LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team, winner of four straight games and five of its last six, will head back out on the road for its regular-season finale on Saturday at 2 p.m. at San Jose State.
The Runnin' Rebels, who are looking to extend their win streak to a season-high five games, are coming off a 76-66 win over Boise State in their regular-season home finale on Wednesday night. In that contest, UNLV led by as many as 27 points, and junior guard
Amauri Hardy and sophomore guard
Bryce Hamilton each scored over 20. The victory guaranteed UNLV a bye into the quarterfinals of next week's Mountain West Tournament.
Prior to that, the Runnin' Rebels recorded their biggest road win in 29 years. UNLV ended then-No. 4 San Diego State's perfect season on Feb. 22 with a 66-63 victory in San Diego. It marked the highest ranked team that UNLV has defeated in a true road game since No. 2 Arkansas in 1991. The other two wins during this win streak were vs. Colorado State, 80-56, on Feb. 18, and at New Mexico, 78-73, on Feb. 15.
Hamilton and Hardy lead the Runnin' Rebels (16-14, 11-6) in scoring, averaging 15.7 and 14.5 points per game, respectively. Hamilton was named Mountain West Player of the Week on Monday after recording two double-doubles in his two games the previous week. He has now scored in double figures in 17 straight contests and has tallied 20 or more points in seven of his last 11 games. Junior forward Mbacke Diong is the team's leading rebounder with 7.9 per contest (5th in MW). UNLV is under new leadership this year in head coach
T.J. Otzelberger.
San Jose State is in its third year under head coach Jean Prioleau. The Spartans have lost eight straight games, but have recorded wins this year against New Mexico and UNR, and lost at San Diego State by two points on a last-second shot. SJSU is coming off two straight road games: at Colorado State (78-71) last Saturday and at Utah State (94-56) on Tuesday. Seneca Knight leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.8 ppg (5th in MW) and 5.7 rpg (11th in MW).
UNLV won the season's first meeting between the two teams, 98-87, in Las Vegas on Jan. 15.
Saturday's game will be televised by
AT&T SportsNet with Jenny Cavnar and Dave Bollwinkel calling the action. Jon Sandler, former Runnin' Rebel Curtis Terry and Steve Cofield (sideline reporter) will handle the UNLV radio call, which may be heard live on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas and online via the UNLVGameday App and
TuneIn.