Roles switch for UNLV, Louisville

“It worked out perfectly,” the UNLV guard said after describing the driving bank shot he hit with 16 seconds remaining in a 56-55 upset of Louisville in 2008.

Bellfield, now a junior, and the 20th-ranked Rebels (9-0) return to face the 24th-ranked Cardinals (7-0) at 9 a.m. today in a hyped battle between teams with perfect records. Only 16 unbeaten teams remain in Division I.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino is supplying most of the hype, saying that only No. 1 Duke might be playing at a higher level than UNLV.

“Of all the teams I have seen this year,” Pitino said, “there is none better than UNLV.”

Pitino’s players and the local media are buying the line. A story in the Louisville Courier-Journal called the Rebels the “measuring stick” for Pitino’s team, and Cardinals senior guard Preston Knowles said he’s preparing to face “a great team.”

UNLV coach Lon Kruger, chuckling at Pitino’s praise, said, “It’s nice in a respectful way, but you better get ready because they’re going to bring everything they got.

“The talk is this game will kind of give them a barometer as to where they are, and I think they really have pointed to this.”

The roles were reversed two years ago. The Rebels, minus injured leading scorer Wink Adams, slipped in quietly as 13-point underdogs and proved a point by stunning the Cardinals on Bellfield’s shot.

UNLV upended Louisville again last year, 76-71 in Las Vegas, as Bellfield scored 17 points.

Based on Pitino’s comments, the Rebels should be considered the favorites today. In reality, UNLV is a 3½-point underdog. Bellfield said he’s certain the Cardinals are hungry for revenge.

“It will be a real challenge for us,” Bellfield said. “We have some people who think that we’re the underdogs or probably want us to lose or think we’re going to lose. I know we’re all anxious to play.”

The Rebels have won six consecutive games away from their home court, but no environment was as hostile as what they will encounter in front of about 22,000 fans in the KFC Yum! Center, the Cardinals’ new home that replaced Freedom Hall this season.

Louisville has yet to play a road game, as Pitino set up a light early schedule for a young team picked to finish seventh in the 16-team Big East Conference.

Kruger is not concerned as much about the early tip-off time or the venue as he is the Cardinals’ talent level and full-court trapping defense.

“We practice every Friday morning at 10 o’clock, so there’s not much difference. We won’t think about that a lot,” Kruger said. “We’ll go in there in expecting a really tough road environment.

“They are athletic, and they come at you really aggressively. I think they are wanting to push it, and we’re wanting to push it.”

As with all Pitino teams, Louisville plays at a fast pace and launches 3-point shots in bunches. The Cardinals have averaged 83.7 points per game and attempted an average of 26.7 3-pointers per game this season.

All of the Cardinals’ starters average from 9.7 to 11.6 points per game, and forwards Terrence Jennings and Rakeem Buckles will pose threats to Rebels big men Quintrell Thomas, Brice Massamba and Carlos Lopez.

Junior forward Chace Stanback and UNLV’s veteran guards — Bellfield and seniors Derrick Jasper and Tre’Von Willis — must handle Louisville’s pressure defense and shoot a high percentage to repeat the upset of two years ago.

Both teams won tuneups Wednesday night. The Cardinals defeated San Francisco, 61-35. The Rebels blew most of a 22-point lead in a 75-72 victory over Boise State.

“It felt in some ways like a loss because it was disheartening the way we finished the game,” Kruger said. “But if you can win and learn, that’s a good combination.”

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