LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team will open its exhibition season on Wednesday night, Oct. 7, as the Runnin' Rebels host Utah at the Thomas & Mack Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will stream live on MW+.
Wednesday's contest is the first of three home exhibitions for UNLV, which will also host BYU on Oct. 24 and Missouri on Oct. 29 before officially opening the regular season against Northern Arizona on Nov. 3.
ABOUT THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV enters its second season under head coach
Josh Pastner after finishing 18-17 overall and 11-9 in Mountain West play last season and advancing to the second round of the NIT.
UNLV returns three letterwinners from last season, including starters
Tyrin Jones and
Issac Williamson, both sophomores, along with redshirt junior guard
Jalen Cunningham. Jones earned Mountain West All-Defensive Team and honorable mention All-MW recognition after averaging 11.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Williamson averaged 8.6 points per game. Cunningham appeared in limited action last season.
The Runnin' Rebels also welcome 11 newcomers. Nine are Division I transfers:
Terrance Ford Jr. (Tulsa),
Jeremy Foumena (UCF),
Tyler Harris (Vanderbilt),
Moustapha Loum (Northwestern State),
Sebastian Mack (Missouri),
Cam Miles (Florida State),
AJ Storr (Ole Miss),
MJ Thomas (New Orleans) and
Dontrez Williams (Lindenwood). Also new this season are freshmen
Jackson Kiss (Utah Prep Academy) and
Kota Suttle Jr. (Southern California Academy).
ABOUT UTAH: The Runnin' Utes enter their second season under head coach Alex Jensen and are coming off a 10-22 overall record and a 2-16 mark in Big 12 play. Utah features several experienced newcomers, highlighted by Jackson Holcombe, who averaged 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game at Utah Valley last season, and TJ Burch, the 2026 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year at Wright State.
The Utes also added fifth-year guard Trey Campbell, who averaged 13.7 points per game last season at Northern Iowa, while Babacar Faye returns after missing the 2025-26 season due to injury.
SERIES HISTORY: The longtime former conference rivals will meet for the 49th time. UNLV holds a 24-23 advantage in the all-time series and won the most recent matchup, 85-58, at the Thomas & Mack Center in 2017.
TICKETS: Tickets for Wednesday's exhibition start as low as $10 and may be purchased by
clicking here. Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are also on sale now, starting at $115. Visit
UNLVtickets.com to purchase.
WATCH ON MW+: Wednesday night's exhibition will stream live on MW+, with Matt Neverett handling play-by-play and Steve Cofield serving as analyst. Fans can watch the game and subscribe to MW+ through UNLV's dedicated page by
clicking here. A majority of each subscription purchased through UNLV's link directly supports UNLV Athletics.
