opening, so I ran out of bounds. One of my teammates just ran from nowhere. I never saw him.
“I was slowing down, coming to a stop, when someone grabbed me, slung me by my jersey and I fell on my shoulder. It separated right there. That whole night, I couldn’t sleep at all. Painful.”
Losses hurt Willis just as much, no matter if it's in a big arena like Rupp or an intimate barn like Memorial Coliseum, on the major stage of the NCAAs or the off-Broadway lights of the NIT.
Discussion: 25 comments so far…
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That antiquated barn you are talking about has more basketball history than will ever be made at UNLV. Also keep in mind that it is larger and about the same age as Duke's cameron indoor that everyone gushes over. It also has a brand new floor. We are talking about a venue that when the floor was replaced people drove for miles around to dig in the dumpster to get a piece of the floor they removed. The game sold out in less than 30 minutes. I highly doubt UNLV would have sold out or even sold 9,000 tickets unless UK fans bought about 8,000 seats. Yes Rupp Arena is booked but that is because you can count one one hand the number of times UK has missed the NCAA tourney in the last 50 years can UNLV say the same thing?
hey, good comments dork.
how old is unlv? how old is kentucky?
why didn't you mention all of the racial issues that make up kentucky's history?
and, why didn't you mentioned how many brothers and sisters... oooops... i mean husbands and wifes are showing up for the game?
unlv is going to kentucky because it is the best name that they could get to go play in the barn.
I agree with you, true rebel fan. ceeph is just a misplaced hillbilly who doesn't realize that the chair of the NIT committee was just looking out for his "boys"; otherwise the game would be played at the T&M tonight.
I just hope the Rebels show up and put gillespie and his team to rest for the season!
"Then again, the Aztecs probably wouldn't fare any worse than Florida, LSU or Tennessee -- all of who beat Kentucky on its own court in recent weeks -- have against the Wildcats."
At least get your facts correct. LSU was the only one of those three teams to beat UK at Rupp. Kentucky beat Tennessee twice (home and away) and split with Florida winning in Rupp and losing in Gainsville.
This is very important... Was anybody at the UNLV vs. Utah game at the Thomas and Mack center on January 24th and witnessed an altercation in the stands where a woman was punched in the mouth??? if so please email me at rebelsfan4life@yahoo.com. Please if you saw anything at all i would really appreciate your help.
p.s. - Goooo Rebels!!! Lets take down Kentucky tonight!!!
sorry icognitorebel i didn't see anything.
and, hopefully, the rebels show up. the more i read, the less i believe the rebels who whipped byu and louisville will show up. keep your fingers crossed....
Thanks CEEPH for setting the record straight on Memorial Coliseum. Obviously, the "hack", I mean writer of this piece has no clue about the history of the Coliseum. It may be 59 years old, but its not "antiquated". The place has been recently renovated and is a great venue for basketball, albeit the seating capacity is low.
As for True_Rebel_Fan's comment about the so-called "racial issues that make up Kentucky's history", this is just ignorance and most likely his dependence on Hollywood's revisionist history of the 1966 NCAA Championship game with Texas Western.
not to often we get Trolls from other teams around here.
Bugme, you are correct. I misread a schedule. My bad. Actually, losing to Florida and Tennessee at home would have been understandable, but I misread a log. I did fix that, though, with those home losses to South Carolina, Mississippi State and Georgia. Ouch, those must have stung.
Sorry for the error. I think my eyes were seeing triple by the time I got on my third or fourth leg of the journey out here.
Rob Miech, That's the disappointment of this UK season, too many home losses and too many bad losses. Gillispie think's this team is close to greatness and it may show it in this tournament. I don't know what has changed in four days. He thought the same thing starting the SEC tournament.
Yeah Bug, that's tough to digest. At this point, it's a total cliche, but leopards don't change their spots. UNLV has had plenty of troubles of late, too. Sloppy turnovers. Very weak help defense. Even weaker under the glass.
