The Pac-12 canceled the rest of its men’s basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena, the conference announced Thursday, amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.
Mark Anderson
Mark Anderson has been at the Review-Journal since January 1999. He covered UNLV football for 17 seasons before moving to the men’s basketball beat in January 2016, and was president of the Football Writers Association of America in 2016. Before coming to the R-J, he covered UNR football for five seasons at the Reno Gazette-Journal and was the high school sports reporter for the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat from 1988-94. He is a native of Tallahassee and a graduate of the University of Florida.
The Pac-12 announced Wednesday that it was closing the rest of its conference tournament to spectators because of concerns about the spreading coronavirus.
UNLV will not allow fans for its spring sports events for the rest of the season, according to a joint statement with UNR on Wednesday.
UNLV officially announced the hiring of Terrence Samuel as wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator and Chad Kauha’aha’a as defensive line coach.
UNLV had not planned to play in the College Basketball Invitational, so Wednesday’s decision does not affect the Rebels.
The Pac-12 tournament will take place at planned beginning Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena, but the conference is taking steps to try to ensure safety in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Oregon is the No. 1 seed, but several teams have a legitimate shot to win the Pac-12 tournament, which opens Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.
Jonah Antonio was the first UNLV player to leave, but many more are expected given the roster situation and the incoming recruiting class.
Dom Brown, a defensive back at Ventura (California) College, committed Monday to UNLV. He is the 29th member of this year’s class.
Chad Kauha’aha’a previously coached the defensive line at Southern California, Boise State, Oregon State, Wisconsin, Utah, Utah State and Weber State.
Ranking UNLV’s players in order of who’s likely to stay to who’s likely to leave. The Rebels have five more players in their recruiting class than available scholarships.
Sam Merrill’s 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left gave Utah State a 59-56 victory over San Diego State on Saturday and the Mountain West tournament championship.
San Diego State rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat Boise State in a Mountain West tournament semifinal Friday. Utah State defeated Wyoming in the other semifinal.
Kathy Olivier, who went 182-193 and failed to make the NCAA Tournament in 12 seasons at her alma mater, resigned Friday. She had one year left on her contract.
The top-seeded and fifth-ranked Aztecs defeated No. 9 Air Force 73-60 in a Mountain West men’s tournament quarterfinal Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.