UNLV Rebels guard Marvin Coleman (31) celebrates after a three-point basket by guard Jonah Antonio (10) during the second half against San Jose State at the Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV in Las Vegas Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2020. Also pictured are forward Donnie Tillman (2) and forward Cheikh Mbacke Diong (34).
Friday, Oct. 9, 2020 | 2 p.m.
The Mountain West released its 2020-21 basketball schedule on Friday, and while there are still some significant holes in UNLV’s slate — most of the non-conference dates have yet to be determined — we can draw some conclusions with tip-off of the college hoops season just over a month away.
Here’s what we know about UNLV’s schedule so far:
Starting with a bang
The only portion of the non-conference schedule that is locked in so far is the Maui Invitational, which will be played in Asheville, N.C., from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. UNLV will play three games as part of the tournament, with a first-round matchup against North Carolina.
The fact that Maui is still happening — albeit in relocated fashion — is a big break for UNLV. As college coaches around the country scramble to repopulate their non-con schedules, T.J. Otzelberger has three games against quality competition in his back pocket thanks to Asheville.
North Carolina is a perennial Top 10 caliber team, so if UNLV is serious about making the NCAA Tournament this year, they’ll get a chance to log an early quality win in the season’s opening week.
Early MWC showdown
The Mountain West doesn’t offer a ton of opportunities for quality wins, but UNLV will get one such chance on Jan. 2 when San Diego State comes to the Thomas & Mack Center.
That will be the second league game for UNLV, and it will be a big one for their NCAA Tournament resume – and make no mistake about it, UNLV should be contending for an at-large bid this season. San Diego State will likely come into this game with a Top 25 ranking, and if Otzelberger’s squad wants to impress the committee, they won’t get many better opportunities.
SDSU will also be playing for revenge, as UNLV derailed the No. 4 Aztecs’ run at a perfect season in 2019-20 by winning a thriller in San Diego. Expect this game to be a war.
On the road at Reno
UNLV’s first big road test will come Jan. 16 when they travel to Reno to take on UNR. Otzelberger will have taken his team away from Las Vegas several times by then — for the Asheville tourney, for a Dec. 29 game at Colorado State and for a Jan. 9 game at Air Force – but the rivalry game at UNR will be a challenge.
The return game will be Feb. 20 at the Thomas & Mack Center. UNR swept the season series last year, including an overtime win in Las Vegas; Otzelberger will be under some pressure to notch his first victory against the Wolf Pack.
Unbalanced breaks
Due to the Mountain West’s unbalanced schedule, UNLV will play home-and-home series with eight opponents, while the other two opponents will be standalone matchups. UNLV got a good draw this year, with single games at Colorado State and at home against San Jose State.
Colorado State should be decent to good, so playing them in Fort Collins will be a solid test. And if San Jose State is as bad as usual — probably a pretty sure bet – it’s better to only play them once and not let them drag down UNLV’s strength of schedule too much.
Save the dates
UNLV is trying to salvage as much of its original schedule as possible. When the first non-conference slate was announced, dates with UCLA, Cal, Kansas State and SMU looked to be important tentpole games; despite all the shuffling that has happened since then, UNLV is still holding out hope that those games can be rescheduled and played in 2020-21.
The NCAA is allowing teams to play 27 games this season; between UNLV’s 18 conference games and the three games in Asheville, that leaves six open slots. As of now, it looks like there’s a good chance most of those six opponents will be teams that were part of UNLV’s original non-conference slate.
UNLV’s Mountain West schedule:
Dec. 29 — at Colorado State
Jan. 2 — vs. San Diego State
Jan. 9 — at Air Force
Jan. 12 — vs. Boise State
Jan. 16 — at UNR
Jan. 19 — vs. Wyoming
Jan. 23 — vs. San Jose State
Jan. 26 — at Fresno State
Jan. 30 — vs. Utah State
Feb. 2 — at Boise State
Feb. 9 — vs. Fresno State
Feb. 13 — at New Mexico
Feb. 16 — at Utah State
Feb. 20 — vs. UNR
Feb. 23 — vs. Air Force
Feb. 27 — at San Diego State
Mar. 2 — vs. New Mexico
Mar. 6 — at Wyoming
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
