UNLV faces tall task in MW tourney, starting with Air Force

It’s difficult to find an area where UNLV has been consistent in a tumultuous season that included a lengthy COVID pause and several late-game meltdowns.

If there has been one thing the team can count on, it’s opponents making more than their fair share of 3-pointers against the Rebels.

“It’s the same things that keep happening. I feel like it’s the definition of insanity,” UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said Tuesday of his team’s struggles to guard the perimeter. “It’s been something we’ve tried to continue to hammer home with film, with talk, with breakdowns, with practice, and it’s something we need to demonstrate the ability to do.”

It has certainly been a part of the preparation this week as the seventh-seeded Rebels get set to open Mountain West tournament play against No. 10 Air Force at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The winner of the first-round game will play second-seeded Utah State in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

The Falcons are historically a strong 3-point shooting team, but sit in the middle of the pack nationally in both makes, attempts and percentage this season. That didn’t stop them from making 24 of 52 in a pair of losses to UNLV in Las Vegas last month, including 15 makes in the first meeting.

Otzelberger said pressuring the ball so passers have difficulty placing the ball for shooters and thus allowing time for closeouts to reach the perimeter will be a big key to cutting down that percentage, but these are things his staff has been preaching all season.

The onus is on the players to put it into practice for a full 40 minutes on Wednesday.

“We respect them enough to know if they come in and shoot the ball as well as they have, they’re going to be in a position to win,” Otzelberger said. “So we have to control our fate that way and not just hope they miss.”

The watch-and-pray strategy hasn’t worked much this season. UNLV is allowing opponents to shoot 37.3 percent from beyond the arc, 320th out of 340 teams in the nation.

They are coming off an ugly loss in the season finale in Wyoming, where the Cowboys knocked down 10 of 20 3-pointers.

Now they must put the defensive lapses behind them and find a way to win four games in four days to salvage the season with a conference title and the accompanying automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Of course, the Rebels have to win their first one before they can even think about an extended run. Otzelberger doesn’t believe his team has shown the kind of consistency required to do so, but there have been glimpses of the kind of success of which the team is capable.

UNLV has been on the right side of the win probability chart in the final two minutes of games on several occasions only to find ways to lose.

“We’re not a very mature team and that’s something I’ve been very candid about,” Otzelberger said.

He does believe his team will enter with a sense of urgency. The Rebels have no choice with their season on the line.

“The guys understand this is coming to a close,” he said. “We’ve talked about knowing where we’re at right now. But at the same time, somebody from this league is going to get an automatic bid based on winning three or four games.

“We are on our court, even though it doesn’t have the logos and signage, But it’s a chance for us to play our best basketball and try to take that step and build some momentum even though it’s towards the end.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.