Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
UNLV Rebels (11-3) vs. New Mexico Lobos (14-1)
The UNLV Rebels head to Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday night to square off against the New Mexico Lobos in the Mountain West Conference showdown at The Pit, and the tip-off is set for 9:30 PM ET.
The Rebels have won seven of their last eight contests against the Lobos, but UNLV opens as a 4.5-point road underdog for Saturday’s clash. The totals are listed at 151.0 points, and the under has hit in five straight encounters between the Rebels and Lobos.
After winning their first ten games of the season, the UNLV Rebels (11-3; 7-6 ATS; 0-2 conf.) suffered a 75-73 defeat against San Francisco on December 17. Since then, the Rebels have beaten Southern Miss 74-63 while losing against San Jose State 75-72 in overtime and San Diego State 76-67. UNLV started the conference play as a 5-point road fave over the Spartans and failed to cover a 4-point spread against the Aztecs at home.
The Rebels hosted SDSU on the last day of December and couldn’t cope with the Aztecs’ sturdy defense. UNLV made only 36.7% of its field goals (10-for-36 from deep) and posted a 15/15 assist-to-turnover ratio. Senior guard Luis Rodriguez led the way for the Rebels with 24 points and six rebounds, while fellow senior G Elijah Harkless notched 18 points and eight assists. This duo tallies 29.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in 2022-23.
. @Lurodgotgame drills it from downtown pic.twitter.com/4B8JPA6d0r
— UNLV Men's Basketball (@TheRunninRebels) December 31, 2022
UNLV is No. 65 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 79 in the KenPom rankings. The Rebels rely on their aggressive defense, allowing 94.4 points per 100 possessions (46th in the country) on 40.2% shooting from the field (57th). They surrender just 14.0 two-pointers per game (15th) while forcing a whopping 20.7 turnovers (2nd). The Rebels score 104.2 points per 100 possessions (133rd) on 44.3% shooting from the field (200th).