VANCOUVER, British Columbia (UNLVRebels.com) – One of the major benefits of a NCAA Division I college basketball program embarking on a preseason foreign tour is the 10 full practices it is allowed to conduct during what is traditionally the offseason.
With practices now in the past, including a final session in front of a standing-room only crowd at the Mendenhall Center last Saturday, the UNLV men's basketball team has finally arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
"It was a great turnout," Head Coach
Kevin Kruger said to local media following the final practice. "It was definitely more than we expected. We had to run and get chairs to make everyone as comfortable as possible.
The team was scheduled to fly from Las Vegas on Monday, August 15, however after multiple delays and most of the day spent at the airport, the flight was canceled. The travel party returned to their respective homes that evening, before heading right back to the airport Tuesday morning.
Now in Canada, the attention has sharply turned to the Runnin' Rebels' first game of the trip, a contest against the University of British Columbia on Tuesday night, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m.
The game against the Thunderbirds will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1100 AM in Las Vegas with Jon Sandler and Curtis Terry calling the action, and may also be heard worldwide on the internet by
clicking here. The game's video will be available on
the Runnin' Rebels' YouTube channel as soon as possible depending on export and upload speeds.
"This tour will give us the opportunity to put our guys in game situations to learn and get it on film," Kruger said. "That's why we're doing it, so November doesn't feel like the first game."
UBC has captured the Canada West championship 10 times in its history and is coming off of a 19-5 overall record in 2021-22, including an undefeated 11-0 mark at War Memorial Gym. Led by veterans Sukhman Sandhu and Jack Cruz-Dumont, along with six-time Canada West Coach of the Year Kevin Hanson, the UBC Thunderbirds are expected to contend for another Canada West crown.
UNLV's visit to the Great White North will also include two additional games against Canada West competition. The Runnin' Rebels will face the University of Calgary Dinos Wednesday, Aug. 17, at UBC (7:00 p.m. PT), and will then head up the highway to face the University of the Fraser Valley (UVF) Cascades on Friday, Aug. 19, before returning to Las Vegas on Saturday, Aug. 20.
This marks UNLV's first foreign tour since 2016 in the Bahamas.
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2022-23 ROSTER: This season's
UNLV men's basketball roster features six returners from last season's team and eight newcomers, including six transfers from the Division I level.
2022-23 SEASON TICKETS: Ticket prices for the 2022-23 season have been adjusted with affordability and family friendly value at the forefront of the changes. Click the links for
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2021-22 SEASON RECAP: The Runnin' Rebels are coming off a successful 2021-22 season, which marked the first under head coach
Kevin Kruger. The team accumulated 18 wins – its most in four years – and recorded 10 Mountain West victories, exceeding preseason expectations in the league standings.
With a revamped roster that included nine transfers, the team continually showed improvement as the season progressed, advancing 43 spots in the national KenPom ratings along the way.
In addition, Coach Kruger was recognized as one of the nation's top first-year head coaches in Division I men's college basketball.
