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StumbleNCAA TOURNAMENT:
Northern Iowa’s late three buries Rebels in OKC, 69-66
Northern Iowa advances to second round after senior guard cans fifth trey in closing seconds
UNLV forward Matt Shaw walks off the court after UNLV was defeated by Northern Iowa on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Published Thursday, March 18, 2010 | 3:49 p.m.
Updated Thursday, March 18, 2010 | 6:31 p.m.
UNI Late Three Downs UNLV
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del.icio.usDespite tying the game late, UNLV falls to Northern Iowa, 69-66, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, after Ali Farokhmanesh hits a three with five seconds to play.
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Final, UNI wins 69-66
OKLAHOMA CITY — UNLV needed one more defensive stop to force overtime after a furious comeback on Northern Iowa, but one time leaving Ali Farokhmanesh open proved to be too many down the stretch.
The Northern Iowa senior guard hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game with less than five seconds to play, ending UNLV's season with a 69-66 setback.
Farokhmanesh led all scorers with 17 points, hitting three of those five deep balls in the second half.
UNLV overcame a late nine-point deficit to tie the game with 37 seconds to play with an Oscar Bellfield trifecta, but the Rebels instead will go home tomorrow with a 25-9 record and a long wait until next November.
Bellfield and Tre'Von Willis each led the Rebels with 13 points, and it was the team's first loss this season when leading at halftime.
For full postgame coverage, including stories, photos, video, stats and The Rebel Room: Postgame Edition, stay tuned to lasvegassun.com/rebels.
3:37, second half, UNI leads 62-61
OKLAHOMA CITY — Just as UNLV was on the verge of letting this one slip for good, Chace Stanback was there to lead the charge back.
After hitting only one of his last seven shot attempts, he's hit three of UNLV's last four, and it's again a one-point game after the Rebels trailed by nine just moments ago at 58-49.
Stanback first hit a step-back trey, then a baseline jumper and finally a second-chance layup after his first attempt was swatted by Jordan Eglseder, who has been kept quiet in the second half.
In that stretch, Oscar Bellfield also hit his second three of the game atop the key, giving him 10 points on the night.
In turn, UNLV has re-discovered its defensive aggression, forcing a jump ball just before the current TV timeout. The Rebels will take the ball out of it with a chance to go back ahead.
Remember, UNLV was up 36-35 at the break. This season, the Rebels are 19-0 when leading at the half.
7:43, second half, UNI leads 53-49
OKLAHOMA CITY — For UNLV right now, it's coming in spurts.
The Rebels do not quite look like the team which held the clear upper hand in the opening minutes of the game so far in the second half, and in turn trail Northern Iowa, 53-49, with under eight minutes to play.
UNLV is just 5-of-17 from the floor this half, and all looked well when Kendall Wallace came in to hit both an 18-footer and a three from the right wing to give the Rebels an offensive spark.
But on defense, UNLV is just letting Ali Farokhmanesh shake free a little too often, as his two deep balls from well beyond the arc this half have been a huge difference-maker.
Another blow of late for the Rebels is Chace Stanback picking up his fourth foul of the game just before the current TV timeout. He has just four points tonight on 1-of-7 shooting.
15:46, second half, UNI leads 39-38
OKLAHOMA CITY — UNLV doesn't look quite as spirited to start the second half, and Northern Iowa is trying to use it to its advantage.
Drawing fouls against the Rebels' pressure defense is crafty point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe. Tre'Von Willis recently picked up his second whistle of the game while applying pressure near mid-court.
However, on the offensive end, UNI's Adam Koch, who was the Missouri Valley Conference's Player of the Year, recently picked up his third foul of the game and headed to the bench.
UNLV is looking a bit uncomfortable on offense, as creating good shots against Northern Iowa's defense will be big. They came much easier in the first half than they are now.
UNLV's only points so far this half came off of a put-back dunk by Anthony Marshall.
Halftime, UNLV leads 36-35
OKLAHOMA CITY — Northern Iowa made a small push before the half and even took a two-point lead late, but a Tre'Von Willis 3-pointer late gave UNLV a 36-35 halftime lead.
Willis has 11 points for the Rebels, and showed signs late of busting loose after looking somewhat uncomfortable on the offensive end in the first half.
Matt Shaw leads all scorers so far with 12 points, including two of four UNLV connections from deep. However, he missed a pair of bonus free throws late in the first half, as the Rebels struggled from the line to close out the half.
