This UNLV basketball team could not handle prosperity
Maybe the side that should have been worried Thursday night was UNLV’s basketball team.
It led at halftime.
Uh-oh.
It’s all relative, of course. Each game is different. The flow and rhythm and pace.
One night is never the same as another.
But trends develop over time, ones that can eventually paint a picture of something amiss.
UNLV and the first five minutes of a second half.
Amiss with a capital A.
An issue that has tormented the Rebels for most of the Mountain West season did them in again Thursday, when UNLV emerged from its locker room at intermission and summarily opened the door for San Diego State not only to walk through but also grab all momentum the Rebels spent 20 minutes building.
In the end, the Aztecs beat UNLV 67-64 in a league tournament quarterfinal at the Thomas & Mack Center, thus ending the Rebels’ long shot hopes of winning four games in four days to claim an NCAA Tournament berth.
It’s now all about the College Basketball Invitational.
More on the CBI later, beginning with what in the world it is and why in the world UNLV wants to play in it.
It was Jan. 17 in San Diego, and the Rebels had a seven-point halftime advantage against the Aztecs, a game UNLV would lose by six. It also would begin a stretch of 16 straight games in which UNLV led at intermission.
It went 8-8 in those 16.
The final defeat came Thursday, when San Diego State opened the second half with a 12-0 run to erase a six-point deficit.
“The bottom line is, we’re disappointed we came up short,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said. “It’s frustrating, because we wanted to win this game very badly. We have to evaluate and certainly figure out (what happens to begin the second half of games).”
There is much to figure out.
Consider: In their final 16 games, the Rebels were minus-50 on the scoreboard in the first five minutes of the second half.
That’s a serious trend.
That’s a major problem.
It’s true that the average halftime lead in those eight losses was 3.6 points, no more than a 3-pointer and free throw for an opponent to overcome, which means it was probably more a mental than physical issue for the Rebels.
UNLV isn’t the smartest team anyway, but definitely hasn’t proven to be all that bright after receiving halftime instructions, whatever those happen to be on a given night.
The Rebels missed two midrange jumpers, a layup, four free throws and three 3-point attempts to open the second half Thursday.
They panicked as the margin shrunk, began taking ill-advised shots, quickly went away from an inside presence that late in the first half had outscored San Diego State 18-2 and played directly into the hands of a much deeper team that turned UNLV’s miscues into easy points at the other end.
“(San Diego State) can really squeeze you defensively,” UNLV point guard Cody Doolin said. “You can go four, five, six possessions without scoring against them. They did a great job. They took advantage. You have to give them credit. They played well enough to win, and we didn’t.
“They’re really disciplined on the defensive end. That’s their bread and butter. It took us five to seven minutes to really get in the rhythm offensively we had in the first half.”
It’s all San Diego State needed.
The Rebels didn’t go away, fighting and clawing and refusing to make things easy for a rival to which it has lost six straight. UNLV just didn’t have enough gas left in the tank, enough answers for a better team in San Diego State, one that on Thursday became the first Division I side in 14 years to win four games in an opponent’s arena in a two-year period.
The Rebels led San Diego State at halftime of all three games this season.
Oh-for-3.
Now what?
Rice said his players are not in favor of handing in their uniforms, or perhaps competing in the 16-team CBI, a lower-tier (really low) event that began in 2008, is played on the home court of participating teams and offers a best-of-3 championship round.
If the NCAA Tournament is the gold standard and the National Invitation Tournament a silver consolation prize, the CBI is like a plastic utensil set when talking national perception.
But in the mind of UNLV’s coach, it would allow for more practice time and an opportunity for his seniors to compete a little longer.
“We have guys in our program that love to play,” Rice said. “I think every year is unique. When you have a number of new players, there is value in giving them postseason experience. Some years, when you have all seniors, it might be a situation where maybe it’s not the best thing. Our guys seem excited about the chance to continue playing.”
Look at this way: More games, more halftime leads, more time to discover what is amiss.
Minus-50.
Something is.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on “Gridlock,” ESPN 1100 and 100.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney
