Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

REBELS BASKETBALL:

UNLV out to reverse offensive fortunes, avoid another sluggish start at TCU

Rebels learned how to play in a sleepy road atmosphere two weeks ago, but now have less wiggle room

UNLV vs BYU Basketball 2-5-11

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

UNLV guards Anthony Marshall (L) and Oscar Bellfield flank coach Lon Kruger as he reacts to a foul call during their game against BYU Saturday, February 5, 2011 at BYU in Provo. BYU won 78-64.

UNLV vs. TCU

  • UNLV Rebels (17-6, 5-4) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (10-14, 1-8)

  • Where: Daniel-Meyer Coliseum

  • When: 5 p.m.

  • Coaches: Lon Kruger is 154-68 in his seven seasons at UNLV and 472-301 in 25 overall seasons; Jim Christian is 37-50 in his three seasons at TCU and 175-98 in nine overall seasons.

  • Series: UNLV leads, 15-2.

  • Last time: UNLV won, 83-49, on Jan. 8 in Las Vegas.

  • Line: UNLV by 8.5.

  • TV/Radio:The Mtn. (Airing on tape delay at 9:30 p.m./ESPN Radio 1100 AM/98.9 FM

  • THE REBELS

  • G Oscar Bellfield (6-2, 185, Jr.) 10.7 ppg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 rpg.

  • G Anthony Marshall (6-3, 200, So.) 10.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.8 apg.

  • G Tre'Von Willis (6-4, 195, Sr.) 12.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.2 apg.

  • F Chace Stanback (6-8, 210, Jr.) 13.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg.

  • F Quintrell Thomas (6-8, 245, So.) 5.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg.

  • Bench:G Derrick Jasper (6-6, 215, Sr.) 6.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.1 apg; F Brice Massamba (6-10, 240, Jr.) 3.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg; G Justin Hawkins (6-3, 190, So.) 5.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.1 apg; F Carlos Lopez (6-11, 215, Fr.) 5.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg; G-F Karam Mashour (6-6, 200, Fr.) 2.4 ppg.

  • What to watch: UNLV ran some full-court press drills on Monday, which they typically do at least a bit of, but throwing that strategy into Wednesday's defensive plan could help the Rebels get their offense back on track. Ronnie Moss committed 10 of TCU's 23 turnovers in the first meeting, but even with him likely sitting out while on an indefinite suspension, can UNLV's backcourt still create as much havoc?

  • THE HORNED FROGS

  • G Hank Thorns Jr. (5-9, 160, Jr.) 9.9 ppg, 6.4 apg, 3.3 rpg.

  • G Greg Hill (6-2, 215, Sr.) 5.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg.

  • G J.R. Cadot (6-5, 195, Jr.) 7.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg.

  • F Amric Fields (6-9, 220, Fr.) 7.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg.

  • F Garlon Green (6-7, 210, So.) 11.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg.

  • Bench: F Nikola Cerina (6-9, 235, So.) 4.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg; F Nikola Gacesa (6-6, 210, Sr.) 4.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg; G Jarvis Ray (6-10, 240, Jr.) 1.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg.

  • What to watch: Ronnie Moss, pre-suspension, was leading the team in shot attempts (13) and 3-point tries (5.2) per game. Since he's been out, Amric Fields, Greg Hill and Garlon Green have had more opportunities from the outside. They're hitting, too, which could spread the Rebels' defense out some should TCU be able to get into the half-court set more consistently the second time around.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two weeks ago, on a trip to face Wyoming up in Laramie, UNLV was lulled to sleep in the first half in an atmosphere that was anything but hostile.

The weather outside was frightful, and that combined with the current state of the Cowboys' program led to there being maybe 1,500 fans in attendance.

It was hard to blame the Rebels for treating it like a pick-up game at the local rec center. They trailed by eight at halftime before waking up in time to roll for a bit and land a 9-point road win.

They'll hope to avoid the similar route on Wednesday night in Fort Worth, Texas.

UNLV (17-6 overall, 5-4 Mountain West) travels to face TCU (10-14, 1-8) at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, which is typically pretty barren for Horned Frogs home games, as well.

"Really, it's just on all of us," junior guard Oscar Bellfield said. "We have to pump each other up, get rowdy and, I don't know, just add something extra to it. Make it up or find some way to get that extra energy or extra boost to get hyped for the game.

"We've got to get out of our comfort zone."

Creating that type of juice out of thin air is all but impossible. What could get the Rebels flowing early, though, would be a carbon copy of the second stanza performance at Wyoming, which was UNLV's highest-scoring half (51 points) of the season.

Yeah, UNLV worked inside-out right from go after the intermission in Laramie, but they hit outside shots.

Doing that continues to be the difference this season between Good UNLV and Evil UNLV.