Northern Iowa appeared to get a bit more comfortable late in the first half against UNLV's pressure defense, but clean, open shots are still coming at a premium for the Panthers.
Here are some other nuggets and numbers of note from the first half ...
— While taking a charge late in the half, UNLV forward Brice Massamba appeared to bang knees with the Panther driving the ball. He got up and slowly walked off under his own power, and his return to action is questionable.
— For UNLV, Oscar Bellfield has had a hard time looking comfortable shooting the ball. He's 1-of-6 so far and 0-for-3 from deep. However, he has two assists to no turnovers, which is always the key with him.
— Outside of his 11 points, Willis has three assists, no turnovers and two rebounds.
— UNLV was 13-of-29 from the floor and 4-of-10 from deep, while UNI is 11-of-27 and 4-of-9, respectively.
— Jordan Eglseder, who had a big impact early for UNI, leads the Panthers with nine points and seven rebounds. Still, UNLV hasn't let him hurt them too much.
— UNI is winning the rebounding battle, 22-15, and has 10 offensive boards. That's what needs fixing more than anything else for the Rebels in the second half.
7:29, first half, UNLV leads 24-20
OKLAHOMA CITY — After UNLV grabbed an eight point lead, Northern Iowa finally found a way to make a push back, going hard at the rack and earning its way to the foul stripe.
Adam Koch hit a pair of free throws after Chace Stanback attempted to block his shot in the open floor, and that closed UNI to within two points of the Rebels, but Tre'Von Willis answered on the other end with his second bucket of the game, putting the score where it currently stands, with UNLV up 24-20.
Northern Iowa appears to have finally settled in some on offense and is no longer as flustered by UNLV's pressure defense. Sharp-shooter Ali Farokhmanesh finally shook three for an open look and hit his first trey of the game.
Any way possible, UNLV needs to find a way to stay fresh down the stretch run of the first half. In terms of intensity and fight, Northern Iowa deserves a lot of credit for withstanding UNLV's initial punch and keeping things pretty even.
10:18, first half, UNLV leads 18-12
OKLAHOMA CITY — UNLV's excessive force on the defensive end and under the glass is starting to have an effect on Northern Iowa, who just got burned for the first time.
After Matt Shaw cashed UNLV's first 3-pointer of the game, Justin Hawkins came up with a huge defensive rebound off of a guarded three by Adam Koch on the other end.
Anthony Marshall missed a jumper on the other end, but Hawkins came up with a steal off of the defensive board, feeding Chace Stanback for a deep ball to put the Rebels ahead by six at 18-12.
Matt Shaw has been a real difference-maker on the offensive end tonight, as Northern Iowa looks sort of confused with him out there.
15:10, first half, UNLV leads 8-7
OKLAHOMA CITY — UNLV leads by just one at 8-7 after the opening minutes in Oklahoma City against Northern Iowa, but it's very clear who the more uncomfortable of the two teams is.
The Panthers have come close a couple of times to turning the ball over but have not quite broken.
At the same time, UNLV is being patient on the offensive end and cleanly picking its spots.
Still, Jordan Eglseder has proven so far that he'll be a load for UNLV to manage all night. Brice Massamba got the first crack at him, then Darris Santee. Lon Kruger will rotate his big men and try to stay fresh on the 7-foot, 290-pound center. But expect him to still get numbers tonight.
So far, Tre'Von Willis, Oscar Bellfield, Anthony Marshall and Santee have each scored a bucket for the Rebels.
Chace Stanback earns some mention, too, as he has two rebounds against Eglseder, as his athleticism and leaping ability has won out both times.
Pregame
OKLAHOMA CITY — After weeks of bubble talk on the outside on potential seeding speculation, UNLV is finally here — warming up to play in the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years.
The Ford Center cleared out some after the conclusion of a crazy morning session, which included BYU's 99-92 double-overtime victory over Florida and Kansas State's routine 82-62 thrashing of North Texas.
Don't expect it to stay empty for long.
Soon enough, a bevy of Kansas fans here for the nightcap between the tournament's top overall seed and 16-seed Lehigh will be in the building, awaiting the winner between No. 8 UNLV and No. 9 Northern Iowa.
Over the last several days, we've dissected this match-up every way humanly possible and from every angle.
