Take 5: Rebels fighting to stay above .500 for the season

By Taylor Bern

Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Since its first season starting in 1958, UNLV has only finished with a below-.500 record three times, and since the start of the Mountain West in 1999 the Rebels have never finished lower than fifth. Both of those could change in the next two weeks.

On the night that the city plus much of the state honored the late Jerry Tarkanian, UNLV once more came up on the short end of a tight game with a 53-48 loss to Boise State on Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The defeat dropped the Rebels to 14-12 overall and 5-8 in the Mountain West, and with five games to play they’re about out of time to do anything about it. UNLV is in eighth place and on Saturday it travels to seventh-place New Mexico (14-12, 6-8), another recent conference power that’s trying to make sense of its place in the standings.

The game will tip at 3 p.m. Las Vegas time and air on CBS Sports Network.

UNLV is all but guaranteed to post its lowest finish in league history as fifth-place Utah State is a full three games ahead. The Rebels’ potential consolation prize could be sixth place and a bye in the conference tournament, but unless they handle some of their own business none of that will matter.

To guarantee at least a .500 record, UNLV must go 2-3 down the stretch. It’s an incredibly modest goal and yet seven losses by an average of 3.1 points per game plus another in overtime have put the Rebels in this position.

Here’s a look at UNLV’s remaining games ordered by the likelihood of a Rebels victory:

At San Jose State, Saturday, March 7

It’s been a rough year, including injuries, a midseason transfer and enough close losses to remove several years from the coaches’ collective lifespan, but at least there’s still San Jose State.

The Spartans, one of the five worst teams in college basketball, have gone more than a calendar year without beating a Division I opponent. They’re 2-23 this season and could actually be a motivated squad when UNLV travels there for the regular-season finale.

No matter who the Rebels have healthy at the time there’s no excuse for losing that game, but considering the Spartans only lost to UNR by three earlier this month UNLV needs to put this one away quickly.

At New Mexico, Saturday, Feb. 21

This weekend the Lobos will be wearing special pink jerseys that they will then auction off to fans. The proceeds will go to senior guard Hugh Greenwood’s Pink Pack, which raises money for the UNM Cancer Center and was thrust into the spotlight after New Mexico’s win at UNLV last month.

Greenwood went off for 22 points and then during a postgame TV interview went off on a UNLV-themed Twitter account that had made fun of his mom, who is battling cancer.

Since that game, New Mexico has lost six of seven with its only victory coming against San Jose State, plus the Lobos’ highest-usage player Jordan Goodman is done for the season. This one is completely up for grabs.

Wyoming, Saturday, Feb. 28

This game depends largely on Wyoming senior Larry Nance, who has missed the last four games because of mononucleosis.

Before he went out the Cowboys were in first place. Since then they’ve gone 2-2 and fallen a game behind San Diego State.

Wyoming was already fighting for its NCAA Tournament life so the Cowboys, whether they have Nance or not, will come into the Mack desperate for a victory. However, their low-scoring style almost always keeps opponents in it and the Rebels, albeit a much different roster, beat Wyoming twice at the Mack last season.

San Diego State, Wednesday, March 4

The Aztecs are rolling now. The preseason league favorite has won six of their last seven and part of it is due to some good offense, which is San Diego State’s main problem.

If SDSU is making shots like it did at New Mexico then UNLV and every other team in this league doesn’t have a chance because the Aztecs’ have a top-10 defense. The only hope is that SDSU struggles at one end, leaving an opportunity for the Rebels to close out the 2014-15 home slate with something positive.

At Utah State, Tuesday, Feb. 24

The Aggies have the distinction of best of the rest in the Mountain West. There’s a clear drop off after the top four teams — SDSU, Wyoming, Boise State, Colorado State — and Utah State has emerged from the pack to surprise some people and slot itself fifth.

This will be the second-to-last home game for longtime Utah State coach Stew Morrill, who’s retiring at the end of the season, and the second road game in four days for the Rebels, who have won only one true road game this season.

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