The UNLV men’s basketball team has taken its fans on a roller-coaster ride that went screeching into a nosedive Tuesday night in a home loss to Wyoming.
Losing to one of the worst teams in the Mountain West after defeating then-No. 22 Utah State and perennial NCAA Tournament team San Diego State in the previous week was nearly inexplicable. Even so, junior guard Jaden Henley gave it a shot in the immediate aftermath of the defeat.
“It was just our effort,” he said. “We didn’t come out with the same effort as we did last week, and obviously we are going to be hurt by this game.”
The Rebels have said their goal is to advance to the NCAA Tournament this season. The recent loss certainly stymied any progress the team was beginning to show even in a bid for the Mountain West title.
At the very least, it might have provided the Rebels (11-8, 5-3) with something they can bring into their next contest against conference leader New Mexico (16-4, 8-1) at noon Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Point guard D.J. Thomas, who missed a shot to tie Wyoming at the buzzer, said at Friday’s practice that he and the team have been filled with “a lot of anger” in the days since.
“We feel like that game was probably our worst game this season,” he said. “As far as defense and togetherness and just energy, we had no juice, no type of fire, no type of fight. But we just feel like we’ve got to forget about that game and just focus on the next one.”
Trying to turn corner
Fourth-year coach Kevin Kruger gave his team a day off to forget its most recent loss, but said he and his coaching staff didn’t rest Wednesday.
“Hopefully that day off was maximized by everybody,” he said. “On the coaches’ side, it’s a little bit different.”
UNLV came out with wins in both of its meetings with New Mexico last season, but Kruger said the Lobos are “a lot better” this time around.
New Mexico is coming off home wins against Boise State and Fresno State. Junior guard Donovan Dent leads the Mountain West in scoring (18.9 points per game) and assists (6.8), while senior center Nelly Junior Joseph is the only player in the league averaging a double-double (13.1 points and 10.1 rebounds).
To prepare for such a challenge, Thomas said Kruger and his staff have been “really intense.”
“(We’re) definitely trying to turn the corner,” Thomas said. “I feel like we just got too comfortable. Just thought that’s where we could relax. But we definitely can’t do that. We’ll just take it one game at a time and just focus on each team.”
Tough upcoming games
The looming stretch isn’t a friendly one for UNLV, with games at Utah State (Wednesday), at UNR (Feb. 1), vs. Boise State (Feb. 4) and at Wyoming (Feb. 8).
Aside from in-state rival UNR, the Rebels are entering the rematch portion of conference play. In each matchup, intensity and preparation will be even more crucial.
“It’s always tough playing a team twice,” Thomas said. “But just looking at the film (and studying) what we did good, what we did bad last time against a team and just making adjustments, those will be very big.”
Kruger still isn’t looking ahead very far.
“The next game is all that matters in any conference as good as the Mountain West,” he said. “If you’re starting to look down the line, and trying to figure things out and move chess pieces here or there, then it’s just going to end up costing you.
“The only thing that matters is that New Mexico game tomorrow, and as soon as that’s over, we’ll address what happens in the game and go from there. I think any thought you spend anywhere else is just kind of taking you away from the goal right at hand.”
Contact Callie Fin at [email protected]. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
Up next
Who: New Mexico at UNLV
When: Noon Saturday
Where: Thomas & Mack Center
TV: Fox
Radio: KWWN (1100 AM, 100.9 FM)
Line: New Mexico -3; total 147
