| UNLV Men's Basketball |
UNLV
at 
No. 13/14 Kansas
|
| Matchup | UNLV (9-4, 0-0 Mountain West) at No. 13/14 Kansas (10-2, 0-0 Big 12) |
| Date | Sunday, January 4, 2015 |
| Time | 3:30 p.m. CST/1:30 p.m. PST |
| Site | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300), Lawrence, Kan. |
| TV | CBS (Carter Blackburn, Greg Anthony) |
| Radio | ESPN Radio 1100 AM/100.9 FM (Jon Sandler, Robert Smith) |
| Audio | UNLV Gameday App & UNLVRebels.com |
| Stats | |
| Twitter | @UNLVAthletics |
Game Notes at No. 13/14 Kansas | Printable Media Guide | Viewable Media Guide
Jan. 2, 2015
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - After opening Mountain West play with a loss on New Year's Eve at Wyoming (76-71), the UNLV men's basketball team will now play its final non-conference game of the season at No. 13/14 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 3:30 p.m. CST/1:30 p.m. PST on CBS. The game will follow the NFL's AFC Wild Card game on the network.
Prior to the game in Laramie, Wyo. on Wednesday, the Runnin' Rebels had won two straight games and five of six.
The trip to Lawrence, Kan., will close out the toughest stretch of schedule in UNLV men's basketball history as the Jayhawks will be the third top-15 team the Runnin' Rebels will have faced in a 16-day span. UNLV lost to then-No. 14 Utah on Dec. 20 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, then upset then-No. 3 Arizona at the Thomas & Mack Center on Dec. 23. UNLV has never before faced three top-15 teams in such a short period. With Wyoming's win at home over the Runnin' Rebels, the Cowboys improved to 11-0 this season at the Arena-Auditorium (one of the toughest places to play in the MW).
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. It was also UNLV's eighth over a ranked team in the Dave Rice Era, including the second against a top-5 team (No. 1 North Carolina in 2011) 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 53, while Kansas' is No. 2.
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 17.9 ppg, which also ranks first in the Mountain West. Sophomore forward Christian Wood has eight double-doubles this year, which ranks fifth in the country, and has averages of 15.7 ppg (second on the team) and team highs of 9.8 rpg (1st in MW, 21st in the country) and 3.0 bpg (1st in MW, 15th in the country). Freshman forward Goodluck Okonoboh is second on the team in blocks with 2.8 per game (4nd in MW, 23rd in the country) and third 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 3.0, which leads the conference and is 26th nationally.
As a team, the Runnin' Rebels are fifth in the nation in blocked shots (7.2 bpg), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (29.54), 29th in field-goal percentage defense (37.5) and 46th in total rebounds per game (38.92).
Sunday's television broadcast against the Jayhawks will be called by Carter Blackburn and former Runnin' Rebel great Greg Anthony. 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.