With what we learned, here is a Cliff's Notes what you need to keep in mind 30 minutes before tip-off.
— In terms of size, Northern Iowa has a distinct advantage. In terms of athleticism, UNLV has a distinct advantage.
— The Panthers will try to play this game in the 50s or 60s. The Rebels want it in the 70s or 80s.
— Tre'Von Willis's left ankle is healthy, while Derrick Jasper is hoping to make his return to action for UNLV after missing the last 12 games with a left knee injury.
OK, now on to tonight's three keys to UNLV victory, prediction and 'Pick to Click'
1) UNLV's top concern should be slowing down UNI point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe. He leads the team in assists per game, but also turnovers per game. Like the TCU team UNLV has faced twice this season, the Panthers don't have a ton of ball-handlers. That said, the pressure defense is more important tonight than maybe any other time this season, considering what's on the line.
2) Chace Stanback and Matt Shaw will be key in trying to draw UNI's big men out of the paint. Jordan Eglseder and Adam Koch are both big, but could be neutralized if UNLV's 6-foot-8 duo can be on with its outside touch.
3) I think Anthony Marshall and Oscar Bellfield have great opportunities to take the game over early by creating transition opportunities and points on the break. Both have shown tendencies to step up big in the big games. Bellfield called this the biggest game of his career. So ... yeah, put two and two together.
Prediction: Well, Vegas has been pretty spot-on with the odds today, and this line, in case you forgot, shifted 2.5 points in UNLV's favor. That said, I'll take UNLV, 74-60.
'Pick to Click': It's hard not to go with Oscar Bellfield. So, yeah. I'll take Oscar.
Be back shortly after tip-off.
Discussion: 61 comments so far…
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LET'S GO REBELS!!!
COME ON REBELS!!!!!!! Tipping off right now
8 min. in Northern Iowa scoring mostly on 2nd chance offensive rebounds. If the Rebels would rebound, this would be a repeat of the Kent St. game...
Box out & avoid those silly fouls way out from the basket and we got this!
Someone remind Oscar that he can't shoot worth crap!
I think Shaw is Mr. March for the Rebels. That dunk by Marshall should make ESPN!!
Halftime observations:
Let me explain this to you,Oscar, you are what we call a facilitator, not the closer. Quit shooting the damn ball!!!
Tre'Von do not give up the ball in a closing situation. You are the man. Act like it! We will likely need you to close this game out by taking it repeatedly to the hoop. They cannot cover you. If you have to pass it, go get it back!
Shaw ... unbelievable contribution! Keep focused on the free throw line. We need every point.
Massamba ... good work man.
Chace ... need to see more of you!
Steve Jones ... if you shoot anything other than a layup for the rest of this game, we're coming to blows!
C'mon Rebs. Play your game, CLEAN THE DEFENSIVE BOARDS, and they won't stay with us.
Rebels need to spend more time in practice on shooting the three.
They should dedicate the entire off season on shooting three's!
Whatever happened to Massamba? Will he return to the game. We need him. There is no way that Santee or Shaw can handle N. Iowa 7ft center.
Their 7 Footer cant handle our pick and roll, pop out three!
Have to disagree, Ryan. There big man is the reason they are in the game. Without him, we are blowing them out. He has definitely hurt us.
What are you idiots doing fouling a guy 45 feet from the basket?????
wow, Steve Jones.......just wow......Steve Jones.....
Massamba, Santee, Chop Jones are not worth the scholarships. What a total waste. Santee and Massamba can't rebound, nobody hustling, last game of the year and Kruger showing the nation just how bad of a coach he is. No clue. Shaw hot in the first half, Kruger yanks him. Willis is hurt and can't play D. This program really needs a coach that can coah instead of Kruger the joke. I can't believe that players are walking up the floor and Kruger tolerates this. That players have the ball and Iowa players take the ball out of their hands. This is pathetic. northern Iowa would not finish in the top 5 in our league and is similar to UTah. To lose this game is a joke.
our foul-happy play is killing us....
Oh man that was a good season can't wait for next year GOOD JOB REBELS thanks for the season.
Excellent season. Tough loss today but this team gave us plenty to be impressed with this year. I'm not looking forward to the UNLV haters who will surely come on this message board to tell us how bad the Rebels were. At the end of the day, anytime a team a team reaches the big dance makes it a good season. Most of the team will be returning next year and with the new additions we can expect the rebels to have an awesome season!
