After an 80-58 loss to No. 25 Mississippi State in their opening game in the Arizona Tip-off tournament, The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (4-2) are looking to get a win against the Northwestern Wildcats (5-2).
The Wildcats are clawing their way back as they bounce back from a close overtime 71-69 battle against the Butler Bulldogs. In their loss, the Wildcats were led by senior guard Brooks Barnhizer who scored 24 points, while graduate student guard Matthew Nicholson scored 14 and went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line, which is a career-best for him. The Wildcats are a scrappy bunch who can make this game close. Their total point average in their first five games is 73.6.
The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels are also looking to leave this tournament on a winning note. The Runnin’ Rebels are missing a few important pieces to their puzzle in their top rebounder, forward Jeremiah Cherry, who left early in the second half of the Mississippi State game with a back injury, and they are also without the help of Jaden Henley, who is suffering from a foot injury, Rob Whaley Jr., who has a lower back injury and Jace Whiting with an undisclosed injury. The Runnin’ Rebels are forced to continue to rely on the play of sophomore guard Dedan Thomas, Jr. Thomas leads the Runnin’ Rebels in scoring this season averaging 16.5 points per game. For them to win, the Runnin’ Rebels need to reduce their turnovers. In the loss against Mississippi State, they turned the ball over 15 times, which is a season-high for them.
After the Mississippi State loss, coach Kevin Kruger said, “We have to figure it out. There’s a fun approach to that too. It doesn’t have to be doom and gloom.” For the Runnin’ Rebels to end this tournament on a high note, they need to turn up the intensity defensively against the Wildcats and keep making baskets.
UNLV will face off against the Wildcats on Friday, November 29th at 5 p.m. MST/4 p.m. PST. The game will be available on CBS Sports Network and heard on ESPN Radio 1100 AM in Las Vegas.
