Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

In return home, Rebels aiming to make their offense less offensive

UNLV vs. Temple

Seth Weng / AP

UNLV’s Christian Wood, center, drives to the basket past Temple defenders during the second half of a game for third place in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, in New York. UNLV defeated Temple 57-50.

The Rebel Room

Reno Week

The Battle for the Fremont Cannon is in Las Vegas this week so Las Vegas Sun sports writers Ray Brewer, Case Keefer and Taylor Bern predict its paint color and break down the basketball team's weekend in New York.

Since there should be leftovers spilling out of your refrigerator, let’s put UNLV’s historic start to the season in a context you can understand. First, the gravy boat is half-empty version:

The Rebels (3-1) have yet to break 60 points entering Saturday’s home game against Albany, which tips off at 3:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center and streams on the Mountain West Network. The program has been playing games since 1958, yet the number of times a streak of at least four games scoring 60 or less has happened is equal to the minimum number of pumpkin pies that must be at any Thanksgiving gathering: two.

“We’re still searching for an identity,” said senior guard Cody Doolin.

The last time it happened was the final five games of the 2008-09 season, and the only other occurrence was the first season in program history. That streak of six games scoring 60 or less included three games against Dixie Junior College, two against Southern Utah State and a road trip to Nellis Air Force Base.

Now, here’s the “just found extra cranberry sauce to put on this day-after turkey sandwich” version of this streak: Both of those other instances were longer than four games, yet neither included more than one victory.

UNLV might not have figured out yet how to get its offense going the way it wants, but that hasn’t really come at the expense of wins.

“It’s a credit to our defense that we’ve been able to win three of our four games,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said.

Over the last 10 seasons, UNLV has 11 victories when scoring 60 or less, and only two of those came in nonconference games. This year, they already have three. It’s different and the Rebels are trying to change it, but with one very notable exception (ahem, Stanford), it’s been part of an OK start to the year.

Rice said he still wants to be a fast-break team, with Doolin echoing that the first options are almost always a layup or open 3 in transition. There have been reasons it hasn’t worked yet — Rashad Vaughn was 4-of-19 in New York; without Doolin the offense falls apart — but a consistent part of the problem has been the Rebels’ screens.

It’s not that UNLV isn’t setting screens, the Rebels just aren’t using them properly. Often the players receiving a screen are leaving before it’s set, which gives their defender time to react before his path is cut off. Much like counting calories yesterday, it basically defeats the whole purpose.

“I think you’ll see, well it has to,” Rice said, “our offense has to improve.”

The Rebels are hitting just 38.7 percent from the field. A couple of ways to improve that are more post touches for sophomore Christian Wood and an increased role for freshman Pat McCaw. Wood put the team on his back from the opening seconds of the second half against Temple and showed how dominant he can be when he commits himself to taking the ball inside.

Meanwhile, McCaw has been getting good minutes — 22.3 per game, fifth on the team — but he’s often a cog in the system. In general, that makes sense, because he can capably fill in at least the 1 through 3 spots on the floor. But his quick release and overall abilities make him capable of being the go-to guy for longer stretches.

“I think I’m more of the spark,” McCaw said of his role.

Case in point: In the final minute against Temple, there was a long rebound that the Owls thought they could easily corral. McCaw had other plans, as he sneaked up and knocked the ball down toward the Rebels’ basket, where he finished with a layup for a five-point lead.

“That was the winning play,” Doolin said.

Much like its first two home games, Albany is an opponent that can take UNLV down to the wire if the Rebels allow it. Feeding Wood and finding McCaw while the team hones its screens would be an excellent recipe to move on with the bigger half of the wishbone.

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

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