UNLV men’s basketball goes for split at Colorado State
After letting a win slip away Thursday night, UNLV will get a second shot at Colorado State on Saturday.
The Rebels, coming off a 33-day layoff, led by 13 points in the second half, but were outscored 12-2 in the final four minutes of a 74-71 loss.
UNLV’s second chance comes at 1 p.m. at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado.
“Everything we do between now and Saturday will be to be very intentional with our effort, our preparation, our focus, our physicality and our toughness because we need to win that game,” UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said after Thursday’s loss.
UNLV had its last two nonconference games canceled and its first four Mountain West games postponed after Otzelberger tested positive for COVID-19. The Rebels shut down all in-person basketball activities Dec. 15 and didn’t return to practice until Monday.
Still, UNLV (1-5, 0-1 Mountain West) gave itself every chance to win its first game back despite being short-handed.
Point guard Marvin Coleman was listed as out Thursday for “medical reasons.” He confirmed via text Friday he is out because of “COVID-19 protocols” after testing positive.
Coleman said he wasn’t sure when he would return, but Otzelberger said Thursday he hopes it will be next week.
“We just have to let the medical staff make those decisions and take it as it comes,” Otzelberger said.
Despite the loss, Otzelberger came away with several positives.
“As a group, our rebounding effort was good. Our guys had more effort and energy on the glass, and that’s something that needs to continue,” he said. “Defensively, especially early, we did a good job of shrinking the floor and making them take a lot of long jump shots. They made a lot of 3s early, but (they cooled off) after that early flurry.”
Colorado State (7-2, 4-1) made 12 3-pointers, but UNLV controlled the boards 45-33, with Mbacke Diong posting his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.
Game day
What: UNLV (1-5, 0-1) at Colorado State (7-2, 4-1)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Moby Arena, Fort Collins, Colo.
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: KWWN (1100 AM, 100.9 FM)
Line: Colorado State -7; total 145½
Rebels schedule two games
The UNLV men's basketball team has added two home games to its schedule.
The Rebels will host Saint Katherine at 2 p.m. Tuesday and Benedictine University at Mesa at 5 p.m. Jan. 21.
"The way our conference schedule is set up over the next couple of weeks, we have some natural breaks with a week in between Mountain West games, so adding these opportunities will help to keep us consistently playing games every few days," UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said.
The games replace two December nonconference ones against Eastern Washington and Pepperdine that were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jason Orts Review-Journal
