UNLV men’s basketball ‘back to basics’ with no fans

UNLV junior Bryce Hamilton dunked one-handed over North Carolina junior Leaky Black to give the Rebels a 13-0 lead early in the first game of the Maui Invitational on Monday.

As Hamilton walked away from the hoop, the noise level in the arena hardly raised a decibel. There was no crowd to marvel at his feat. To wonder about the No. 14 Tar Heels possibly getting upset. To bring energy to what was a terrific start for UNLV.

Instead, North Carolina coach Roy Williams calmly made four substitutions as Hamilton went to the free-throw line and waited until the first media timeout to admonish his team. Soon all the Rebels’ momentum was lost. The Tar Heels dominated the rest of the game and won 78-51.

The moment showed how much different college basketball will look and feel for parts of this season. And how UNLV (0-4) is still adjusting to that as it gets ready to play at Kansas State (1-2) at 5 p.m. Saturday.

“The thing that stands out the most to me is generating your own energy,” UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “It’s important that everybody in your program gives everything that they have. … The players on the floor, but also the guys on the bench. The coaching staff. The support staff. You need to have tremendous energy because you don’t have the momentum of the crowd and the fans.”

Otzelberger admits the Rebels didn’t handle the lack of atmosphere well in their first game, a 91-78 loss to Montana State at the Thomas & Mack Center. UNLV didn’t have any energy on defense and was beaten off the dribble time and time again.

That’s no excuse for the loss. It’s not the reason why the team went 0-3 in the Maui Invitational either, because every team was playing under the same conditions. But it’s still something a lot of programs are navigating when they’re used to having student sections and bands rev up the building during timeouts and stoppages.

“It’s back to basics,” junior point guard Marvin Coleman said. “We’ve all been playing basketball for a very long time. At some point, there weren’t many fans and there was not as much excitement in the gym.”

The changes have required on-court adjustments as well. Davidson coach Bob McKillop admitted after his team defeated the Rebels that he’s using fewer verbal play calls this season because it’s easier for opponents to hear them in an empty arena. Instead, he’s giving physical signals — like pulling on his ear, scratching his nose or rubbing his chin — to tell his players which set he wants them to run.

The Rebels will at least get a little bit of a change of pace for Saturday’s game. Kansas State is allowing Bramlage Coliseum to be filled to 15 percent capacity (approximately 1,879 fans), which should give the game at least somewhat of an atmosphere.

“It’s hard, at times, getting used to (not having) that energy helping propel you through those moments and helping you get key stops and get going in transition,” Otzelberger said. “It’s something we’ve all got to adjust to because it’s the way it is right now and it appears that’s what it’s going to be for a good part, if not all of this season.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.