RUNNIN’ REBELS BACK AT HOME WEDNESDAY
UNLV men’s basketball hosts Radford at 7 p.m. at Thomas & Mack Center as Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic gets started
After 18 days away, the UNLV men’s basketball team will return to the Thomas & Mack Center as the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic gets underway on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. against Radford. The tournament will consist of two home games (also Friday, Dec. 20 vs. Sacred Heart), then semifinal and championship rounds on Sunday-Monday, Dec. 22-23, at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas against Santa Clara, then either Mississippi State or South Florida.
Wednesday’s game will have no television coverage, but it will be live video streamed for free at UNLVRebels.com (MWN) with Tony Cordasco and Keith Starr calling the action. Jon Sandler and Robert Smith will handle the radio call, which may be heard live on ESPN Radio 1100 AM/98.9 FM. An internet listen link and Gametracker will also be available at UNLVRebels.com.
After six straight games at home to open the season, UNLV played two road games during its “Rodeo Road Trip,” losing a close one at then-No. 2 Arizona (63-58) on Dec. 7, then beating Southern Utah (73-51) on Saturday in Cedar City. In the loss to the undefeated Wildcats, the Runnin’ Rebels held what is now the nation’s top-ranked team to its lowest scoring output of the season and its third-closest game in terms of margin of victory.
Runnin’ Rebel junior Roscoe Smith, who leads the nation in rebounding average with 14.1 rpg, has five double-doubles this year and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in the first six games of the season (now seven of eight) with totals of 19, 21 and a career-high 22. Junior forward Khem Birch, who has four double-doubles this season, is third in the country in blocked shots with 4.4 per contest. He has had double-figure rebounding totals in five of his eight games and has blocked at least four shots in a game five times this season. Smith (12.3 ppg, 14.1 rpg) is averaging a double-double, while Birch just misses (10.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg). Junior guard Bryce Dejean-Jones leads the team in scoring at 13.0 ppg.
GAME #9
RADFORD (6-3, 0-0 Big South)
at
UNLV (4-4, 0-0 Mountain West)
DATE: Wednesday, December 18, 2013
TIME: 7 p.m. PST
SITE: Tarkanian Court, Thomas & Mack Center (18,500), Las Vegas
TV: Live Stream at UNLVRebels.com (MWN – Tony Cordasco, Keith Starr)
RADIO: ESPN Radio 1100 AM/98.9 FM (Jon Sandler, Robert Smith)
ONLINE: Live Stream (UNLVRebels.com/MWN), Gametracker at UNLVRebels.com