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Rebel Report Card: UNLV vs. Indiana

UNLV’s upset of 13th-ranked Indiana in the Maui Invitational’s loser’s bracket was as much a mistake-filled near-meltdown as it was an impressive victory.

The Rebels got out to a hot start, leading by as many as 15 points in a dominant first half, but nearly collapsed in a roller coaster second half.

With that in mind, here’s a look at today’s grades:

Backcourt: C+

A combined 48 points from Patrick McCaw, Ike Nwamu and Jerome Seagears made the Rebels’ backcourt a likely candidate for a grade in the “A” or “B” range. But free throw miscues in the game’s final minute almost cost the Rebels the upset, as Nwamu was 0-for-4 and Seagears was 2-for-3 from the charity stripe.

Defensively, the guard play wasn’t particularly spectacular. Indiana guard Nick Zeisloft had a team-high 17 for Indiana and guard James Blackmon Jr. scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists.

But despite the numbers from Zeisloft and Blackmon, the Rebels backcourt limited senior guard Yogi Ferrell to nine points on 3-of-9 shooting. Ferrell, the Hoosiers’ leading scorer, had been averaging over 16 points per game heading into Wednesday’s game.

Frontcourt: C-

Freshman center Stephen Zimmerman had the lowest-scoring game of his young Rebel career while, starting forward Dwayne Morgan and reserve forward Goodluck Okonoboh combined for just two points and 10 rebounds.

Reserve forward Ben Carter was the star of the Rebels’ frontcourt, scoring a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Defensively, the Rebels were effective in limiting Indiana’s big men throughout most of the game, but offered the Hoosiers some good looks at the basket in the paint down the stretch.

Bench: C

Carter was outstanding, but he was the only Rebel to offer anything significant off the bench Wednesday. Okonoboh, Jordan Cornish and Jalen Poyser were practically non-existent, and high-flying Derrick Jones couldn’t offer anything more than a couple layups, an airballed 3-pointer, and a game-high three turnovers.

Coaching: C-

This is the hardest grade to make, because you could argue Dave Rice and his staff’s performance on Wednesday belongs in the “B” range, and you could also make an equally legitimate case for the “D” range.

Fast forward to the second half, when UNLV took a 13 point lead on a McCaw 3-pointer with 4:15 to play. Indiana’s Zeisloft responded with a 3-pointer of his own on the next possession, and again on the following Hoosier possession to narrow the deficit to seven points with 3:25 to play.

An ill-advised foul by UNLV resulted in a four-point play for Indiana’s Collin Hartman with 1:45 left, reducing the Rebel lead to four. UNLV then proceeded to miss six of nine free throws in the game’s final 45 seconds and gifted Indiana a final shot to tie when Nwamu turned the ball over on an inbounds pass.

UNLV’s win was impressive, and will be important in front of the NCAA selection committee. But the Rebels’ costly late game mistakes suggested the team still has a long way to go, and that falls on the coaching staff.

Contact Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4593. Find him on Twitter: @kudialisrj

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