RUNNIN’ REBELS TO FACE MISSISSIPPI STATE MONDAY NIGHT
UNLV men’s basketball in Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic’s championship game at 7:30 p.m. at Orleans Arena, televised by CBS Sports Network
-The UNLV men’s basketball team, which has won its last four games and is in the midst of playing four contests in a six-day span, will continue play in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic by facing Mississippi State on Monday, Dec. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the tournament’s championship game at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The tournament consisted of two home games before the semifinal and championship rounds at Orleans Arena. UNLV scored a season-high 92 points in defeating Santa Clara (92-71) in the semifinals Sunday night, while Mississippi State beat South Florida (71-66) to advance to the championship game.
Monday’s game vs. the Bulldogs will be televised by CBS Sports Network with Brent Stover, Steve Lappas and Doug Gottlieb 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 is 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 Dec. 14 in Cedar City. In the loss to the 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. On Wednesday, UNLV returned home to the Thomas & Mack Center for the first time in 18 days and defeated Radford (81-62), then beat Sacred Heart (82-50) on Friday.
Runnin’ Rebel junior Roscoe Smith, who leads the nation in rebounding average with 13.2 rpg, has seven double-doubles this year and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in the first six games of the season (now nine of 11) with totals of 19, 21 and a career-high 22. Junior forward Khem Birch, who has five double-doubles this season, is sixth in the country in blocked shots with 3.9 per contest. He has had double-figure rebounding totals in six of his 11 games and has blocked at least four shots in a game six times this season as well. Smith (12.8 ppg, 13.2 rpg) leads the team in scoring and is averaging a double-double, while Birch just misses averaging a double-double (11.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg). Junior guard Bryce Dejean-Jones is second on the team in scoring at 12.2 ppg, while senior guard Kevin Olekaibe is just shy of double figures with 9.9 ppg.
GAME #12
MISSISSIPPI STATE (9-2, 0-0 Southeastern)
vs.
UNLV (7-4, 0-0 Mountain West)
DATE: Monday, December 23, 2013
TIME: 7:30 p.m. PST
SITE: Orleans Arena (7,471), Las Vegas
TV: CBS Sports Network (Brent Stover, Steve Lappas, Doug Gottlieb)
RADIO: ESPN Radio 1100 AM/98.9 FM (Jon Sandler, Robert Smith)
ONLINE: Listen link and Gametracker at UNLVRebels.com
