Kansas State gets Rebels’ attention

Final exams required most of UNLV sophomore Oscar Bellfield's attention this week. When his mind shifts to basketball, all of his thoughts revolve around Kansas State.

"This is going to be one of our toughest games, so we're just focusing on that," Bellfield said.

The 18th-ranked Rebels (7-0) return to action against Kansas State (8-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Orleans Arena, where coach Lon Kruger is having practices this week to get his team acclimated to the surroundings.

UNLV has picked up quality wins against Louisville, Arizona, Southern Illinois and UNR, but Kruger expects Kansas State to present an even greater test.

"It will be the best team we've played, I think, without question," Kruger said. "I do feel that way. When you watch Kansas State on tape, they quickly get your attention. They are very physical and very talented."

Kruger's message has been received by Bellfield and his teammates. When asked what opponents are on the Rebels' schedule next week, Bellfield drew a blank.

"I probably could make a wild guess, but I don't know," he said.

UNLV plays at Southern Utah on Tuesday before hosting Weber State on Dec. 17 and South Carolina-Upstate on Dec. 19. So there's obviously no reason for the Rebels to look too far ahead.

For the first time since the 1990-91 season, UNLV has started 7-0. Kansas State represents the biggest threat to the Rebels in their final seven nonconference games.

The Wildcats flexed their muscles Tuesday in a 71-56 victory over Xavier.

"Even though they're not ranked, I don't even pay attention to that," junior forward Matt Shaw said. "I know they definitely have the caliber of players to be ranked."

Shaw made 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch in UNLV's 66-63 victory at Santa Clara on Saturday. Shaw's strength inside will be tested by Kansas State, which pulled down 14 offensive rebounds against Xavier.

Shaw, sophomore center Brice Massamba and senior forward Darris Santee combined for just four rebounds against Santa Clara, a smaller team that beat the Rebels 42-28 in the rebounding battle.

"We have to rebound. There's no doubt in my mind that we have to control the glass," Shaw said. "We work every day on getting better at blocking out. We know if we give them a lot of second chances then it's going to be tough. We realize it's going to be a big challenge."

The Wildcats' leading scorers are veteran guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. The interior toughness of 6-foot-8-inch Curtis Kelly, 6-7 Jamar Samuels, 6-5 Dominique Sutton and 6-9 Wally Judge concerns Kruger.

"They're a very physical team, and they will come in and try to knock us around a little bit," Kruger said. "They've got more depth inside.

"We went into the year with rebounding being a potential concern, and up until the first half at Santa Clara we had won most of the battles. Kansas State has got our full attention."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.