UNLV, Marvin Menzies embrace change in style ahead of UNR game

The biggest knock on Marvin Menzies was he coached a style of basketball that went the way of video-rental stores the moment the Golden State Warriors and their emphasis on winning from the outside with positionless players began to capture NBA championships.

But after watching his UNLV frontcourt get decimated by injuries, Menzies showed he was up with the times and adjusted on the fly.

The Rebels radically changed their offense when Mountain West play began, switching to a three-guard offense and heaving 3-pointers at nearly every opportunity.

“When the bigs went down, we said, ‘OK, where’s our production coming from? How do we reinvent at least this particular puzzle?’ ” Menzies said. “Every year is different. But I thought it was a no-brainer to go small a little bit and try to increase some offensive production and bother some guys defensively.”

UNLV (11-8, 5-2 MW) takes a hot-shooting offense into Tuesday’s 8 p.m. game versus No. 8 UNR (19-1, 6-1) at the Thomas &Mack Center. ESPN2 will televise the game in which the Wolf Pack are favored by 10 points.

Against conference opponents only, the Rebels are first in the Mountain West in 3-point field goal percentage (41.9), 3-pointers made per game (11.1) and scoring offense (79.9 point average), underscoring their ability to almost completely revamp their offense.

“Guys always stay ready,” UNLV guard Amauri Hardy said. “Guys always stayed in the gym and paid attention to the details at practice, so I think it made the adjustment a lot easier.”

The Rebels were forced to make changes after losing forwards Shakur Juiston (knee) and Cheickna Dembele (hand) for the season and Mbacke Diong three weeks ago to a sprained ankle. Diong, though, is expected back at some point.

“We need to get him healthy so that he can contribute and not just get back on the floor in a hurry,” Menzies said. “We’re just following the lead of how he feels right now, and it’s mostly a sprain at this point that we’re having to manage.”

The Rebels had managed the trade-off in changing their attack by giving up rebounds for more 3-pointers until Saturday’s 94-77 loss at San Diego State. They still shot well from outside, making 43.3 percent of their 3-pointers, but were outrebounded 38-29 by the taller, longer Aztecs.

UNR, which doesn’t have a starter shorter than 6 feet 7 inches, should present a similar challenge.

“Going into this game, we’re going to need all five players to go down there and grab the rebound,” Rebels forward Joel Ntambwe said.

Is this playing style a permanent change under Menzies? That remains to be seen. He said his track record at New Mexico State showed he was willing to adapt to the personnel, and that he will continue to at UNLV.

“This game is all a game of matchups anyway,” Menzies said. “When you have better bigs or guys you think you can have an advantage, then obviously you want to make sure you have stuff in your offensive arsenal that gives you a chance to attack teams there.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.