| UNLV Men's Basketball |
Southern Utah
at 
UNLV
|
| Matchup | Southern Utah (3-7, 0-0 Big Sky) at UNLV (8-3, 0-0 Mountain West) |
| Date | Saturday, December 27, 2014 |
| Time | 7 p.m. |
| Site | Tarkanian Court, Thomas & Mack Center (18,500), Las Vegas |
| TV | Mountain West Network/UNLVRebels.com (Tony Cordasco, Leon Symanski) |
| Radio | ESPN Radio 1100 AM/100.9 FM (Jon Sandler, Robert Smith) |
| Audio | UNLV Gameday App & UNLVRebels.com |
| Stats | |
| Twitter | @UNLVAthletics |
Game Notes vs. Southern Utah | Printable Media Guide | Viewable Media Guide
Dec. 26, 2014
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Coming off a victory over No. 3 Arizona, 71-67, at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday night, the UNLV men's basketball team will host Southern Utah on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. SNWA is distributing UNLV hats to the first 3,000 fans.
The win over the Wildcats was the Runnin' Rebels' first over a team ranked as high as No. 3 at the Thomas & Mack Center since 1988 when it defeated No. 3 Temple. Tuesday's win was UNLV's eighth over a ranked team in the Dave Rice Era, including second against a top-5 team, and it snapped Arizona's 39-game regular-season non-conference win streak. In addition, it moved UNLV's RPI from 80 to 36.
The Runnin' Rebels are in the mist of their toughest stretch of schedule in program history as they are facing three top-15 teams in 16 days, with a game vs. SUU at home and a trip to Wyoming (on New Year's Eve) also sandwiched in between. UNLV has never before faced three top-15 teams in such a short period.
The Runnin' Rebels had won three straight games and five of six before falling to No. 14 Utah, 59-46, at the MGM Grand Showcase last Saturday night, in the program's first game on the Las Vegas Strip. UNLV will play at No. 10 Kansas on Sunday, Jan. 4 on CBS.
UNLV, which had to replace all five starters from a year ago, has used a rotation this season that includes five freshmen, one sophomore and two seniors. Freshman guard Rashad Vaughn leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.7 ppg, which also ranks first in the Mountain West. Sophomore forward Christian Wood has seven double-doubles this year, which ranks seventh in the country, and has averages of 13.9 ppg and team highs of 9.6 rpg and 3.0 bpg (14th in the country). Wood also leads the MW in rebounding and blocks. Freshman forward Goodluck Okonoboh is tied for the team lead in blocks at 3.0 per game, also 14th in the nation, tops in the conference and second among all freshmen in the country. Senior guard Cody Doolin leads the squad and MW with 4.6 apg and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.2, which is 24th in the country.
As a team, the Runnin' Rebels are fourth in the nation in blocked shots (7.6 bpg) and are 25th in field-goal percentage defense (37.3).
Saturday's game against the Thunderbirds will not be televised, but will be video streamed for free on the Mountain West Network (available at UNLVRebels.com/videos) with Tony Cordasco and Leon Symanski calling the action. Jon Sandler and Robert Smith will handle the UNLV radio call, which may be heard live on ESPN Radio 1100 AM/100.9 FM in Las Vegas. All internet links along with live stats will be available at UNLVRebels.com.
