Delaney, Hokies provide final hurdle for Rebels at 76 Classic

By Ryan Greene

Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Last Christmas, after blowing through SMU and Hawaii at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, the UNLV men's basketball team got hit by a freight train in the title game against Southern Cal.

As Rebels coach Lon Kruger recalled it, his team was "kicked" by the Trojans, shooting just 34 percent from the floor and committing 15 turnovers in an unsightly 67-56 loss.

A year later, UNLV again finds itself in a third-game-in-four-days situation.

The Rebels (5-0) will attempt to pad an already-impressive non-conference resumé against the Hokies (4-1) at 6 p.m. tonight at the Anaheim Convention Center.

"It kind of has that same feel," UNLV senior guard Derrick Jasper said. "I think we're more experienced this year, have a lot more players, are a lot more focused and prepared for this game."

UNLV's more experienced depth has shone through in two comfortable wins so far during the holiday weekend.

While cycling interchangeable pieces on and off the floor, the Rebels held Tulsa and Murray State to combined 38.5 percent shooting. The Golden Hurricane and Racers also committed 36 total turnovers in the two games while only registering 17 assists.

It's a sign of consistency from the Rebels. In five games, opponents have shot just 32.8 percent, while all nine of UNLV's regular rotation players are logging at least 13.8 minutes and five points per contest.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech's run to the title game hasn't been quite as casual.

After punishing host Cal State Northridge, 72-56, in its Thursday opener, the Hokies needed a big late rally to slip by Oklahoma State, 56-51, on Friday.

In their victory over the Cowboys, Tech committed 13 turnovers, was just 17-of-49 from the floor (34.7 percent) and 20-of-31 at the free throw line.

The Hokies return all five starters from a team that in 2009-10 went 25-9, but couldn't crack the NCAA tournament's field of 65. Under eighth-year coach Seth Greenberg, they've been consistently around the 20-win mark at the end of almost each regular season, but only have one NCAA tourney berth (2007).

The expectations entering this season were high, and despite how ugly their style can be at times, Greenberg's team is loaded with veteran talent. Their lone loss so far was on the road to No. 3 Kansas State, and beating UNLV would be big for Virginia Tech, who year-in and year-out seems to be lacking quality non-conference wins on its resumé when March rolls around.

Leading the way is senior guard Malcolm Delaney — Last year's leading scorer in the ACC. The 6-foot-3 do-it-all guard is averaging 19.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, but also 6.2 turnovers.

"He scores — he's very good at that," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "But he's also a guy who makes players around him better because he's so talented. There's whoever's guarding Delaney, and everyone else has to guard their man and also think about Delaney. It's one of those deals, where you have to give him that extra respect."

He's joined in the backcourt by fellow senior Dorenzo Hudson, who's averaging 13.4 points per game, and protected by burly 6-foot-7, 230-pound senior forward Jeff Allen. Allen likes to spend more time away from the basket than he should on offense, but is still averaging 11.4 points and 8.6 rebounds an outing.

It's a team with high-level athletes across the board, and one that might be tougher to overwhelm with backcourt double-teams and traps than Tulsa and Murray State were.

They swarmed the Cowboys with their length and athleticism, and late in Friday's game put them to bed by pulling off a 1-3-1 zone defense that confused Oklahoma State and forced a bevy of bad shot attempts.

UNLV's Friday practice in Anaheim was far from intense, and more of a glorified walk-through. A good amount of that time, though, was spent installing sets against the tricky 1-3-1.

Virginia Tech could be planning to drop in a zone more than normal, as it could be a way to stay fresher during a third game in four days.

"I don't know what they'll do tomorrow, but we haven't seen a 1-3-1," Kruger said. "They did it occasionally (against OSU), and did it a few possessions against Northridge."

Last year, in that finale on the Christmas trip to Hawaii, the Rebels appeared to hit a bit of a wall physically when the Trojans knocked them around.

This year, with more quality depth and heightened athleticism, they feel more prepared to finish a busy weekend strong.

"I think (strength and conditioning coach Jason Kabo) has done a great job of getting us in great shape, our legs are pretty good," Jasper added. "So I think we'll be feeling good tomorrow."

Mentally, the Rebels appeared loose on Friday. Yet they know that Sunday's game against a team favored to compete near the top of the ACC could mean quite a bit down the road.

If UNLV can win, not only would it be undefeated coming home briefly before Wednesday's game at Illinois State, but would already have wins against three teams likely to be seen in the NCAA tournament brackets this spring.

"I mean, yeah, I think we think about that," Jasper said. "We think about these kinds of big games like that and about winning them. But we want to win every game, want to approach them the same, whether it's against Virginia Tech or Southeastern Louisiana."