UNLV forward Kalib Boone (10) looks to the basket against San Jose State guard Latrell Davis (6) during the second half of an NCAA basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center Saturday, March 2, 2024.
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 | 4:32 p.m.
Being down a starter heading into an elimination game is not ideal. Being down a starting big man heading into an elimination game against the toughest, most physical opponent in the conference is especially unenviable, but that’s the situation Kevin Kruger’s squad finds itself facing.
Senior center Kalib Boone did not practice Wednesday due to an ankle injury, and Kruger said he is “not likely” to play in Thursday’s Mountain West quarterfinal matchup against San Diego State. That’s a substantial blow to the Scarlet and Gray, who went 12-6 in conference play by using their bigs to bully smaller opponents.
Kruger left the door open for a miracle recovery, but did not sound all that hopeful.
“We’ll see. It’s not likely at this point,” Kruger said when asked about Boone’s status. “We’ll see how he’s feeling tomorrow.”
Boone suffered the injury in the first half of Saturday’s season finale at UNR. He attempted to play through it, but the combination of his ankle and foul trouble limited him to four points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.
Boone, a fifth-year senior, transferred to UNLV in the offseason and has emerged as a productive post threat, averaging 11.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He has made an efficient 57.9% of his shots from the field, often prompting opposing coaches to dedicate double-teams to stopping him down low.
Kruger said there is no set contingency plan if Boone can’t go Thursday, noting that there hasn’t been enough time to practice playing without him.
“At this point in the season, you don’t get any live 5-on-5, of course, so it’s something we’ll have to do by committee and figure out,” Kruger said.
In a 62-58 win over San Diego State on March 5, Boone logged 30 minutes and put up six points, six rebounds and three blocks. One of those rejections came on the game’s final defensive play, when he swatted a potential go-ahead 3-point attempt by Micah Parrish with seconds on the clock.
Backup center Karl Jones gave the team some positive production in that game, going for five points, six rebounds and two blocks in 10 minutes.
Junior forward Rob Whaley, who could end up playing a lot of the center minutes in a smaller lineup, said he’s confident the roster is deep enough to make up for Boone’s absence.
“We have trust in our guys on the bench, guys like Shane [Nowell], [Isaiah Cottrell], Karl,” he said. “And those guys will come in, step up and play big.”
Who: No. 4 UNLV (19-11, 12-6 MWC) vs. No. 5 San Diego State (22-9, 11-7 MWC)
When: Thursday, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Thomas & Mack Center
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 1100 AM, 100.9 FM
UNLV leaders
Scoring
D.J. Thomas: 13.6 points
Rebounds
Luis Rodriguez: 6.6 rebounds
Assists
D.J. Thomas: 5.2 assists
San Diego State leaders
Scoring
Jaedon LeDee: 20.5 points
Rebounds
Jaedon LeDee: 8.2 rebounds
Assists
Darrion Trammell: 3.2 assists
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
