History shows UNLV can’t read too much into exhibition win

UNLV faced a clearly inferior opponent Friday in beating West Coast Baptist 112-54, an exhibition decided early and convincingly unlike some other recent preseason games.

The question is whether that performance is an indication of what’s to come this season, which begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Purdue-Fort Wayne at the Thomas &Mack Center.

Going back to 2004 when Lon Kruger became the Rebels’ coach, the evidence is mixed. So this year’s team should not read too much into exhibition results.

What makes the victory over West Coast Baptist especially difficult to evaluate is the visiting Eagles were clearly outclassed,

“We talked to our guys, and it’s about us and us getting in our rhythm and the way we need to play,” coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “So whoever we’re playing against, we want to do what we do on a daily basis.”

For a program that often has played down to its competition, UNLV will take this performance. The Rebels went all out in their most dominating exhibition performance in at least 15 years, with forward Nick Blair even throwing his body after a loose ball while up 50 points.

“It doesn’t matter what team we’re playing, we’ve got to play with a high level of intensity on the defensive end, more so than on the offensive end,” point guard Elijah Mitrou-Long said. “When we’re up by a lot, don’t play the scoreboard.”

Having dissected the game video, Otzelberger was disappointed with his team’s 3-point defense, especially giving up five long-range shots on eight attempts to Seth Hanna, a player Otzelberger warned his team about. West Coast Baptist made 9 of 23 3-pointers, mirroring UNLV’s production.

“One of our primary things going into the game was taking away the 3,” guard Amauri Hardy said. “I don’t think we did a phenomenal job of that. We need to continually focus on the details going into the first game.”

Among those details is continuing the ball movement from the exhibition, in which the Rebels produced 27 assists. That included a combined 18 assists and just three turnovers between Mitrou-Long and Hardy.

“I thought (that) was exceptional,” Otzelberger said.

Now the Rebels will take the lessons from the exhibition and apply them for when the regular season begins.

Fort Wayne returns three starters from a team that went 18-15 last season. This will be the Mastodons’ final season in the Summit League; they join the Horizon League next year.

Otzelberger said he was particularly concerned with handling Fort Wayne’s press and zone defenses since most teams focus on playing man-to-man.

“There are a lot of game situations we need to cover and talk through,” he said. “There are a lot of things outside of what you see normally.”

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