RUNNIN’ REBELS TO TRAVEL TO THE PIT FOR SATURDAY NIGHT GAME
UNLV men’s basketball team to take on No. 21 New Mexico at 6:30 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network
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The UNLV men’s basketball team (11-3, 0-2) will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to face No. 21 New Mexico (14-1, 2-1) at The Pit on Saturday, January 7 at 7:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. PT.
LAST TIME OUT: UNLV’s last game was last Saturday on New Year’s Eve at home against San Diego State, a 76-67 loss. Luis Rodriguez scored a career- and game-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers, with a team-high-tying six rebounds, while EJ Harkless added 18 points with a season-high eight assists, and Justin Webster contributed 10 points on three 3-pointers. UNLV forced SDSU into 22 turnovers, which is the Aztecs’ season high.
ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season’s UNLV squad features six returners, nine newcomers, including six transfers from the Division I level, and a total of 10 upperclassmen. The lone returning starter is 6-foot guard Jordan McCabe, who was a senior last season and returns for his fifth year for 2022-23. Other returners include 6-3 senior guard Justin Webster, 6-10 senior center David Muoka, 6-4 sophomore guard Keshon Gilbert, 6-7 senior forward Victor Iwuakor and 6-3 senior guard Cameron Burist.
The newcomers include 6-10 redshirt sophomore forward Isaiah Cottrell, who is originally from Las Vegas and transferred to UNLV from West Virginia, 6-7 freshman guard Keyshawn Hall from Cleveland, Ohio, 6-3 fifth-year guard EJ Harkless, who transferred from Oklahoma, 5-11 sophomore guard Jackie Johnson III, who transferred from Duquesne, 6-10 junior forward Karl Jones, who transferred from LA Southwest College, 6-6 sophomore guard Shane Nowell, who transferred from Arizona, 6-4 fifth-year guard Elijah Parquet, who transferred from Colorado, 6-6 senior guard Luis Rodriguez, who transferred from Ole Miss and 6-1 junior guard Nick Walters, who transferred from the College of Southern Nevada.
After 14 contests, Harkless leads the team in scoring with 16.0 ppg (5th in MW) and is contributing 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists (10th in MW) and 1.6 steals per game (6th in MW). Rodriguez is second on the team in scoring with 13.1 ppg, while leading the team in both rebounding (5.9 rpg, 9th in MW) and steals (2.4 spg, 2nd in MW, 16th in the country). Gilbert is also averaging double figures in scoring at 13.1 ppg with a team-leading 3.7 apg (8th in MW) and 2.1 spg (3rd in MW). David Muoka is second on the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and leads the squad in blocks with 1.5 bpg.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: New Mexico was the nation’s lone unbeaten team before dropping its last game at Fresno State (71-67) on Tuesday night. The Lobos started off MW play with a home win over Colorado State (88-69) and a road victory at Wyoming (76-75). UNM has three players averaging in double figures in scoring: Jamal Mashburn Jr. (17.5 ppg), Jaelen House (17.0 ppg, 3rd in MW) and Morris Udeze (15.9 ppg, 6th in MW). Josia Allick leads in rebounding (8.0 rpg, 2nd in MW), followed by Udeze (7.5 rpg, 4th in MW). House leads in assists (5.0 apg, 1st in MW) and steals (2.9 spg, 1st in MW, 3rd in NCAA). New Mexico ranks fifth in the country in fastbreak points (18.07 per game), seventh in free throws made per game (18.7) and ninth in free throw attempts per game (25.5). The Lobos are 17th in the country in socring at 83.0 ppg. UNM finished the 2021-22 season with an overall record of 13-19, finishing ninth in the MW’s standings with a 5-12 league mark. This season’s team was picked to finish fifth out of 11 in the MW’s preseason poll with Mashburn Jr. being selected to the preseason all-conference team. The Lobos’ 14-man roster includes eight upperclassmen. UNM is coached by Richard Pitino, who is in his second year at the school with a record of 27-20 (.575) and is in his 11th year overall as a collegiate head coach with a career mark of 186-157 (.542).
BROADCAST INFO: Saturday’s game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network with Chris Lewis and Pete Gillen calling the action. Jon Sandler, former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry and Steve Cofield (sidelines) will handle the UNLV radio call, which may be heard live on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas. All streaming links and live stats will be available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.