Runnin’ Rebels In Reno Saturday Night For Silver State Series Game

 After defeating then-No. 22 Utah State on Jan. 15 at the Thomas & Mack Center (65-62) and shutting down San Diego State on Jan. 18 in San Diego (76-68), the UNLV men’s basketball team (11-9, 5-4) has dropped three straight games at by a combined nine points to Wyoming (63-61) on Jan. 21 at home, to New Mexico (75-73) last Saturday at home and at Utah State (76-71) on Wednesday night.

The Runnin’ Rebels will look to get back on track as they travel to Reno to take on UNR (11-10, 3-7) in a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 1. The game, which is part of the Silver State Series, presented by America First Credit Union, will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

The Runnin’ Rebels opened league action with an 87-77 home win over Fresno State (Dec. 28), a 77-58 road victory at Air Force (Dec. 31) and a 79-73 home win over San Jose State (Jan. 4), before dropping two straight road games at Boise State (Jan. 7), 81-59, and at Colorado State (Jan. 11), 84-62.

UNLV has three players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Dedan Thomas Jr.’s 16.2 points per game (6th in MW). Jaden Henley, Jailen Bedford, Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry. Julian Rishwain and Jalen Hill are all averaging between 8.2 ppg and 11.9 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 Rishwain leads in steals with 1.4 spg.

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 69-50 (.580).

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, 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 Wednesday night’s loss at Utah State, the Runnin’ Rebels battled all the way back from a 16-point first-half deficit to tie the game at 56 apiece with 5:50 to play, but ended up on the short end. Dedan Thomas Jr. led all players with a season-high-tying 22 points and six assists for the Runnin’ Rebels. Jaden Henley and Jalen Hill each scored 16 points with Henley recording a game-high six rebounds and Hill collecting five boards and three steals. After Hill’s and-1 tied the game with 5:50 to play, UNLV only made one field goal over the next five minutes as Utah State took a 10-point lead (69-59). Utah State’s bench scored 37 points to just four from UNLV’s reserves.

ABOUT UNR: The Wolf Pack enter Saturday’s game on a three-game losing streak with losses at Utah State (90-69), vs. San Diego State (69-50) and at Boise State (66-56). Prior to that, UNR won three in a row: at Fresno State in overtime (77-66), vs. Air Force (68-62) and vs. San Jose State (75-64). The Wolf Pack are 8-4 at home this season. UNR is led in scoring and rebounding by Nick Davidson (15.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg). Kobe Sanders is second on the team in scoring (14.2 ppg) and leads in assists (4.2 apg). The Wolf Pack are second in the MW and 40th in the country in 3-point percentage (.374). UNR was predicted to finish third in the Mountain West this season in the preseason coaches’ poll, earning one of 26 first-place votes. Sanders was the league’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year, while Davidson was recognized on the  preseason All-MW team. The Wolf Pack had an overall record of 26-8 last season, finishing second in the MW with a league mark of 13-5. Their season ended in the NCAA Tournament’s first round with a loss to No. 7-seed Dayton. UNR has nine upperclassmen on its 14-man roster. Head coach Steve Alford is in his sixth year at the school with a record of 107-69 (.608) and is in his 34th season overall as a Division I head coach with a career mark of 694-367 (.654).

BROADCAST INFO: Saturday’s game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network with Carter Blackburn and Pete Gillen 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 and worldwide on SiriusXM 389. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.