Runnin’ Rebels Host San Diego State Tuesday For Senior Night

 The UNLV men’s basketball team, which has won five of its last six games, will host San Diego State on Tuesday, March 4 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The 8 p.m. game will be the Runnin’ Rebels’ regular-season home finale and Senior Night.

UNLV is coming off a 2-0 week with a 77-71 road win at San Jose State last Tuesday night and a 68-55 home win over intrastate rival UNR on Friday. Over the last six games, the Runnin’ Rebels had held their opponents to just 57.8 points per game on average and 37.0% shooting.

UNLV (16-13, 10-8) had won three straight – a 68-57 road win at Wyoming on Feb. 8, which snapped a five-game losing streak, a 77-52 home win over Air Force on Feb. 11 and a 52-51 road win at Fresno State on Feb. 15 – before falling on Feb. 22 at home to Colorado State, 61-53. That game was UNLV’s first without point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who missed because of injury. He has missed three games in total.

San Diego State (20-7, 13-5) has won two straight games (vs. New Mexico, 73-65; at Wyoming, 72-69) and five of its last six as well.

UNLV has three players averaging double figures in scoring: Dedan Thomas Jr. with 15.6 points per game (9th in MW), Jaden Henley with 12.0 ppg and Jailen Bedford with 10.1 ppg. Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry, Julian Rishwain and Jalen Hill are all averaging between 9.9 ppg and 8.1 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 5.4 rpg and blocks with 1.5 bpg (3rd in MW), while Thomas Jr. is the team’s assist leader with 4.7 apg (3rd in MW) and Henley leads in steals with 1.5 spg.

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 74-53 (.583).

PROMOTIONS: Fans are encouraged to wear white for Senior Night. Free white Senior Night t-shirts will be given away to all fans while supplies last. In addition, there will be a scholarship giveaway for up to $5,000 towards Fall 2025 tuition for a lucky UNLV student.

TICKETS: Tickets to UNLV men’s basketball home games may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-FANS (3267) or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office.

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 from last year’s team 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 (has missed the last three games because of injury), 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 of 2024 (in the MW opener at San Diego State). 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 Friday’s 68-55 win over UNR, Jaden Henley had his second straight game with a career high in scoring, besting his 22-point outing at San Jose State last Tuesday with 23 points against the Wolf Pack. Three other Runnin’ Rebel players scored in double figures: Jalen Hill with 16 points, Julian Rishwain with 11 and Bear Cherry with 10. UNLV held a plus-21 rebound differential as it recorded a season-high 48 boards to the Wolf Pack’s 27. UNLV grabbed 14 on the offensive end that led to 19 points. UNLV shot 20 of 21 from the free-throw line (95.2%). The program record for FT% in a game is 96.2% (25 of 26) vs. UC Irvine in 1988. UNLV turned a 20-19 lead with 7:30 to go in the first half into a 31-21 advantage with under 2 minutes to play until the break, thanks to an 11-2 run. UNLV led by double digits for the final nine minutes of the game, increasing its lead to as many as 16 with just under three minutes to go.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs have won two straight games (vs. New Mexico, 73-65; at Wyoming, 72-69) and five of its last six. The Aztecs have defeated two ranked teams earlier this season in then-No. 21/19 Creighton (71-53) and vs. then-No. 6/7 Houston (73-70, OT), both in Las Vegas. SDSU is ranked 41st in KenPom and is 6-3 in true road games this season. The Aztecs have two players averaging in double figures in scoring, Miles Byrd with 12.9 ppg and Nick Boyd at 12.8 ppg. Magoon Gwath is the team’s leading rebounder with 5.2 rpg, while Boyd leads in assists with 4.0 apg, Byrd is the steals leader at 2.0 spg and Magoon Gwath leads in blocks with 2.6 bpg (1st in MW, 6th in the country). San Diego State leads the country in field goal percentage defense (37.4), is ninth in blocks (5.6 bpg) and 13th in scoring defense (63.3 ppg). SDSU was predicted to finish fourth in the Mountain West this season in the preseason coaches’ poll, earning two of 26 first-place votes. Reese Waters was named to the preseason All-MW team, while Pharaoh Compton was voted the MW Preseason Freshman of the Year. The Aztecs had an overall record of 26-11 last season, finishing fifth in the MW with a league mark of 11-7. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 where they lost to eventual national champion UConn to end their season. SDSU has eight upperclassmen on its 18-man roster. Head coach Brian Dutcher is in his eighth season with a career record of 197-65 (.752).

LAST TIME VS. SDSU: In the season’s first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 18 in San Diego, UNLV won 76-68. The Runnin’ Rebels led for the majority of the game, including the entire second half. It was UNLV’s first win in San Diego since 2020. Dedan Thomas Jr. led UNLV with 19 points and five assists, while Brooklyn Hicks added 13 points and Jaden Henley scored 12. UNLV held off multiple SDSU runs, including at the end of the game as Byrd made a 3-pointer with under two minutes to play to cut SDSU’s deficit to four points (67-63). Thomas Jr. responded by driving the lane to find Bear Cherry for an alley-oop dunk. Byrd scored on a layup, but Thomas Jr. came right back to hit a tough turnaround fadeaway from the baseline to make it 71-65 with less than a minute to go. Byrd then missed one and made one from the free-throw line and Thomas Jr. made two free throws with 37 seconds to go to effectively seal the game. Thomas Jr. scored eight of UNLV’s final 11 points. UNLV out-rebounded San Diego State, 37-32, and held the Aztecs to just 40% shooting from the field (24 of 60).

BROADCAST INFO: Tuesday’s game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network with Chris Lewis and Darren Collison calling the action. The radio call will be handled by Matt Neverett, former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry and Steve Cofield, which may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas and worldwide on SiriusXM 392. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.