Graney: Defense could carry UNLV basketball a long way

He agreed it was a measuring stick, a way for his team to test itself against a quality opponent, to see how it might respond to a side with a ranked number ahead of its name.

Passed the test with flying scarlet and gray colors.

Kevin Kruger has the biggest win of his two-year tenure as UNLV’s basketball coach, a 60-52 victory against No. 21 Dayton on Tuesday night.

This is what we heard about as practice began in October. As eight new faces descended upon the program. That most of those arriving were known for their defensive skills.

All of which were on display against the Flyers.

“(The game) came upon us early in the schedule, so it was great for the guys to have this opportunity to use it as a springboard,” Kruger said. “Now with the understanding we have a great win against a great team at the Thomas & Mack, it will be fun and exciting to see how we respond to it.”

Man, they can really guard.

Forcing miscues

You don’t force a ranked team into 24 turnovers without doing so. You don’t limit it to one — just one — two-point basket the entire second half without doing so. You don’t hold it to 25 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes without doing so.

It’s a big win for countless reasons, none more important than this: UNLV’s non-conference schedule is hardly a murderers’ row of anything, so it’s critical one’s resume includes some eye candy if ultimately judged by a certain NCAA Tournament committee in March.

That, of course, is forever from now. But this sort of defense —if the Rebels can continue to execute it — will have them in every game they play.

They’re intent in how they defend. Focused. Competitive. Take charges. Slap balls away. Force others to begin their offense farther out than desired. They really get into people. Dayton couldn’t drive the ball in the second half. Like much at all.

“We can be disruptive and have fun being annoying,” Kruger said. “Just breaking the rhythm of (opposing) offenses. We talk about that a lot. Just the little things the guys can do — let the instincts kick in and it can be a lot of fun.”

It’s a definite work in progress at the other end.

They’re not very good offensively, and it’s unknown how much improvement can be made over the course of a season.

There will be nights like Tuesday, when UNLV scores 38 second-half points and makes 5-of-14 3s after intermission to increase the margin just enough.

There will be nights like Tuesday but different, when the Rebels score 22 first-half points, shoot just 29 percent over those 20 minutes and then don’t rally.

There could be lots of, say, 60-56 games, not all that pretty but more than acceptable if you’re on the right side of a final score.

UNLV didn’t give in down 10 at halftime Tuesday. It kept at it. Kept playing. Kept defending.

Working hard? UNLV led 56-48 with 2:45 remaining when this happened:

Keshon Gilbert missed a mid-range shot and David Muoka grabbed the offensive rebound; Gilbert missed a 3 and Elijah Parquet grabbed the offensive rebound; EJ Harkless turned the ball over only to have Muoka steal it back; Harkless scored and was fouled.

That’s pure effort.

Denying folks

Kruger agreed the game was a measuring stick.

This was him on Monday regarding it.

“That’s fair because we have a Top 25 team coming in here. It will be nice to see where we are on Nov. 15.”

Which is here: As good a defensive team as the Rebels have known in years, one that can compete with anyone on their schedule should they continue denying folks as they did the Flyers.

Not bad for this early in a season. Not bad at all.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter