The No. 14 Tar Heels shrugged off a slow start Monday night before rolling to a 78-51 win over the Rebels in a Maui Invitational quarterfinal.
UNLV
The Tarheels big men were too much for the Rebels to handle in their second game of the season
UNLV has two games left to try to shed its winless label, but it wants to evaluate players to know who will be key contributors next season.
The Rebels had a poor performance in their opener and now face North Carolina, one of the top programs in the country, in the Maui Invitational.
Max Gilliam has started all five games and received the bulk of playing time, but the Rebels have used four quarterbacks this season, including Doug Brumfield on Friday.
Of the 51 players UNLV used in its 45-14 loss to Wyoming on Friday at Allegiant Stadium, 12 were freshmen and seven were walk-ons.
Wyoming scored on the second play of the game and cruised to a victory over UNLV, dropping the Rebels to 0-5 in Marcus Arroyo’s first season as coach.
UNLV and Wyoming, two teams that understand how tenuous the situation is in the year of the coronavirus pandemic, will meet at 1 p.m. Friday at Allegiant Stadium.
UNLV stayed close for about 15 minutes before things like forgettable shot selection and not being able to guard anyone and never getting to the rim painted an inevitable fate.
UNLV, an 11½-point favorite, was stunned by Montana State to begin coach T.J. Otzelberger’s second season. The Rebels trailed for almost 35 minutes of the game.
The UNLV women trailed by 17 points with 7:44 left Wednesday, then cut the deficit to two before losing 79-75 to Northern Arizona in Lindy La Rocque’s debut as coach.
The coronavirus pandemic kept players away from one another during a time when they normally would build chemistry. UNLV opens the season Wednesday against Montana State.
T.J. Otzelberger’s second season at UNLV begins Wednesday when the Rebels host Montana State in what will be a fanless Thomas & Mack Center because of the coronavirus pandemic.
UNLV took last week’s game being canceled as an opportunity to get back to work on the practice field in advance of Friday’s game against Wyoming.
UNLV women’s basketball has a new coach, a largely new roster and a new enthusiasm heading into its season opener Wednesday.