Take 5: Rebels head to Utah State hunting for third straight victory

By Taylor Bern

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 | 2 a.m.

UNLV has bounced back in a big way from its 0-3 start to league play, and now it’s time to see if the show goes on the road for interim coach Todd Simon.

The Rebels (11-7, 2-3) are looking for a three-game winning streak tonight at 6 Las Vegas time against Utah State (11-6, 3-3) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game will stream on ESPN3.

UNLV won its first two road games with an average margin of 24 points after losing its first three by an average of two. Both of those big wins came at home, though, and this week against Utah State and UNR the Rebels will find out if their confidence travels.

It starts against the Aggies tonight, and against the Aggies it’s best to start at the three-point line:

Defending the Arc

Utah State isn’t the 3-point shooting dynamo it was last season, but the Aggies are still a threat from deep and that’s their best shot at a home upset tonight.

Last year, Utah State ranked 15th nationally with a 3-point shooting percentage at 39.4. All three of their top 3-point shooters returned this season and all three are hitting at least 5 percentage points lower beyond the arc. The biggest reason for this regression is probably the absence of big man David Collette, who left the team two days before the season started.

Collette’s superior post play forced defenses to double or risk getting beat one-on-one, and he was an excellent passer to open shooters spaced throughout the floor. Now that the Aggies lack a great post triggerman, they’re not getting as many open shots, although they’re still dangerous from deep.

Senior Chris Smith hit an absurd 46.5 percent last season, so even his regression to 41 percent would make him a top option on most teams, including UNLV. Junior Jalen Moore has dropped from 40.2 percent to 32.9, but in league play he’s at 36.1, and in Saturday’s victory at Colorado State, Moore and Smith combined to go 7-of-14 while the team shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27).

UNLV’s defensive plan will likely be focused on contesting all of those outside shots, because Utah State isn’t nearly the same threat in the paint.

Zimmerman’s Growth

According to kenpom.com, Air Force was Stephen Zimmerman Jr.’s best game of the season by a pretty wide margin, and it came on the heels of a 15-point, 15-rebound effort against New Mexico.

The freshman has stepped up his game in league play, ranking in the top 10 in fouls drawn per 40 minutes and block percentage, and he leads the Mountain West in defensive rebounding percentage. Zimmerman still isn’t finishing very well — 41.7 percent on 2-point shots — but he’s doing a lot elsewhere, both setting up teammates on offense and anchoring the back of UNLV’s defense.

With Collette gone, there was an opening for best post player in the Mountain West. Behind a balanced game that appears to be getting better, Zimmerman is starting to make his claim.

Jones’ Potential

Through five conference games, freshman Derrick Jones Jr. has gone scoreless as many times as he scored double digits. That’s one way of highlighting the up-and-down nature of Jones’ recent production, which was dominated by foul trouble until Saturday’s 22-point, 10-rebound breakout against Air Force.

With the caveat that it was against the Falcons, who are one of the two worst teams in a down Mountain West, Jones once again looked like a high-flying force of nature. His six offensive rebounds tied a career high, and that’s one of many elements that he can bring if he can learn to stay on the court.

It’s been an ongoing issue for Jones, who not only commits a lot of fouls but seems to commit them in bunches. Sophomore Dwayne Morgan actually has a higher foul rate (6.6 per 40 compared to Jones’ 5.8), but Morgan has never played less than 10 minutes in part because his fouls tend to be more spread out.

Jones and Morgan are averaging nearly identical minutes per game (18.5 and 18.3, respectively) but Jones’ would be quite a bit higher if not for his propensity for fouls, particularly away from the basket. Jones is a big matchup problem in the Mountain West, but to take advantage the Rebels need him on the court.

Black Out

Utah State is wearing black uniforms as part of a special “Black Out” night at the Spectrum. That means UNLV’s home white jerseys will make a rare road appearance.

In other fashion news, sophomore guard Pat McCaw recently started wearing a headband again. McCaw tossed aside the accessory after his freshman season when a Nike official requested that the swoosh logo only be worn right-side up.

Now it’s back and the logo is again upside down. The Sun is awaiting official word on how a deal was brokered, but it’s clearly a win for the Rebels. In his last two headband-less games, McCaw committed nine combined turnovers, and then only three total in three games since.

Duryea on Rice

Utah State coach Tim Duryea is in his first year as a head coach, but before that he was an assistant in Logan for 14 years. That included a year on staff alongside former UNLV coach Dave Rice, and when Rice was fired on Jan. 10, Duryea came out and said the situation “nauseated” him.

"For somebody after three games in a conference season — two of them on the road in hard places to play — to lose by a couple of points, and determine that is a reason to fire our coach is a line of thinking I think is absurd," Duryea said. "It is just a sad commentary on the way coaches are treated.

"I think that is an awful situation and reflects very poorly on their administration."

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