Moser opts to rest elbow

Fifteen minutes after Friday's practice, Mike Moser stayed on the floor for a shooting drill. He made eight straight 15-foot jumpers from the baseline before moving to the next spot.

Moser's recovery from a dislocated right elbow is almost complete, but the only spot he will occupy today is on UNLV's bench.

The junior forward will be held out again when the Rebels (12-2) wrap up their nonconference schedule by hosting Cal State Bakersfield (6-11) at 7 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"I'm going to wait," he said. "I love to play, and I want to play really bad. But at the end of the day, I feel like the next one is going to be a little more important. It all makes sense."

The next one, after the Roadrunners, is the Mountain West opener Wednesday at No. 20 New Mexico. Moser said he plans to play against the Lobos, although coach Dave Rice remains noncommittal.

"I wouldn't say that," Rice said. "He's going to continue to practice. When it's time for him to play, he'll play. Without question, Mike wants to play.

"That's where I come into the picture, and it's important for me to be the guy who makes the final decision and do what's in his best interest. He knows in his head that he's still not quite ready to be Mike Moser. But in his heart, he's a tough guy and a great teammate and he wants to play."

Moser suffered the injury early in the Rebels' victory at California on Dec. 9. He was expected to miss a minimum of four weeks but made a surprise return on Dec. 29 at North Carolina. He hit his only shot, a 3-pointer, in 12 minutes off the bench.

"It was just kind of a feel-out game to see what I can do," Moser said. "It's still just a little tender. I'm just not strong enough to do it yet."

Moser, the team's leading scorer and rebounder last season, has observed from the bench as freshman forward Anthony Bennett has mostly carried UNLV's inconsistent offense.

The Rebels committed a season-high 21 turnovers Thursday in a 74-52 victory over Chicago State, the fifth game Moser missed.

"You can learn a lot from just sitting and watching," Moser said. "I see a lot of areas where I can definitely help - rebounding, pushing tempo - and I can't wait to get on the court and solve some of those issues.

"We've got three guys starting who didn't play college basketball last year. It's kind of tough for them, but they're picking it up great. I think having another veteran guy out there will help."

UNLV will start four newcomers in today's game. Rice announced 6-foot-9-inch sophomore Khem Birch, a transfer from Pittsburgh, will move into the lineup at the 5-spot in place of senior Quintrell Thomas. Birch had 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 24 minutes Thursday.

"I'm very pleased with the job that Quintrell did," Rice said. "Khem's got five games under his belt now, and so I feel like it's time to put him in the starting lineup."

Bennett and shooting guard Katin Reinhardt are freshmen, and swingman Bryce Dejean-Jones is a sophomore transfer from Southern California. That makes senior point guard Anthony Marshall the team's only veteran starter.

Birch sat out the season's first nine games, and Moser's absence has limited the Rebels' opportunities to develop chemistry, leading to some ragged performances, especially offensively.

Moser is looking at the bright side of some of the team's struggles.

"I don't even know if that's such a bad thing. Last year, we peaked around this time and started going downhill," Moser said. "I don't think we are even close to our peak yet."

■ NOTES - Cal State Bakersfield is 0-3 against Mountain West opponents this season, losing at Wyoming (64-49, Nov. 24), Colorado State (78-58, Dec. 19) and San Diego State (72-57, Wednesday). … Adam Young, the Roadrunners' senior starting forward, played at Centennial High School.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.