UNLV Rebels
Mountain West (28-6, 12-4)
Seed: #7
Midwest Region
RPI: 10
Big Wins:
12/9 at Nevada (58-49), 12/28 at Texas Tech (74-66), 3/10 BYU (78-70)
Bad Losses:
11/17 UCSB (76-79), 1/10 at Wyoming (76-86), 2/13 at San Diego State
(52-67)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 2000, First Round loss to Tulsa
Coach:
Lon Kruger (11-9 in 9 NCAA appearances)
Probable
Starters:
Jo’Van Adams,
Sophomore, Guard, 14.3 ppg, 2.4 apg, 1.5 spg
Kevin Kruger,
Senior, Guard, 13.6 ppg, 5.0 apg
Michael Umeh,
Senior, Guard, 7.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Wendell White,
Senior, Guard, 14.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Gaston Essengue,
Senior, Forward, 7.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Marcus
Lawrence, Freshman, Guard, 1.5 ppg, 2.3 apg
Curtis Terry,
Junior, Guard, 4.6 ppg, 1.7 apg
Corey Bailey,
Junior, Forward, 3.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg
Joe Darger,
Sophomore, Forward, 6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Joel Anthony,
Senior, Center, 5.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.1 bpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
Everybody is
talking about Air Force and their efficient offense, but UNLV only gives up
11.3 turnovers per contest, ranking in the top 15 in the nation. What makes
that so impressive is the fact that the Rebels do not have a true point
guard in the starting five. Coach’s son Kevin Kruger, sophomore Jo’Van
‘Wink’ Adams, senior Michael Umeh and wing Curtis Terry are not true point
guards, but still manage the position effectively. Freshman Marcus Lawrence
is a true point guard and has done a decent job when he is in the game, but
the freshman still has a thing or two to learn before he is ready to take
over the job.
Kruger and
Adams are prolific scorers and great outside shooters. That duo will take
most of the perimeter shots and can dominate the game on both ends of the
floor when they are feeling it.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
The Rebels have
a negative rebound margin and do not have a single player who will dominate
the glass. Wendell White, a big 6-6 guard, is a quality slasher and a great
scorer and leads the team with 6.2 boards per game. Senior Gaston Essengue
is the lone starting forward and will put up a handful of points per night,
but he is not a great rebounder and outside of a three game stretch in
December, has not had any double-digit efforts on the glass all season.
Who To
Watch:
What has made
UNLV so dangerous all season is their experience and quality bench. Lawrence
and Terry are excellent options in the backcourt and have starting
experience. Forward Joe Darger is the long range shooting threat off the
bench and fellow forward Corey Bailey can do a little bit of everything.
However, the best asset to the bench is Joel Anthony. The 6-9 center has
some decent post moves and can counteract the rebounding problems that
plague the Rebels.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Wisconsin
