| UNLV Men's Basketball |
UNLV
at 
Wyoming
|
| Matchup | UNLV (9-3, 0-0 Mountain West) at Wyoming (11-2, 0-0 Mountain West) |
| Date | Wednesday, December 31, 2014 |
| Time | 7 p.m. MST/6 p.m. PST |
| Site | Arena-Auditorium (15,000), Laramie, Wyo. |
| TV | ESPN3 (Peter Young, Bob Donewald) |
| Radio | ESPN Radio 1100 AM/100.9 FM (Jon Sandler, Robert Smith) |
| Audio | UNLV Gameday App & UNLVRebels.com |
| Stats | |
| Twitter | @UNLVAthletics |
Game Notes at Wyoming | Printable Media Guide | Viewable Media Guide
Dec. 29, 2014
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team, winner of two straight games and five of its last six, will open its 16th season of Mountain West play on New Year's Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 31, at Wyoming, at 7 p.m. MST/6 p.m. PST at Arena-Auditorium.
The earliest start to conference play since the 1994-95 season for UNLV, the Runnin' Rebels will make one of the toughest trips in the Mountain West without a scholarship player who has ever played in Laramie. Wyoming has won 11 straight games at the Double A and is 10-0 at home this season.
UNLV is coming off wins over Southern Utah on Saturday (79-45) and against then-No. 3 Arizona last Tuesday (71-67), both at the Thomas & Mack Center. 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 they defeated No. 3 Temple. The win over Arizona was also 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 currently own a RPI of 42.
The Runnin' Rebels are in the midst of their toughest stretch of schedule in program history as they are facing three top-15 teams in 16 days, with the trip to Wyoming sandwiched in between. UNLV has never before faced three top-15 teams in such a short period.
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 18.1 ppg, which also ranks first in the Mountain West. Sophomore forward Christian Wood has eight double-doubles this year, which ranks fourth in the country, and has averages of 14.6 ppg and team highs of 10.0 rpg (1st in MW, 19th in the country) and 3.2 bpg (1st in MW, 12th in the country). Freshman forward Goodluck Okonoboh is second on the team in blocks with 3.0 per game (2nd in MW, 15th in the country) 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 2.9, which leads the conference and is 34th nationally.
As a team, the Runnin' Rebels are second in the nation in blocked shots (7.8 bpg), second in defensive rebounds per game (30.42), 14th in field-goal percentage defense (36.3) and 33rd in total rebounds per game (39.92).
Wednesday's game against the Cowboys will be shown on ESPN3 with Peter Young and Bob Donewald calling the ation. 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.
