5 players to watch in UNLV basketball games this week

Five players to watch when UNLV plays Northern Arizona on Tuesday, Texas Christian on Friday and Washington or Western Kentucky on Saturday. All basketball games are at the Thomas & Mack Center.

1. Markelle Fultz, freshman guard, Washington: He made news Sunday by failing to reach the 30-point mark for the first time. He still put up a lot of solid numbers across the board in finishing with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals. Fultz is a candidate for national Player of the Year.

2. Jaylen Fisher, freshman guard, TCU: UNLV fans had looked forward to seeing Fisher play at the Thomas & Mack Center. They just thought it would be with the Rebels. But the former UNLV signee followed former Rebels assistant coach Ryan Miller to TCU, where Fisher averages 10.3 points and 6.3 assists and has seven steals.

3. Jordyn Martin, senior forward, Northern Arizona: The Palo Verde High School graduate was the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year in the 2014-15 season after blocking 14 shots and averaging 7.7 rebounds. He missed all but three games last season because of a foot injury. He is back, averaging 6.2 points and 7.6 rebounds.

4. Desmond Bane, freshman guard, TCU: Fisher isn’t the only Horned Frog making a promising debut. Bane averages a team-leading 15.0 points as well as 4.7 rebounds. He and Fisher gave the Frogs a strong backcourt.

5. Que Johnson, senior guard, Western Kentucky: A transfer from Washington State, he is an outstanding shooter who has made 7 of 15 3-pointers and averages a team-high 14.7 points. He made 40.4 percent of his 3-pointers last season at Washington State.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.