Runnin’ Rebels To Play Pacific In Henderson Saturday Night

 The UNLV men’s basketball team (4-4) will play in its home away from home in Henderson at Lee’s Family Forum against Pacific (5-6) on Saturday, Dec 14 at 7:30 p.m. The game is a part of the Jack Jones Classic, which also features Bradley vs. Santa Clara earlier in the day, followed by VCU vs. Colorado State.

The Runnin’ Rebels will return to action for the first time since last Saturday’s loss at Creighton. The game vs the Tigers will be just the second for UNLV in a 14-day span. Prior to the trip to Omaha, the Runnin’ Rebels played 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.

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 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Dedan Thomas Jr. leads UNLV in scoring this season with 16.8 points per game, while Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry is second at 11.8 ppg and Jailen Bedford is third with 10.9 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 6.4 rpg, field-goal percentage with 69.1% and blocks with 1.6 bpg, while Thomas Jr. is the team’s assist leader with 3.6 apg and Hill leads in steals with 2.0 spg. Thomas Jr.’s 47 made free throws ranks 49th in the nation.

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 62-44.

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 83-65 loss at Creighton last Saturday, which was UNLV’s first true road game of the season, Jailen Bedford scored a season-high 20 points, while Dedan Thomas Jr. added 18 and Julian Rishwain was also in double figures with 10 points. Creighton shot 73.1% from the field in the second half (19 of 26), including 62.5% on 3-pointers (5 of 8). UNLV led 22-21 with 7:46 to go in the first half, but Creighton used an 18-5 run to take a 39-27 lead at the break. The Bluejays also scored the first 10 points of the second half in a three-minute stretch to go up by 22 (49-27).

ABOUT PACIFIC: Pacific enters Saturday’s game on a two-game losing streak: at Colorado (75-66) on Dec. 7 and at Illinois State (72-61) last Saturday. The Tigers have wins this season over Jessup, San Jose State, Live Pacific, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Cal State Fullerton, while their other losses are to Hawaii, Northern Arizona, Arkansas and Missouri. Pacific has three players in double figures in scoring, led by Elias Ralph’s 17.3 ppg and Elijah Fisher’s 16.8 ppg. Ralph also leads the team in rebounding (8.0 rpg), while Lamar Washington, who averages 11.2 ppg, is the team’s assists leader (6.6 apg, 12th in the country). Ralph also leads in field-goal percentage (51.5) and blocks (14), and is seventh in the country in double-doubles with seven. The team is 54th in the country in rebounding (39.9 rpg). Pacific was predicted to finish 10th in the West Coast Conference this season in the preseason coaches’ poll. The team had an overall record of 6-26 last season, finishing ninth in the WCC with a league mark of 0-16. The Tigers, who have eight upperclassmen on its 15-man roster, is coached by Dave Smart, who is in his first season at the school. Smart is widely regarded as the most successful Canadian college basketball coach of all time and came to Pacific after serving as assistant coach at Texas Tech last season.

BROADCAST INFO: Saturday’s game will be streamed on BallerTV (subscription) with Tony Cordasco and Marty Bahar 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.

TICKETS: Tickets to Saturday’s games at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson may be purchased at LeesFamilyForum.com.

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.