"As a team, I feel like we're not shooting the ball well," junior forward Chace Stanback said. "We're not going to rely on (the outside shot), but we're going to keep shooting it."

What's made UNLV's offensive struggles in conference play so tough for some to swallow is the memory of how hot the Rebels were coming out of the gates this season.

During a 9-0 start, UNLV never shot worse than 47.6 percent in a game. In nine Mountain West games, the Rebels have only topped that mark twice.

The first time? It was in an 83-49 thrashing of the Horned Frogs on Jan. 8 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Despite going only 3-of-16 as a team that night from the floor, UNLV shot 50.8 percent against TCU, with much of that offense coming as a result of 23 turnovers by the Frogs.

Of those giveaways, 10 were committed by junior guard Ronnie Moss, who on the season is TCU's leading scorer but will likely sit out for the fourth consecutive game on Wednesday while on an indefinite suspension handed down by coach Jim Christian.

On the day his suspension was announced, TCU got hammered by New Mexico at The Pit, 71-46, but since then, with Las Vegas native Hank Thorns Jr. as the primary ball-handler and facilitator, the Frogs have looked more cohesive. They've lost twice in that stretch, but one was a wrenching 66-65 overtime setback at home to Air Force and the second a 60-53 defeat at No. 6 San Diego State on Saturday that was close from wire to wire.

Still, despite TCU scrapping amidst a 1-8 run so far in MWC play, UNLV has a good opportunity to dictate things right from go in Fort Worth.

The players say they remain confident that shots have to fall more frequently at some point, and with primary shooters Stanback (back) and Tre'Von Willis (knee) both closer to full health of late, it could happen at any moment.

But two guys who have struggled mightily of late to keep an eye on are Bellfield and senior swingman Derrick Jasper.

Bellfield said following the team's Monday practice that his banged-up right wrist is not quite at 100 percent still after hurting it in late December. He had a cortisone shot to relieve the pain about two weeks ago, but his shot is still lagging.

His 39.9 percent shooting on the year is barely below what his career average was entering the season, but he's way off of the percentages he was posting earlier this season. In UNLV's last two games, he's just 2-of-19 from the floor.

"You saw it," he said. "In the beginning of the season, we were great. Teams have their slumps. It's just a matter of getting it back to where you left off.

"I feel like i'm (spending the time) in the gym, so, eventually, it's going to come. It's a matter of time. I have to keep practicing, stay in the gym and not worry about it."

Meanwhile, UNLV could use a boost from its bench, which was out-scored 22-8 by BYU's reserves in Saturday's 78-64 loss in Provo, Utah.

Jasper is the guy many are looking to for that spark, but lately, he's been dormant and, at times, invisible on the offensive end of the floor.

In 18 minutes against the Cougars, he was key on defense, seeing a good amount of time on BYU star gunner Jimmer Fredette. But he also didn't have a shot attempt on the floor, and after a while, the Cougars picked up on his want to pass when the ball found him.

In nine MWC games, Jasper has played 207 minutes and only attempted eight shots, which is an average of one attempt per 25.9 minutes.

He's never been asked to play a score-first role within Lon Kruger's system, but early in the season, Jasper got buckets by exploding to the rim from the perimeter. His troublesome left knee has acted up as of late, which has limited his ability to do that.

Kruger doesn't seem eager to make a rotation switch with Jasper's health and confidence reeling a bit, but Wednesday could present a good opportunity to give some more run to sophomore Justin Hawkins or freshman Karam Mashour.

Either way, the offense needs a spark soon.

Why?

Well, after Wednesday comes a four-game stretch that will define UNLV's conference season.

On Saturday, the Aztecs come to the Mack for a 5 p.m. showdown, followed by a quick turnaround against Air Force in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. The Falcons pushed the Rebels to the brink before UNLV ripped off a game-clinching run late at Clune Arena on Jan. 15.

Following that is a road trip that could be the difference between Kruger's club still being solidly in the NCAA tournament field or having to sweat things out on the bubble come Selection Sunday, barring an MWC tourney title that weekend. They'll be at Colorado State on Feb. 19, then at New Mexico four days later.

"I'm sure it's in the back of everybody's minds the whole season," Bellfield said of the Rebels' status for the NCAAs. "We can't focus on that, because if we don't focus on these games coming up, we mess around and lose a few, we won't have a chance."

Lopez good to go

The results of X-rays on redshirt freshman forward Carlos Lopez's right hand were negative. Lopez hurt his hand near the base of his thumb after taking a nasty fall late in the first half at BYU on Saturday. He appeared to be in significant pain but returned to play in the second half. Afterward, he was simply left with a nasty bruise on his palm. He'll be available for his normal amount of minutes against TCU.

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