Slumps take shine off Rebels-Aztecs rematch

Turn back the clock one month. Steve Fisher was coaching a San Diego State team ranked as the best in the Mountain West, and UNLV was considered a top contender for the conference title.

A crowd of NBA scouts gathered to see a heavyweight showdown between Aztecs junior guard Jamaal Franklin and Rebels freshman forward Anthony Bennett.

The game played Jan. 16 in San Diego lived up to the hype. But the month since has been a downhill slide for both teams, especially UNLV, and some of the thrill is gone from what figured to be the biggest date on the league schedule.

Neither team is ranked in the rematch. The Rebels (18-7, 5-5 MW) sit in fifth place as they prepare to host San Diego State (18-6, 6-4) at 6 p.m. today at the Thomas & Mack Center. A sellout crowd is expected, but it’s not the heavyweight matchup once anticipated.

“I think sometimes the expectations of others get out of whack a little bit,” Fisher said. “But I think they also had great expectations internally, and they still do. UNLV is very talented, but there are a lot of very talented teams in this league.

“I’m disappointed we don’t have a few more victories. You forget the ones you win and you agonize over the ones you don’t win.”

As of today, the Rebels and Aztecs are in the NCAA Tournament field of 68, according to all of the respected bracket forecasters, but for the losing side tonight, it will be an agonizing feeling.

UNLV dropped to 1-5 on the conference road after taking a lopsided beating at Air Force on Wednesday. San Diego State took its third league road loss, at Colorado State, the same night.

“I know life is hard on the road for everybody,” Fisher said.

Ironically, the Rebels’ most impressive performance of the season came in their 82-75 victory over the Aztecs last month. Bennett was held to nine points and spent the last three-plus minutes of the game on the bench. Franklin scored 27 points, but he made only 1 of 6 3-pointers as San Diego State shot 3-for-19 from long range.

Fisher said perimeter shooting will be a key for his team. UNLV coach Dave Rice reeled off a priority list that included transition defense, rebounding and limiting turnovers.

Rice also needs to see more effort and energy from players who came up woefully short in both areas at Air Force, where UNLV trailed by 24 points in the second half.

“We’re disappointed but certainly determined to bounce back and play a lot better,” Rice said. “We did not play with the kind of effort, intensity and team mindset that we need. I was very disappointed with our performance. Absolutely, it was addressed. Our guys were very frustrated with our performance and with our effort.”

The Rebels’ shortcomings are explainable, Fisher said, pointing to junior forward Mike Moser’s elbow injury in December and a starting lineup featuring four newcomers this season.

“That is probably due to youth. There are a lot of circumstances,” Fisher said. “If I say that about my team, I’m an excuse maker. So Dave Rice can’t say that about his team.”

The Aztecs have been handcuffed, too. Point guard Xavier Thames missed four conference games with a strained lower back, and senior guard Chase Tapley played through a wrist injury suffered Jan. 26. Thames returned to play the past two games, and Fisher said Tapley is “back in business.”

Anthony Marshall, UNLV’s senior point guard, is the player who most concerns Fisher. Marshall scored 20 points in the teams’ meeting in January, and his dribble penetration proved unstoppable in a fast-paced game.

“Marshall is the most important player on their team,” Fisher said. “He always seems to make the important plays to put his team in position to win. He controlled the pace of the game at both ends of the floor.

“We like to play a full-court game, too. We’re a team that can get up and down the floor. In the first game, we couldn’t stop them. We’ve got to guard them a lot better. It’s easy to say, but hard to do.”

The Rebels are 31-1 in their past 32 regular-season games at the Thomas & Mack. But San Diego State has won five of the past six matchups in Las Vegas, and three of the teams’ past four meetings were decided by two points.

“I would hope it would be a game that goes down to the last three or four minutes. That’s what history would tell us,” Fisher said. “There’s a fine line between winning and losing. If you’re going to have an exceptional season, you have to find a way to win those kinds of games that come down to the wire.”

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