I guess, all that being said, maybe tonight will be a thriller? Two vaunted programs in the postseason. That in itself is marquee stuff. Have fun watching it ...
As for ukgreg90 to state that racial issues were and are not part of the history of kentukneck sports is foolish. The sec is full of such history; I'm not saying whether it was good or bad, just that it is history. Accept it and move on!
Kick some wildcat butt tonight Rebs!
Hey Rob. Another great article. Thanks for the great reporting on this post-season, even if its the NIT. Haha. Kentucky fans are crazy (in a good way). I didn't take your article as a slam on Memorial but, instead, just a comparison to the even more impressive sounding Rupp.
I think, and hopefully, the Rebs will relax a little for this game and the basket, which has been progressively shrinking all season, will get a little bit bigger tonight. Bombs away! Go Fight Win.
1rebfan, The poster made reference to UK's racist past not the SEC. He was inferring that our racist coach (according to the media) who in fact coached african americans in highschool ball and tried on several occasions recruiting african americans to UK. It would seem to me to be a tough recruiting sell when the other members of the league Miss. in particular had state laws prohibiting them from playing african americans. What do you say to a recruit you are going to have to take to Miss. and Alabama in the 50's and 60's where they might have been in physical danger just traveling with the team to convince them to come to your program? The Southeastern conference had more issues with race than UK. As UK integrated before some other well known schools that do not get the racist tag such as UNC and Duke. People forget that in 66 UK beat Duke to get to the championship with Texas Western which Duke was also all white. Maybe if UK had lost to Duke then they would have had the racist tag applied to them and not UK.
Jerry Wayne, that's because you haven't played Kentucky since the invention of the internet. Kentucky fans are THE most passionate fans in all of college basketball and inevitably find any article on the internet that mentions them. They're also the most knowledgeable, hands down. If the game were held at Thomas and Mack Center, I wouldn't be surprised if more UK fans showed up than UNLV fans.
I would be surprised, shocked even. I do not doubt your passion, please do not doubt mine.
Since the invention of the internet??!!
I thought Al Gore invented the internet back at Harvard in the 70's.
UNLV last played Kentucky in 1985, when Richard Nixon was elected to his fifth term and Dr. Manhattan almost blew up the world.
man you'd think we were playing BYU or something... when did Appalachia get the internet anyway?
Folks, just got back from a tour of Memorial and Rupp. Awesome places, both. Memorial might be aged a big -- a cracked pillar here, water spots on the ceiling there, etc -- but it is pretty cool. Little white pompoms are on each possible seat in the arena. Not the biggest place, but not the dinkiest, either. Should be a heck of an atmosphere.
Well it seems the only one around here doing any stereotyping and name calling are UNLV fans. Maybe the racist center of the universe has moved from Kentucky to Nevada? Technically I am not a hillbilly or from Appalachia as that represents a small portion of the state. I guess I am just good old fashioned redneck if you want to stereotype me without knowing anything about me. I truly hope you don't represent the majority of UNLV. It would be sad if most of you were intolerant bigots. Stay classy. Hope the game is exciting and a Cats victory.
No doubt ceeph, hope the game is a good one.
I have much respect for the Kentucky program. They have a tremendous history. This game sounds like a match-up that should be played out in a four final not a first round NIT game. I hope both programs can get back to where they belong, contesting for national championships on a regular basis.
GO REBELS!!
good game Rebs. We saw why both of these teams are in the NIT. Your guys inability to shoot and our guys tendency to disappear for extended stretches. Good luck next year. Good luck to D Jasper hope he is healthy and playing well next year.
Thanks ceeph, same back to you guys. Hopefully we can meet again soon on a much higher stage, say a final four.
We're all hoping Jasper is as good as a lot of Kentucky fans say he was before his injury. We should get a series going. We already have one with Louisville that seems to be working well.