Runnin’ Rebels Travel To Wyoming For Saturday Afternoon Game

The UNLV men’s basketball team will travel to Laramie, Wyoming, to play at Wyoming on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT. The game at Arena-Auditorium will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and ESPN Radio Las Vegas.

The Runnin’ Rebels (11-12, 5-7) will be looking to end a five-game losing streak. The first four games during that stretch were decided by a combined 15 points, with the latest setback coming at home to Boise State, 71-62. The Cowboys (11-12, 4-8) have lost two straight games and three of their last four.

UNLV has two players averaging double figures in scoring: Dedan Thomas Jr. with 16.2 points per game (7th in MW) and Jaden Henley with 11.3 ppg. Jailen Bedford, Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry. Julian Rishwain and Jalen Hill are all averaging between 9.6 ppg and 8.1 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 5.2 rpg and blocks with 1.4 bpg (4th in MW), while Thomas Jr. is the team’s assist leader with 4.7 apg (3rd in MW) and Rishwain leads in steals with 1.5 spg.

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 69-52 (.570).

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 Tuesday’s loss to Boise State, three Runnin’ Rebels scored in double figures, led by Dedan Thomas Jr.’s 20 points and Bear Cherry’s 19. Julian Rishwain grabbed a career-high nine rebounds with four assists. At the end of the first half, which included six lead changes and five ties, Boise State led 33-29. The Broncos scored the first nine points of the second half to go up 42-29 with 16 minutes left. UNLV used a 6-0 run, ignited by its defense, to trim Boise State’s lead to 56-52 with 4:57 to play. The run was made up of three straight steals, leading to three straight dunks. The Broncos, however, pushed their lead back to nine with 1:26 to play. UNLV shot just 1 of 16 on 3-pointers, including 0 of 9 in the second half..

ABOUT WYOMING: The Cowboys have lost two straight and three of their last four games. Wyoming’s last four consist of a road loss at San Jose State (67-58), a home win over Fresno State in overtime (83-72), a road loss at San Diego State (63-61) and a home loss to Utah State (71-67). Wyoming is 7-4 in home games this season. The Cowboys are led in scoring by Obi Agbim, who is averaging 17.8 ppg (2nd in MW). Jordan Nesbitt is the team’s leading rebounder with 7.3 rebounds per game (4th in MW), while Agbim leads in assists with 3.6 apg, field-goal percentage (.492, 7th in MW) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.458, 1st in MW). Wyoming was predicted to finish ninth in the Mountain West this season in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Cowboys had an overall record of 15-17 last season, finishing eighth in the MW with a league mark of 8-10. UW has 10 upperclassmen on its 16-man roster. Head coach Sundance Wicks is in his first season at Wyoming and fourth overall as a collegiate head coach. He was at Green Bay during the 2023-24 season and at Missouri Western from 2018-20. He has a career record of 59-58 (.504).

LAST TIME VS. WYOMING: In the season’s first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 21, which Wyoming won 63-61 in Las Vegas, four Runnin’ Rebels scored in double figures, led by Dedan Thomas Jr.’s 17 points and four assists. Jaden Henley added 15 points, while Bear Cherry contributed 10 points with nine rebounds and three blocks, and Jalen Hill also scored 10. Wyoming made 14 3-pointers for the game, shooting 9 of 14 (64.3%) from deep in the second half. Trailing by 10 points with less than a minute to play (63-53), UNLV stormed back with an 8-0 run but a Thomas Jr. baseline fadeaway that would have sent the game to overtime bounced off the rim as time expired. Wyoming used a 14-4 run over about six minutes to turn a one-point deficit with 12 minutes to play into a nine-point lead with under six to go. Wyoming led by as many as 11 with 2:30 to play.

BROADCAST INFO: Saturday’s game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network with Ryan Mix and Brian Burton 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 390. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.