Rebels must dig way out of deep hole

It was two nights before Christmas when expectations for UNLV and sophomore forward Chris Wood started to soar. And then came the slump.

On the day before the Mountain West basketball tournament, reality hit. It actually hit a long time ago. But Wood shook his head when discussing how the Rebels ended up getting buried in the conference standings.

“A lot of injuries. We were a young team in the beginning, but I don’t think we can say that anymore,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot, but I still have faith in this team.”

Seventh-seeded UNLV (17-14, 8-10) faces 10th-seeded UNR (9-21, 5-13) in a first-round game at 2:30 p.m. today at the Thomas & Mack Center. The winner advances to play No. 2 seed San Diego State in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

“We’ve got to win or we go home,” said Cody Doolin, the Rebels’ senior point guard. “It’s coming to an end, so we have to play with a sense of urgency.”

The only way for UNLV to dig out of a hole this deep is to win four games in four days to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Rebels took a wrong turn shortly after Wood totaled 24 points and 10 rebounds in an upset of then-No. 3 Arizona on Dec. 23. UNLV went 2-6 in its next eight games.

When things were beginning to turn in a positive direction in mid-February, freshman guard Rashad Vaughn went down with a left knee injury. The Rebels finished the regular season 3-4 without their leading scorer.

Despite playing in only 11 league games, Vaughn was named Freshman of the Year in the coaches poll released Tuesday. He is doubtful to return this week. Freshman guard Patrick McCaw, who filled Vaughn’s role in the offense, has recovered from a concussion and returned to practice Monday and Tuesday after a one-game absence.

McCaw will play today against the Wolf Pack, losers of five of their past six games. The teams split two meetings, with UNR winning 64-62 on Jan. 7 in Las Vegas and UNLV winning 67-62 on Jan. 27 in Reno.

Wood was the star in Reno, recording 16 points and 11 rebounds and hitting a key 3-pointer to put the Rebels ahead by four with 1:40 remaining.

A year ago, the 6-foot-11-inch Wood was an awkward, wiry role player who averaged 4.5 points off the bench. Now, he is the league’s top NBA prospect. Wood was named All-Mountain West first team by the media and second team by the coaches.

“I was actually just thinking about it today. I came a long way,” said Wood, the No. 5 scorer (15.7 points per game) and No. 2 rebounder (10.3) in the 18-game conference season.

Wood and McCaw have led the team for the past month without Vaughn’s help. But Wood struggled to adapt to double-teams and physical contact as defenses played him differently after the Arizona game. He also had to deal with higher expectations.

“People expect a lot of things from me,” Wood said. “It’s kind of hard. People expected 30 (points) and 10 (rebounds) or 20 and 10 every game, and it’s not easy. Teams started doubling me and getting physical with me. I did get frustrated at the beginning. I didn’t know how to deal with it.”

And now he’s got to deal a third time with Wolf Pack junior forward AJ West, the nation’s leader in offensive rebounds. West finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds (10 offensive) in each game against the Rebels in January.

“It’s a phenomenal talent that he has,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said. “West is as good an offensive rebounder as I’ve ever seen in college.”

West is 6-9 with a strong lower body, good hands, sharp instincts and a desire to chase every rebound. West, similar to Wood, is at the top of the opponent’s scouting report.

“That guy is pretty big, he’s kind of a bruiser, and I think he’s from Brooklyn,” Wood said. “That’s one thing we have to do to win the game is keep AJ West off the glass.”

West is approaching this week with the same determination. In a comment to the Reno Gazette-Journal, he said, “I want to win the whole tournament.”

Wood shook off a question about the NBA Draft and possibly playing his final games for UNLV in this tournament.

“I haven’t thought anything like that,” he said. “If we take it one game at a time, I think we have a good chance of winning it. I think we can do it.”

■ NOTES — The 80th meeting between the Rebels and Wolf Pack is their first in a conference tournament. UNLV leads the all-time series 57-22. … The Rebels are 9-point favorites. The past four meetings were decided by margins of five, two, four and three points. … UNLV freshman forward Goodluck Okonoboh was named to the league’s All-Defensive Team by the coaches.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.