UNLV men’s basketball preview: Rebels face tough test at Dayton
UNLV GAME DAY
Who: UNLV men’s basketball at No. 22 Dayton
When: 4 p.m. Tuesday
Where: UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio
TV: Peacock (streaming)
Radio: KWWN (1100 AM, 100.9 FM)
About the Rebels (5-4): UNLV snapped a three-game losing streak with Saturday’s 72-65 victory over Pacific at Lee’s Family Forum. Julian Rishwain, a sixth-year transfer guard from Florida, scored a season-high 21 points, hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers.
The Rebels are gearing up for the start of Mountain West play against Fresno State on Dec. 28 at the Thomas & Mack Center. After Dayton, UNLV will close out its nonconference schedule by hosting UC Riverside on Saturday.
The Rebels were scheduled to play at Dayton last season, but the game was called off after a deadly shooting on UNLV’s campus. UNLV upset the No. 21-ranked Flyers in 2022 at the Thomas & Mack in the schools’ only other meeting.
The Rebels and Dayton have two common opponents this season. UNLV defeated New Mexico State 72-65 at home Nov. 23 and lost to Northwestern 66-61 at the Arizona Tip-Off tournament Nov. 29. The Flyers beat both teams at home (Northwestern 71-66 on Nov. 9 and New Mexico State 74-53 on Nov. 20).
Sophomore point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. leads the Rebels with 16.7 points and 3.8 assists per game. Junior forward Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry is second in points (11.0) and first in rebounds (6.4). Senior guard Jailen Bedford averages 10.4 points per game, and Rishwain is next at 10.2.
About Dayton (9-2): The Flyers are, well, flying high. They moved into The Associated Press poll at No. 22 on Monday after erasing a 13-point second-half deficit to knock off No. 6 Marquette 71-63 on Saturday.
The Flyers’ losses this season came at the Maui Invitational to then-No. 12 North Carolina 92-90 on Nov. 25 and then-No. 5 Iowa State 89-84 on Nov. 26. Dayton defeated two-time defending national champion and then-No. 2 UConn 85-67 in its last game at the tournament Nov. 27.
Senior guard Enoch Cheeks leads Dayton at 15.8 points per game. Senior forward Nate Santos is next at 13.8.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
