UNLV proves plenty in grueling week of conference play

By Ryan Greene

Monday, Jan. 11, 2010 | 3 p.m.

Some ups, some downs, a win and a loss.

In short, that sums up UNLV's opening week in Mountain West Conference play. But in reality, it was made up of so much more.

A week ago, the road looked treacherous, with two games in four days against two ranked teams in arguably the league's two toughest road environments.

"We liked the idea of the first two conference games being on the road in two tough environments," junior guard Tre'Von Willis said. "Probably the toughest in the conference.

"We knew it was a challenge, and that's the thing — we know great teams step up to the challenge and that's what we wanted to do. We let one slip away in Provo, but we bounced back, tried to fight New Mexico as hard as we could and we got the result we wanted."

That said, here are the five key lessons learned from the first week of MWC action for the Rebels ...

Lesson No. 1 — Rebels can impose their will defensively. Both BYU and New Mexico came into conference play as transition-happy ball clubs, able to score in bunches and put games out of reach quickly. UNLV was able to slow the game down to its preferable half-court pace while still getting looks for itself on the fast-break. In turn, UNLV kept both opponents either at bay completely or, at the very least, within range. In all, the Rebels outscored their two opponents by a combined 22-7 margin in transition.

Lesson No. 2 — Rebounding still inconsistent. When UNLV controls the glass, it can be as dangerous a team as you'll find. When the Rebels get out-hustled on the glass — which was the case Wednesday — they can leave the door open for opponents to make killer late-game surges. UNLV allowed 19 offensive boards to BYU, while surrendering 12 to New Mexico. The reason those 12 didn't kill the Rebels, however, was the fact that more bodies were simply crashing the paint Saturday to go after those loose balls, creating fewer opportunities for second-chance points.

Lesson No. 3 — Oscar blooming at the point. Sophomore point guard Oscar Bellfield is more than capable of scoring for the Rebels when they need it. No one needs to be reminded of that. In Mountain West play Bellfield leads the league in assists, notching 16 in two games. His nine at BYU were a career high. What makes that number shine even brighter, though, is that he had only two turnovers in each outing. While several members of UNLV's backcourt rotation are capable of assuming point-guard duties, the maturity Bellfield has shown in the face of two insane road environments is mighty impressive.

Lesson No. 4 — Taking the consistent with the inconsistent. Coming into this season, the two players who had everyone intrigued were transfers Derrick Jasper (Kentucky) and Chace Stanback (UCLA). When both are aggressive, they add an outstanding extra dimension to UNLV's attack. When they're not hitting shots or not being aggressive, it puts more pressure elsewhere. At BYU, Stanback was 1-for-6 from the floor in 19 minutes. He grabbed eight rebounds, but also had three turnovers. Also on that night, Jasper was 2-for-5 from the floor and was invisible on the offensive end in the second half. But Saturday, Stanback went wild, scoring 14 points with attitude and grabbing nine rebounds with plenty of hustle behind them. Jasper tallied only six points, but he also had six assists and seven rebounds, showing more aggression than three nights prior. The upside is enormous for both of them. They now just have to show it consistently.

Lesson No. 5 — This team has a leader. Last year, when the Rebels needed someone to rattle the cages of his teammates or get in someone's face as a wake-up call, no one really answered the bell. This year, it's Tre'Von Willis. He may do it with his actions more than his words, but the Memphis transfer has shown that he'll be the rock on which the Rebels can lean. Don't read too much into his late-game turnovers at BYU, as teammates were deferring to him quite a bit in that setting. Instead, look at how he atoned Saturday — 20 points and just one turnover in 27 minutes. His 44 points in league play are tops, but scoring is only the start of the value he's shown this season.