UNLV Rebels guard Justin Webster (2) takes teh ball upcourt during the second half of an exhibition game against the Carroll Fighting Saints at the Thomas & Mack Center Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. STEVE MARCUS
Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 | 2 a.m.
UNLV basketball dropped its first conference game over the weekend, but Kevin Kruger’s crew will look to bounce back on Tuesday when Mountain West rival New Mexico visits the Thomas & Mack Center (7 p.m., FS1).
Three keys to watch:
Hill out for season
For most of the first half of Saturday’s game at San Diego State, Jalen Hill looked like the impact player UNLV thought it was getting this offseason. The senior forward scored off the dribble, rebounded and provided some physicality on defense.
Then, late in the half, he collided with an SDSU player and collapsed. Hill left the court and returned wearing a knee brace, using crutches to get around.
Kruger did not offer an update on Hill’s status at practice on Monday, but later in the day UNLV announced the inevitable: Hill is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
UNLV has plenty of reps without Hill, as he missed the previous six games due to a hand injury, but it’s still a big loss.
Senior guard Justin Webster said Hill’s contributions will be missed in a bunch of different areas.
“Losing Jalen is big,” Webster said. “He impacted everything. Defensively, rebounding, he’s a big piece of what we have, so losing him is tough.”
New Mexico backcourt
In a college basketball world where rosters change every five minutes, it seems like New Mexico has sported the same backcourt forever.
For the third straight year, it will be Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. handling the ball when the Lobos come into the Thomas & Mack Center, and this time around they’re joined by sophomore Donovan Dent, who is actually the leading scorer at 16.6 points per game.
UNLV senior guard Justin Webster has been lining up against his UNM counterparts for three years now, and he knows how difficult — and important — it will be to keep them from running wild.
“They’re very fast,” Webster said. “If you let them get their rhythm, they can be very hard to guard. Our plan is to take them out of their rhythm, slow them down a little bit, take away their transition.”
Ball security
UNLV might have had a chance to win at San Diego State on Saturday if they had only taken care of the ball. That’s an admittedly tough task against the Aztecs’ aggressive defense, but 14 turnovers was just too many.
With House ready to pressure UNLV’s ballhandlers the length of the court, ball security is going to be in the spotlight again on Tuesday.
“We’ve got to get good looks,” Kruger said. “Good, quality looks. We’ve got to make people guard.”
Who: UNLV (7-6, 0-1 MWC) vs. New Mexico (13-2, 1-1 MWC)
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Thomas & Mack Center
TV: FS1
Radio: 1100 AM, 100.9 FM
UNLV leaders
Scoring
Luis Rodriguez: 12.5 points
Rebounds
Keylan Boone: 7.7 rebounds
Assists
D.J. Thomas: 6.2 assists
New Mexico leaders
Scoring
Donovan Dent: 16.6 points
Rebounds
JT Toppin: 7.7 rebounds
Assists
Donovan Dent: 6.2 assists
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