When does UNLV play Kansas next? Everyone on here kept telling me they play Kansas next, what time does that game start?
I don't understand why Shaw has to be double teaming out near the half-court line with so much time on the shot clock. The game was tied for heaven's sake. They could've just passed it to their center under the basket if they wanted to. We were playing like we were behind. Damn disappointing.
Good season, boys. We'll get 'em next year.
Rebels should have won that game. I was in awe as I watched Kruger stick Jones in over and over. Even after he got ran over and NIU made 5 easy points on him. Coaching was the differnce of the game.
Good season , hopefully we have no drop off next year. Thanks Rebels.
Is it November Yet???
tough loss, not even sure what to say.
To all Northern Idaho fans. Really. Where did you find three ref's that let your point guard push off every play. Extending his arm ready to push off at a moments notice. That was lame. Kansas beats you by 30 and your point guard fouls out. That was the most blatant and obviuos NCAA shafting as they always do, that I have seen in a while. As much as I think Lon has no coaching skills, as everything is on a "hunch" as you listen to his post game interviews, or "I had a feeling" probably gas, anyway as ridiculous a coach he is, where in the rule book are you allowed to dribble up the court and stiff arm every defender, and get a foul? What a Joke. Your team sucks and couldn't finish in the top 5 in our conference(unless you could bring those refs with you). Without a doubt the most overated team in the country. tI counted no less that 5 offensive fouls on the Point guard in the last 2 minutes of the game.
I am no rocket scientist and never even coached a youth basketball team, but I am pretty sure that even a moron would know to tell his team that the one person you do not want to leave in this sequence NO MATTER WHAT is Faroukmanesh!!!!!!
^^^^^^^^^agree
I thought it was a well played game by 2 evenly matched teams. I thought experience was going to be a factor, but it clearly wasn't. The Rebels never looked rattled and made a great comeback to tie the game at 66. I thought the difference in the game was free-throws. Northern Iowa shot 20-23, while the Rebels were 7-12 (how many free throws did UNLV shoot in the 2nd half, two???)
Once Oscar hit that 3 I thought for sure the Rebels were going to win. Tough loss...
I thought it was a horrible game.
The whole team was sleep walking.
Not until their backs were against the wall and they were down 9 late in the second, did anyone decide to wake up and play with some intensity.
And then mistake after mistake at the end of the game.
Oscar tries to call time out going out of bounds???? Can't do that. He should know that.
Tre guarding NO ONE in the middle of the floor leaves their hot shooter wide open!
Then we don't even get a shot off with 1.6 left and the ball under the basket?????
And sorry, but I'm not going to miss Santee or Jones one bit.
Thank you for an exciting season Rebels!
Great season rebs. I'll see you next year. Hope we can land a few good recruits as well. Good job everyone, and thank you fans for mostly good commentary. Cheers
Good season Rebels. An At Large bid, and being ranked several times this year. Ill take it. Always great to be able to cheer on your team in March. Tough loss but the game was a close battle to the end. lots of teams took tough loses today, just ask Vandy and Georgetown...Im excited about next season already
Sufferin crawls out of his hole in 3....2...1
I love that all these morons are calling out Kruger's coaching after a loss in the NCAA tournament. You guys are the jokes. The man is one of 4 coaches to have taken 4 teams to the NCAA tournament. And he is one of 3 coaches to have taken 3 different teams to the Sweet 16. He may not play YOUR favorite style of basketball, but the man can coach....GET OVER YOURSELVES. Between Tark and Kruger, we had 0 25 win seasons....ZERO!!!! Now in the last 4 we have had 3, and 4 straight 20 win seasons. Knock it off, and shut up. You all sound like shmucks with zero knowledge of college basketball. You don't have the continued success for 24 years that Kruger has. A year here, a year there is luck. 24 years is consistency. 3 25 win seasons in 4 years is a rebuilt and recognizeable UNLV program. I think all you d-bags forget that only 1 team is going to win their last game once you get this far. You guys are the same fake a** people that only start showing up to games once the team is 10-2. Fake a** transplants that pretend to be a fan. Today's was unfortunate, but hopefully the guys learned alot for next year. It should be an outstanding year. And another 25+ win season, and all you dipsh*ts can tell us how bad of a coach Kruger is when we make it to the NCAAs again.
