Men's Basketball 3/16/2026 1:00:00 PM

UNLV At UC Irvine For First-Round NIT Game Tuesday

Runnin' Rebels to play in second NIT in the last three years; 8 p.m. game to be televised nationally on ESPNU.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team, which has won seven of its last 11 games, will appear in the postseason for the second time in the last three year and open play in the 2026 National Invitation Tournament at No. 4 seed UC Irvine on Tuesday, March 17. The 8 p.m. game at Bren Events Center on UCI's campus will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

The Runnin' Rebels (17-16) were the No. 8 seed in last week's Mountain West Tournament, which was played in UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center. They defeated Wyoming on Wednesday, 73-70, before losing to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Utah State, 80-60, in the quarterfinals.

The Runnin' Rebels are averaging 79.4 points per game and have five players averaging 8.4 points per game or more: Gibbs-Lawhorn (20.7 ppg, 1st in MW/22nd in NCAA), Kimani Hamilton (12.9 ppg), Tyrin Jones (11.6 ppg), Howie Fleming Jr. (8.9 ppg), and Issac Williamson (8.4 ppg). Fleming Jr. leads the team in rebounds at 6.3 rpg (5th in MW) and assists at 3.7 apg (6th in MW). Gibbs-Lawhorn is the team's steals leader at 1.6 spg (6th in MW), while Jones leads in blocks at 2.1 bpg (1st in MW/20th in NCAA).

The Runnin' Rebels are in their first year under head coach Josh Pastner. Although new to UNLV, he is in his 15th year as a collegiate head coach, having previously led Memphis and Georgia Tech for seven seasons each. He holds a career record of 293-203 (.591).

UNLV's roster has only one returning player from the 2024-25 season, Jacob Bannarbie, and welcomed 13 new faces for 2025-26. The newcomers include eight Division I transfers, a former international professional, a junior college transfer, and three freshmen.

MORE ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season's UNLV squad, which has had to deal with a rash of injuries, returned just one player from 2024-25: redshirt sophomore forward Jacob Bannarbie. The 2025-26 roster added 13 newcomers - eight Division I transfers, a former international professional, a junior college transfer, and three freshmen. The team features four seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, and three freshmen, with a position breakdown of seven guards, six forwards, and a center. Last season, Bannarbie appeared in 19 games (three starts), averaging 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.6 minutes, and shooting 52.9% from the field on 17 attempts.

ABOUT UC IRVINE: The Anteaters (23-11) won this season's Big West regular-season title with a 15-5 league mark. They lost in the championship game of the Big West Tournament on Saturday night at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada, to Hawaii, 71-64. Prior to that, UCI had won five straight games. The Anteaters have four players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Jurian Dixon's 16.0 ppg. Kyle Evans is second at 12.1 and the team's leading rebounder with 8.5 rpg. Tama Isaac is the team's assist leader at 3.9 apg. Evans leads in blocks with 3.3 bpg. UCI is 12-4 at home this season. The Anteaters rank third nationally in field goal percentage defense at 38.4, third in blocks per game at 5.9, and seventh in defensive rebounds per game (28.7). Their 18-man roster is made up of just six upperclassmen. UCI went 32-7 overall last season, finishing second in the Big West at 17-3. It went on to the championship game of the NIT, falling to Chattanooga. That Anteater team was led by Myles Che, who is now at UNLV. Che hasn't played for the Runnin' Rebels, however, as he has had a season-long foot injury. UCI head coach Russell Turner is in his 16th season at the school with a career record of 344-198 (.635).

BROADCAST INFO: Tuesday's game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Roxy Bernstein and Miles Simon calling the action. The radio broadcast may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 AM/SiriusXM 383 with Matt Neverett on the call. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Jacob Bannarbie: F; 6' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

#3 Howie Fleming Jr.: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

#12 Issac Williamson: G; 6' 0"; Freshman

#6 Tyrin Jones: F; 6' 9"; Freshman

#2 Kimani Hamilton: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#77 Myles Che: G; 6' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Jacob Bannarbie
: 6' 9"; Redshirt Freshman
: F

#3 Howie Fleming Jr.
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#12 Issac Williamson
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: G

#6 Tyrin Jones
: 6' 9"; Freshman
: F

#2 Kimani Hamilton
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#77 Myles Che
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G