LAS VEGAS — The preseason is all about getting your basketball team ready to compete in conference play and build your resume for a possible at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament come March.
For UNLV, it couldn’t have gone much better as the Runnin’ Rebels prepare to enter the second phase of their season when Mountain West play begins next Wednesday at San Jose State. Kevin Kruger’s team went 11-1 following Thursday’s 74-63 win in front of 6,093 at the Thomas & Mack Center over a solid Southern Mississippi team that made UNLV work for the win.
“I can’t put into words how happy I was with how we responded after halftime,” Kruger said of his team overcoming a five-point deficit to use a 19-2 run to take control. “They rallied together. They figured it out.”
The win was a bounce-back performance after squandering a lead late last Saturday in falling to San Francisco, 75-73 at home. This time, UNLV didn’t let its opponent rally. The Rebels clamped down defensively, generated enough on offense to see it through to a successful conclusion.
“No one liked that feeling and we knew it could happen again,” said EJ Harkless.
Luis Rodriguez said: “We learned from the last game not to be complacent. We knew it would be a fight to the end.”
In addition to the school’s best start since 1992, UNLV has an NCAA NET ranking of 51 and a KenPom rating of 76 on its resume. There’s still work to do in order to bolster that resume and the players acknowledge as much.
“The nonconference prepared us well for the conference,” said Rodriguez, who had 18 points Thursday against Southern Miss. “We have a chip on our shoulder. We know where we were picked in the conference. Everybody’s hungry.”
The Rebels were picked to finish sixth in the Mountain West preseason poll. And judging by the performances in the league during the preseason, things could prove to be somewhat volatile when play begins next week. New Mexico is 12-0. Utah State is 10-1. Boise State and Nevada are 10-3. San Diego State is 9-3. Even San Jose State and Air Force, which were expected to be at the bottom of the standings, boast winning nonconference records as the Spartans and Falcons are both 9-4.
“The league is going to be tough,” Kruger said. “There’s a lot of good teams. But I think we’re prepared for the Mountain West. We played a lot of teams and saw a lot of styles similar to what we’ll see in the league.”
The rest of the league can expect a UNLV team which defends well, gets to the foul line, forces turnovers and makes enough perimeter shots that you have to respect its outside game. Thursday, the Rebels forced 25 turnovers against Southern Miss and got the free-throw line an astonishing 28 times in the second half after just five trips in the first half.
“We played for each other in the second half,” Kruger said.
Defense has become this team’s identity. In its 12 nonconference games, eight of UNLV’s opponents scored 63 or fewer points. The Rebels lead the nation in turnovers forced at 21.33 per game as well as turnover margin at 8.0. And when the offense bogs down, as was the case during the second half when UNLV failed to make a field goal over five minutes, the defense never stopped working.
“Everyone puts in the work,” said Harkless, who posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds along with six assists in Thursday’s win. “We don’t let the offense affect the defense.”
At some point, UNLV will get guard Elijah Parquet (knee) and forward Isaiah Cottrell (foot) back as both are sidelined with injuries. But there’s enough depth at the moment to survive foul trouble or a cold shooting night. At present, this is a solid team that is fun to watch as it enters Phase Two of its season.
“It’s a great feeling go into this break with the win before we get back together and get ready to go on the road to open Mountain West play,” Kruger said.