Looking at next year. Will we be any better? Are only chance is if Q. Thomas is a much better rebounder than anybody we have now.
Oscar Bellfield won't improve anymore than what he is now. He lacks the quickness to breakdown any defense.
Tre Willis is already a good player. Hopefully his 3 point shooting will improve.
Matt Shaw will be the same. Good 3 point option but thats all. He still won't be able to block a shot, get a rebound, or run.
Massamba could improve a little bit, but he's so bad now, he would still be a below average player.
K. Wallace is at his ceiling obviously.
Jasper will never be a good shooter, which is his big weakness, so no improvement from him.
Stanback can get stronger physically and become more mature. So he has some upside.
Marshall has the biggest upside because he can become a better shooter which will open his game to a new level. Too bad he's not 6'8".
Hawkins we don't know much about because he never played enough.
Chop Jones will be gone so that will be a big positive.
Lopez probably isn't any better than Massamba sadly. Him redshirting had nothing to with his weight.
So unless Q. Thomas is a beast down low, I predict another 3rd or 4th place finish in the Mountain West.
Anybody notice that our starting five today read So. So. So. Jr. Jr..............we were a very young team. Next year is going to be impressive. Corey Joseph.....it would be nice to have you along for the ride.
Kruger is one of the best coaches in the country and yet it's amazing how we have 4 or 5 posters on this board that are better coaches than Kruger. What a cluster of talent. If we could pick up a top-notch coach like go_rebels, ksifferman, lcr, or lobo69, I'm convinced we'd win the championship next year. From what I've read, I think the trick is to recruit ONLY top 50 talent in the country and play ONLY the really hot player(s). Also, ONLY let 1 or 2 of the best offensive player take shots and don't play sloppy. It's not rocket science so I just don't get why the Rebels can't follow this simple game plan.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO REBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK. This off-season, work on your consistent shooting and threes!
Bigs need to work harder. Bang in there. Tired of this finesse crap. You're 6'XX", and should be playin above the rim.
This just in Kruger bounces town and accepts the Oregon job.
What time is the Kansas-UNLV game everyone was talking about? Let's all meet up and watch.
Yeah, and Joel Anthony was at his ceiling and wasn't going to do anything more.... I don't know why he redshirted between his Jr and Sr year. And Wendell White is mediocre, his game is weak. And Gaston Essengue has no hands, plays no D, can't shoot, and has a weird name. He won't possible improve. And Curtis Terry is a terribel ball handler and makes awful decisions. Zero athletic ability, and has zero intangibles. Every single player mentioned drastically improved from the time they got here to their senior year. Dude, you sound like an idiot!!! Nice vague statements for each player. You're right, they can't possibly improve. If you can predict the future so well, tell me who is going to win the NCAAs next year? Or this year in fact? I can't imagine you have your life savings placed on a futures bet for the championship game. My guess is that is because you can't see into the future like you claim. RETARDED!
Canes....when is Miami's first round game....oh wait, they don't have one. Pretty lame to talk crap to a bunch of fans whos team went dancing. Did you guys even get a CBI bid? Pathetic.
And some of you and others badmouthed Obama saying his prediction was wrong and he didn't know what he was talking about in his comments about UNLV losing in the first round.
If nothing else, the guy knows his basketball and that's why he picked the NCAA winner last year.
Better luck next year.
Disappointed!! How do you press and leave wide open down court they guy who has been killing you all game? How did Ali whatever his name is not end up accounted for? Obvious breakdown somewhere. I would rather lose by 20 then lose in the final seconds like that. What a bitter ending to this season.
its a shame that it had to end this way.
Plane ride back to Las Vegas will be a long one.
Good Season Rebels anyway
tough, tough loss tonight. i'm glad the core of this team will be back next year and the rebs will have a chance to do something special. hopefully the rebs will get to work and work on improving after taking this loss in. they didn't play poorly. it was a tough matchup against an experienced team that plays a different style of ball.
i was hoping the rebels' athleticism and press would be the difference but it didn't work out. i think we needed one more big guy that could rebound the ball. It's a shame because I think stanback played his heart out but we needed more size in the paint. i really want to see a lineup next year with tre'von, jasper, stanback, QT, and a big. i'm tired of us conceding a rebound advantage. at some point kruger can't think telling guys to play harder is going to work and he has to realize that size plays a huge role. we were limited this year but hopefully next year we'll be able to play 2 bigs at the same time.
