UNLV
Anthony Marshall puts up numbers. He fills a basketball stat sheet. He is at his best in the biggest moments, when the lights are bright and the opposing arena is rocking and a play must be made.
UNC’s Dexter Strickland got the Tar Heels off to a running start and he filled the closer’s role in the final two minutes, finishing with 16 points in a 79-73 victory over 20th-ranked UNLV on Saturday at the Smith Center.
“Saturday night after Thanksgiving on ESPN and, for whatever reason, everyone was watching,” Rebels coach Dave Rice said. “Recruits, opposing coaches and players, everyone. We score 90 points playing our style of basketball and beat the No. 1 team in the country.
In the moments before UNLV set out to knock off the nation’s No. 1 team, Anthony Marshall could smell an upset cooking.
UNLV moved up one spot to No. 20 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday.
In just their third game together, Khem Birch and Anthony Bennett showed what UNLV was missing when they were apart.
At the semester break, UNLV coach Dave Rice is not ready to assign a letter grade to his team’s body of work. As far as the basketball season goes, final exams are a long way off.
