Rebel Report Card: UNLV vs. Prairie View A&M

Backcourt: B-

Patrick McCaw had yet another strong game as he continues his ascension from very good college basketball player to elite star. He had to handle the ball much more than the team would like in Saturday's 80-62 win over Prairie View A&M as Jerome Seagears was scratched from the game, but he was still able to score a team-high 18 points. While the sophomore doled out seven assists, he did turn the ball over four times. That's far too many in this type of game, but again, he was playing out of position. Plus, he more than made up for the errors with five steals on the defensive end. Ike Nwamu didn't give the Rebels much in his 17 minutes of action as he was limited by the flu bug that has been going around the team. He missed all three shots he attempted and scored his only two points from the free-throw line. After an outstanding game against Indiana, Nwamu was largely ineffective. The third starting guard, Jordan Cornish had mixed results. He did finally make his first 3-pointer of the season, but missed his other four attempts from long range. Cornish's struggles from long range continue to be one of the great mysteries of the early season for UNLV. While he has expanded his game a great deal from last season, he has inexplicably lost his long range shot, the one thing he did best as a freshman. Cornish is now 1-for-19 from 3-point range this season. UNLV really needs him to start finding a consistent jumper as conference play approaches.

Frontcourt: Incomplete

Stephen Zimmerman was incredibly productive when he was in the game. That wasn't for very long, however. The freshman had 10 points and six rebounds in nine minutes before leaving with an ankle injury. His mother posted on Twitter the injury is not serious and he shouldn't miss much time, a prognosis confirmed by UNLV coach Dave Rice. Zimmerman was probably on his way to carrying this unit to a very good grade, but wasn't in the game long enough. He was also part of a frontline that got outrebounded 38-35 and got outscored in the paint by Prairie View, 34-32. Dwayne Morgan had six points and four rebounds in 22 minutes and though he's undersized, needs to take some of the responsibility for Prairie View's success in the paint.

Bench: B+

UNLV fans need to be thankful for Ben Carter and Derrick Jones this holiday season. Both reserves were very active on both ends of the floor and were crucial to the big 24-4 run coming out of halftime that allowed the Rebels to pull away. While both were vital far beyond what appears in the box score, their numbers were pretty good too. Carter had 10 points, three rebounds, three blocks and two steals. He also drew two charging calls that got the crowd into the game. Jones had 14 points, three assists, and three blocks, throwing down two highlight-reel dunks and knocking down his only 3-point attempt of the game. Tyrell Green, who is the most likely player to benefit from the unexpected departure of Goodluck Okonoboh, had nine points and six rebounds in 15 minutes. Rice was quick to point out the first significant contributions of the season by Green as a positive to take from Saturday's game.

Coaching: C

For the second time in a week, UNLV came out extremely flat against an inferior opponent. Rice said he delivered a "spirited" message at halftime, a line that made Jones chuckle in the press room. Carter said no matter what was said, it was effective. He's right. The Rebels came out on fire to start the second half to put winless Prairie View away. Under normal circumstances, a flat spot here could be forgiven and probably expected. This was a home game against a winless opponent just two days after returning from three games in three days in Maui, and the only game in a four-game stretch not against a ranked team. That just screams of a letdown spot. But Rice and his staff probably should have had the team better prepared to deal with the situation coming off the same thing happening against Chaminade on Tuesday. In the end, Rice got the troops in line and all was well. But bad halves of basketball aren't as easy to overcome as the season wears on. This has to be corrected. Rice and his staff did do a good job, at least publicly, of dealing with Okonoboh's unexpected departure on Friday. That was another potential distraction headed into the game, but the remaining players, at least the ones who spoke after the game, appear to be on the same page when it comes to moving on with life after the departure of the talented sophomore reserve. One last thing: Since so many on social media want to blame the coaching staff when UNLV shoots poorly from the free-throw line, they should probably be given credit when the team hits 24 of 31 from the stripe, good for 77 percent.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.