If the Rebs would have played like this last Saturday, SDSU would be @ home. Not really sure what else they could have done. Will have to double check the stats but thought this was an above average outing for my Rebels. Probably UNI's best game they've played in recent history but unfortunately it was against us.
This might just be one of those games where you tip your cap to the other team. Great job Rebels, love you guys!
Our young men did a fantastic job this year and we played most of the season with injuries. Oscar never had his explosiveness after hurting his knee, etc. etc.
This was a very good year and I love the direction Coach is taking the program. Keep up the good work Lon.
Kruger was outcoached. Happy to see Jones leave the program. Very dissapointed that we couldn't beat a team that we have more talent than. Very disappointed that they dictated the pace of the game in the second half. The last defensive sequence made me almost cry. I feel bad for Marshall, Tre and th rest of the guys because they really worked their asses off. Sad to see Matt Shaw not being utilized enough.
Canes,
Didn't you say you are a Georgetown fan when it comes to hoops? lol
Looks like Obama's brackets were right after all.
I can't believe all the hate! fickle fickle fans! I think the team is really young. and it was an exciting year of basketball for UNLV. i wish willis and chace would have scored more, but thy didn't. UNI played way above their average and good for them! UNLV is a good team moving on to great!
i'm excited for next season and will be at every game how i was this season! GO REBELS!
It was the first time I saw UNLV play this year.(East Coast) My observation was that the Rebs lack size. I hope they get better for next season. And bigger!
Well said, bob12345.
There are some good coaches on here, ROFL. You forgot to put Canes & Sufferin on that list!
Great season guys, others have already said it, but I'm happy with the progress -- with another 25 win season. I'm most happy that we're so young. I really think next year could be special and I can't wait!
Canes, remember when you said, "But trust me [Georgetown] would mop the floor with the Rebels."?
And they got BLOWN OUT by OHIO?!?
You have no business criticizing OUR team.
This team has nothing to be ashamed of. They overachieved beyond anyone's expectations. As a fan, I truly enjoyed every moment of this season. Sure we had some bad losses, but we also had some fantastic wins.
Thank you gentlemen for bringing the excitement of Runnin' Rebel basketball back.
Thank you coach Kruger. I hope you stick around. This IS your program now. Run with it, you have our backing.
I for one cannot wait for next season. It's gonna be a blast.
GO REBELS....
Quintrell Thomas.
Carlos Lopez.
All will be well next year.
Be honest with yourselves, AJ?C and Bob54321, are you telling me that no one bears any responsibility for Ali F.... being wide open for the final three? If you are, you simply don't know basketball, you fools.
Overall, I have no complaints with where Kruger has brought the program and his coaching history, but that does not make him infallible or incapable of making serious mistakes. Do not sit there with your blindfolds on, idiots, and say that the final sequence was not a colossal disaster.
Alright you got me my Hoyas stunk up the floor. I didn't even recognize that team today. Guess I'm just angry about the loss. I will give a little credit UNLV played well at times today. I'm just tired of watching small ball Lon and his mid-major ways. Vegas deserves a coach that goes out and recruits premier athletes. Consistently putting out the " little engine that could " type teams just bores me.
first off, Canes why don't you go practice falling down I'll be over there in a minute. More importantly... how can anyone say we were outcoached? Did you guys not notice the amount of open looks oscar and chase and everyone else got? If those two decided to show up before there was 8 minutes to go we wouldve been up 16 at half! For most of the night, we ran our offense to perfection and it was up to the (open) guy shooting as to whether or not he would knock it down. Unfortunately, they knocked down one more than we did. I'm currently a Jr. in college, but when I grow up I want to follow a team of 18-22 year old basketball players religiously only to bash every move they, their coach, and their beat writer make every time they play. Internet tough guys... gotta love em
I like coach Kruger and this is a young team with better days in the future... but this was a game that we needed to win for so many reasons. I know that the pressure, trapping defense is our identity and it gets us alot of turnovers but to come out of a timeout with 25 seconds remaining in the game and to have called a halfcourt trap defense was way to risky. It was a coaching error to do that, Kruger should have played tight man to man defense switching screens just like we always do.
This loss falls on Kruger's shoulders, the kids played with grit and heart and to have him call that defense was a poor decision.
CORY JOSEPH... DWAYNE POLEE... PLEASE COME TO UNLV!!!!!!