UNLV Rebels guard Marvin Coleman (31) takes the ball toward the basket during the Rebels’ season opener against Montana State at the Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020.
Published Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021 | 1 p.m.
Updated 27 minutes ago
Hot-shooting UNLV jumped out to a 15-point lead in the opening minutes, and with 10:39 left in the first half the scarlet and gray have a 22-12 lead over New Mexico.
David Jenkins and Caleb Grill drilled back-to-back 3’s to make it 7-2 early, and freshman wing Nick Blake just pulled up from the top of the arc to add another triple.
The UNLV defense has been strong as well; they’ve harassed UNM’s weak ball-handlers and forced four turnovers on the Lobos’ first 10 possessions.
Marvin Coleman out for season
Just minutes after our last blog update, UNLV announced that Marvin Coleman will miss the rest of the season due to a stress fracture in his right leg.
That’s a big blow for UNLV, which has few options to replace him as a “true” point guard. Coleman averaged 6.7 points and 4.0 assists this season; junior wing Bryce Hamilton is averaging 3.3 assists, and freshman Nick Blake is next at 2.0 assists.
Look for T.J. Otzelberger to play Blake extended minutes in an attempt to get more playmaking on the floor. Blake is averaging 6.0 points in 16.1 minutes.
Marvin Coleman out vs. New Mexico
So much for Marvin Coleman being an impact player today. The junior point guard, who has been battling through leg injuries for much of the year, is out for today’s game.
UNLV is on the court going through pregame warmups at the moment, and Coleman is not in uniform. He is wearing a mask and rebounding/distributing for the active players, but it looks like UNLV will have to do without their most experienced playmaker when they tip off against New Mexico.
Coleman missed both of UNLV’s games at Colorado State last week, but returned to play 21 minutes off the bench against St. Katherine. He looked spry in that game, notching six points and six assists, but it appears his injury issues are not in the rearview mirror just yet.
Without Coleman in the lineup against Colorado State, T.J. Otzelberger started shooting guard David Jenkins at the point and split most of the ball-handling duties between Jenkins and swingman Bryce Hamilton. Freshman Donavan Yap has some point guard skills but has yet to see any meaningful minutes yet this season.
Three keys for UNLV basketball vs. New Mexico
UNLV resumes Mountain West play by welcoming New Mexico to the Thomas & Mack Center this afternoon (and again on Monday evening). Three keys to watch as UNLV (2-6, 0-2 MWC) attempts to pick up its first conference win of the year:
Pack the paint
New Mexico has been a bombs-away team under coach Paul Weir, but this season the Lobos have been eschewing the 3-point shot in favor of getting inside the arc. According to Hoop-Math, only 27.1 percent of UNM’s shots have come from beyond the 3-point line, ranking them 337th in the nation.
Lobos’ top scorer Maluach Makuach (13.6 points per game) is a mid-range player, while forward Rod Brown (9.0 points) is operates strictly in the paint. It shouldn’t be too difficult for UNLV to sag defensively, pack the paint and limit their room to operate.
Box out
Of course, because New Mexico plays big and focuses on interior scoring, they are tough to keep off the glass. For the season UNM ranks ninth in the nation in offensive rebounding (14.7 per game), with Brown and forward Bayron Matos combining for 5.0 offensive boards per contest.
T.J. Otzelberger generally wants to downsize and play small and fast, but look for him to lean on his big men a little more in this series. That could mean more extended minutes for lineups that include both center Mbacke Diong and forward Edoardo Del Cadia, the only true big men in the rotation.
Get Marvin going
Marvin Coleman is a certified Lobo killer. Last year he led UNLV to a season sweep of UNM, first by posting a triple-double (11 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) and then by scoring 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the return game, so don’t be surprised if he goes off in this series.
And that would be a good thing for UNLV. Coleman has battled leg injuries this season, and after missing the Colorado State series he looked to have a bit of spring in his step while posting six points and six assists in 21 minutes against St. Katherine. Let’s see if he can take another step in the right direction against his favorite opponent.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
