UNLV Rebels forward Rob Whaley Jr. (5) celebrates a play against the Utah State Aggies during the first half of a NCAA basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024.
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 | 2 a.m.
- What:
UNLV vs. No. 21 San Diego State - When:
Tuesday, 8 p.m. - Where:
Thomas and Mack Center - TV:
CBS Sports Network - Radio:
1100AM, 100.9FM
If UNLV wants to announce itself as a legitimate contender heading into the Mountain West tournament, there would be no better way to do it than by beating No. 21 San Diego State tonight (8 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
The Aztecs come in with an 11-5 record in conference play that is identical to UNLV’s, and a less-than-impressive 5-7 mark on the road. The Scarlet and Gray, meanwhile, have won four straight and nine of their last 10, so if Kevin Kruger is going to land his first win over San Diego State, this might be the time.
Three keys to watch:
Rock fight
Twice during his meeting with the media Monday, Kruger referred to the upcoming game as a “rock fight,” meaning he expects an ugly, defensive-minded affair in which every possession is bled dry. That is San Diego State’s default style; is UNLV up for the challenge of beating them at their own game?
UNLV has pushed around just about everyone in the Mountain West at this point. Now, it’s time to see if their brand of bully ball can work against the league’s rock-fight standard bearer.
“We know it’s going to be a rock fight in one direction,” Kruger said. “We’ve got to make it as much of a rock fight in both directions as we can.”
In the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 6, San Diego State out-rebounded UNLV, 38-28, and attempted 30 free throws to UNLV’s 12. Not surprisingly, the Aztecs won that game easily, 72-61.
UNLV has played better since then, and appears to be peaking at the right time. In Saturday’s win over San Jose State, the Scarlet and Gray battered their opponent on the glass, 44-28, and took 24 free throws to their 13.
That’s the kind of strong, aggressive approach it’s going to take to wrestle with San Diego State.
“We’ve got to be locked in from start to finish of each possession,” Kruger said. “San Diego State has been really good for a long time. At the end of the day, if you want to have a chance to beat them you’ve got to fight and compete like crazy.”
Whaley impact
If there was one player who came out of the first San Diego State game looking good, it was junior forward Rob Whaley. He tallied six points, five rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes off the bench, but most importantly, he appeared to be the only player capable of offering any defensive resistance against Aztecs center Jaedon LeDee.
Listed at 6-foot-7, 260 pounds, Whaley has emerged as a key frontcourt starter for UNLV since then.
“He has given us a level of physicality that we need,” Kruger said of Whaley. “He’s had a really good year.”
In the first meeting, Whaley had the advantage of not being on the scouting report. LeDee and the Aztecs will be more prepared this time around, but Whaley is embracing the physical challenge of defending one of the Mountain West’s most rugged interior scorers.
“In that game I kind of played him straight up, 1-on-1, and there just was a lot of physicality,” Whaley said. “He’s a strong dude. He’s just going to go hit you and try to lay it up. That plays to my favor because I’m a physical guy. There’s not a lot of guys that are stronger than me, so it plays to my favor.”
Standings watch
UNLV clinched a top-five finish and a bye in the Mountain West tournament by virtue of its win over San Jose State, so Kruger’s crew is kind of playing with house money over the next two games.
San Diego State and UNLV (and Saturday’s opponent, UNR) are tied for third in the league standings at 11-5; a loss would probably relegate UNLV to the 4/5 game on Thursday (against an NCAA Tournament-caliber team), while a win could keep them alive for the No. 3 or even the No. 2 seed (and a more favorable quarterfinal matchup).
Who: UNLV (18-10, 11-5 MWC) vs. San Diego State (22-7, 11-5 MWC)
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
Where: Thomas & Mack Center
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 1100 AM, 100.9 FM
UNLV leaders
Scoring
D.J. Thomas: 13.0 points
Rebounds
Luis Rodriguez: 6.6 rebounds
Assists
D.J. Thomas: 5.4 assists
San Diego State leaders
Scoring
Jaedon LeDee: 20.8 points
Rebounds
Jaedon LeDee: 8.4 rebounds
Assists
Darrion Trammell: 3.0 assists
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
