Runnin’ Rebels At Creighton Saturday For Season’s First True Road Game

The UNLV men’s basketball team (4-3) will travel to Omaha, Nebraska, for its first true road game of the season at Creighton (6-3) on Saturday, Dec. 7. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. CST / 1 p.m. PST.

The Runnin’ Rebels are coming off playing in the Arizona Tip-Off in Tempe over Thanksgiving. After entering that event on a three-game win streak, UNLV lost to then-No. 25 Mississippi State and Northwestern on back-to-back days at the event. Saturday’s contest will mark the Runnin’ Rebels’ first game in eight days.

The Runnin’ Rebels opened their season with a five-game homestand spanning from Nov. 4-23 with wins over Alabama State, a loss to Memphis, and victories over Omaha, Pepperdine and New Mexico State.

Dedan Thomas Jr. leads UNLV in scoring this season with 16.6 points per game, while Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry is second at 12.9 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 6.7 rpg, field-goal percentage with 72.0% (5th in the country) and blocks with 1.9 bpg, while Thomas Jr. is the team’s assist leader with 3.9 apg and Hill leads in steals  with 2.0 spg. Thomas Jr.’s 44 made free throws ranks 34th in the nation. The Runnin’ Rebels are averaging 74.0 ppg, while limiting their opponents to 71.1 ppg.

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 62-43.

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 return 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 in 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 the 66-61 loss to Northwestern in Arizona on Nov. 29, Dedan Thomas Jr. and Jailen Bedford led the Runnin’ Rebels in scoring with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry had a game-high 10 rebounds, while Jacob Bannarbie, who made his first career start, pulled down eight boards. Northwestern led 26-25 at the half and it was close throughout the second half. The Wildcats led by six with eight minutes to play, but Julian Rishwain hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to just two at 51-49. However Northwestern pushed its lead back to seven with two minutes to go. A Bedford 3-pointer cut it to four with 1:43 left but that was as close as it would get from there.

ABOUT CREIGHTON: Creighton is coming off a 76-63 home win over No. 1 Kansas on Wednesday night. The Bluejays have won two straight as they defeated Notre Dame, 80-76, in Las Vegas on Nov. 30 during the Players Era Festival. Creighton started that event with losses to San Diego State (71-53) and No. 20 Texas A&M (77-73). The Bluejays have also recorded wins this season against UTRGV, FDU, Houston Christian and Kansas City, with their other loss coming to Nebraska. Ryan Kalkbrenner (18.0 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.8 bpg) was named Preseason Big East Player of the Year and was named a Preseason First Team All-American. He currently ranks third in the country in field-goal percentage (73.3) and sixth in blocks per game. Steven Ashworth (15.8 ppg, 5.6 apg) also returns from last year’s team and has been joined by Texas Tech transfer and Las Vegas product Pop Isaacs (16.3 ppg, 3.9 apg) and Arizona State transfer Jamiya Neal (9.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.2 apg). Ashworth, who transferred from Utah State prior to last season, earned Preseason Third Team All-Big East honors and is sixth in the country in free-throw percentage (97.1) and 22nd in 3-pointers per game (3.4). Creighton averages 77.4 ppg and has out-rebounded its opponents this season by 4.9 per contest. The Bluejays rank third in the country in defensive rebounds per game (32.2) and 29th in total rebounds per game (41.4). Creighton was predicted to finish second in the Big East this season in the preseason coaches’ poll. The team had an overall record of 25-10 last season, finishing tied for second in the league at 14-6. The Bluejays lost in the 2024 NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 to Tennessee. Creighton, which has eight upperclassmen on its 16-man roster, is coached by Greg McDermott, who is in his 15th season at the school with a record of 331-163 and in his 31st season overall as a collegiate head coach with a career mark of 611-358.

LAST YEAR VS. CREIGHTON: In last season’s meeting between UNLV and Creighton, which occurred on Dec. 13, 2023, at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada, four Runnin’ Rebels scored in double figures as UNLV defeated then-No. 8 Creighton, 79-64. It was UNLV’s first win over a top-10 team in non-conference play in nine years. Former Runnin’ Rebel Kalib Boone scored a then-season-high 25 points on 12 of 17 from the field with a team-high seven rebounds and game-high-tying four steals for UNLV, and Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 16 points with nine assists, zero turnovers, six rebounds and a steal. Former Runnin’ Rebel Justin Webster added 13 points on 3 of 6 3-pointers, while former Runnin’ Rebel Keylan Boone, in his first game of the season, scored 10 points with six rebounds. Keylan Boone became eligible earlier in the day after a judge’s ruling granted all NCAA transfers temporary eligibility. Creighton was led by Ryan Kalkbrenner’s 22 points and eight rebounds.

BROADCAST INFO: Saturday’s game will be televised live on FS1 with Wayne Randazzo and Nick Bahe calling the action. Matt Neverett, former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry and Steve Cofield will handle the radio call on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.

LAST SEASON: The Runnin’ Rebels had their best season in over a decade in 2023-24 as they were invited to the postseason for the first time since 2013, advancing to the NIT quarterfinals and securing their first postseason win in 16 years. In his third season at the helm, Kruger led the squad to 21 wins for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign and guided the team to a 12-4 record over its final 16 games.

UNLV recorded its first win over a top-10 team in four years, its first in non-conference play in nine seasons and beat a total of four ranked teams in a single season for the first time in 11 years. 2023-24 Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year Dedan Thomas Jr. set the Mountain West’s assists record with 174, also leading the nation in assists among freshmen.