Blog: In Big Apple vs. Stanford, Rebels suffer most lopsided loss of Rice era

By Taylor Bern

Published Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 | 3:09 p.m.

Updated Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 | 6:11 p.m.

Stanford 89, UNLV 60

Game over

In its first major test of the season UNLV failed across the board. The Rebels gave up easy points early and often and got run out of the Barclays Center 89-60 by Stanford here tonight. Once the Cardinal established their lead the game was rarely within 20 points.

Stanford killed it behind the 3-point line, hitting 70 percent) while UNLV couldn’t make a shot there or anywhere else. The Rebels shot 37.9 percent from the field, including 27.8 percent behind the 3-point line.

The Rebels actually finished right where they did in the first two games as far as points go, but defensively it wasn’t even close. Stanford got whatever shot it wanted pretty much all night and often that shot was a 3-pointer.

Sophomore guard Kendall Smith didn’t play, though that could have been injury related. We’ll see after the game.

Tomorrow at 4 p.m. Las Vegas time UNLV will play the loser of Temple-Duke, so most likely Temple. It will be interesting to see how the team responds from a resounding loss on such a short turnaround.

Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from tonight’s loss.

Today's live blog is coming to you from a stop along the R line because I missed my train and had time to knock this out. UNLV is taking a bus to Barclays Center from their hotel near the Brooklyn Bridge, so you don't have to worry about the Rebels catching the right ride. But whether they show up on time and ready for the bigger stage and better competition remains to be seen.

That's really the question today, isn't it? This is the first of many tests for the Rebels, and no one can really know how they'll respond.

UNLV is out here for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Tip-off against Stanford is at 4 p.m. Las Vegas time, and then they'll find out who they play Saturday after the nightcap between Temple and No. 4 Duke. All four games this weekend will air on truTV.

The Rebels are 8.5-point underdogs against the Cardinal, who have three Vegas high school grads — Centennial High twins Marcus and Malcolm Allen and Bishop Gorman High's Rosco Allen (no relation).

Rosco Allen just scored a career-high 17 points in Stanford's last game and could play a large role tonight if the Cardinal try to play big.

That seems likely, because there's only so much UNLV can do to counter size. Tonight will be a great test for Christian Wood and Goodluck Okonoboh as they try to take their block party on the road.

Bern's prediction: UNLV certainly could win this game but based on what we’ve seen, I have to give the edge to the Cardinal. Stanford 72, UNLV 65

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.