Rebels trail at the half
Kansas State scored the final six points of the first half to take a 42-34 advantage over UNLV into halftime at the Orleans Arena.
Jamar Samuels has 13 points off the bench for the Wildcats to lead all scorers.
Anthony Marshall leads the Rebels with nine points, but was just 2 of 8 from the field in the half.
The Wildcats got a layup as time expired to push the lead back to eight points, which equals their largest lead of the game.
UNLV averages just 10 turnovers per game, but committed eight in the first half alone.
Tre’Von Willis has six points, but Derrick Jasper is scoreless.
Lineup change
Anthony Marshall got the start today in place of Chace Stanback.
The starting lineup doesn’t matter a whole lot with this team as Lon Kruger has been very liberal with his deep bench.
It was still a nice honor for Marshall, a freshman who has played very well early in the season.
He missed his first four shots, but made a huge hustle play with about six minutes left in the first half, diving on the floor to save a possession that resulted in two points.
Another slow start
UNLV appeared to correct some of its problems early in games.
The Rebels came out fast against Louisville and played fairly even at Arizona and Santa Clara early.
But the problem appeared again today at the Orleans Arena.
UNLV fell behind 10-2 early, before rallying to take the lead at 18-16.
The difference
Kansas State has made 7 of 12 attempts from the 3-point line in the first half and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line.
In all, the Wildcats have scored 32 points from those two spots.
In contrast, UNLV has made just three 3-pointers and seven free throws to account for 16 points.
That will have to change in the second half if the Rebels want to win.
Other unbeaten
The Mountain West Conference’s only other unbeaten team is also playing a tough Big 12 opponent today.
New Mexico is leading Texas A&M 75-71 with three minutes to play in a game being played in Houston.
The Lobos wil likely earn their way into the rankings if they can hold on.
