Runnin’ Rebels At Colorado State Saturday

The UNLV men’s basketball team (9-6, 3-1) will travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to play at Colorado State (9-6, 3-1) on Saturday, Jan. 11. The 2 p.m. MST/1 p.m. PST game will be shown on the Mountain West Network.

The Runnin’ Rebels opened league action with an 87-77 home win over Fresno State, a 77-58 road victory at Air Force and a 79-73 home win over San Jose State, before losing its first Mountain West game on Tuesday night at Boise State (81-59). UNLV has won five of its last seven games with its only other loss during that span being a one-point heart-breaker at then-No. 22 Dayton on Dec. 17. UNLV had shot better than 50% from the field in three straight games before playing at Boise State.

UNLV has four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Dedan Thomas Jr.’s 15.9 points per game. Jaden Henley, Jailen Bedford, Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry and Julian Rishwain are all averaging between 9.1 ppg and 11.3 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 5.7 rpg and blocks with 1.5 bpg, while Thomas Jr. is the team’s assist leader with 4.3 apg and Rishwain leads in steals with 1.5 spg.

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 67-46 (.593).

ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season’s UNLV squad features six returners from last year’s team along with 10 newcomers. The newcomers are made up of four Division I transfers, a junior college transfer and five freshmen. UNLV has eight upperclassmen, including two sixth-year players. A total of six players on the roster are playing in their hometown of Las Vegas. The Runnin’ Rebels returned two starters in sophomore guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who was the Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year last season and was named to this season’s preseason all-conference team, and senior forward Rob Whaley Jr. (currently injured) Forward Jalen Hill is also back for a sixth year of college after suffering a season-ending knee injury last January. Thomas Jr. led UNLV in scoring and assists last year with 13.6 and 5.1 per game, respectively, Whaley Jr. had averages of 7.6 ppg and 3.6 rpg, while Hill averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg in seven contests.

LAST TIME OUT: In Tuesday night’s loss at Boise State, Jailen Bedford scored a team-high 11 points off the bench for the Runnin’ Rebels, while Jaden Henley and Dedan Thomas Jr. each added 10. Jalen Hill and Bear Cherry both scored eight. Boise State used a 10-0 run over an almost three-minute span to take a 27-16 lead with 8:19 left in the first half. The Broncos closed the half on a 14-2 run to take a 43-24 lead at the break. Boise State out-rebounded UNLV 38-21 and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds that turned into 16 second-chance points. Boise State also scored 20 points off of 14 UNLV turnovers and led in points in the paint, 40-22.

ABOUT COLORADO STATE: The Rams have won two straight games and four of their last five. They are coming off wins at San Jose State on Dec. 31 (72-50) and at home against Fresno State on Tuesday (91-64). Colorado State is ranked 87th in KenPom and is 6-2 at home this season. CSU has two players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Nique Clifford’s 16.6 ppg. Clifford also leads the team and MW in rebounding at 10.3 rpg, while he is shooting .508 from the field and leads the team in assists at 3.5 apg. The Rams are 41st in the country in assists per game with 16.9 apg. Clifford is 14th in the nation in rebounding and 15th in the nation in double-double with seven. CSU was predicted to finish sixth in the Mountain West this season in the preseason coaches’ poll, earning one of 26 first-place votes. Clifford was named to the preseason All-MW team. The Rams had an overall record of 25-11 last season, finishing tied for sixth in the MW with a league mark of 10-8. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s second round where they lost to Texas to end their season. CSU has just five upperclassmen on its 15-man roster. Head coach Niko Medved is in his seventh year at CSU with a record of 126-81 (.609) and is in his 11th year overall as a collegiate head coach with a career mark of 205-168 (.550).

BROADCAST INFO: Saturday’s game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon calling the action. Matt Neverett, former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry and Steve Cofield will handle the call on radio, which may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.