UNLV Rebels look to avoid another Duke debacle

PORTLAND, Ore. — Snow is in the forecast for Saturday, and thankfully basketball is an indoor sport.

But that doesn’t mean a storm isn’t coming for UNLV.

The Rebels didn’t handle the last one so well, getting thrashed 94-45 by Duke last Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. And here they are getting ready to play a ranked team on national TV for the second time in a week.

How much the Rebels (6-4) learned in such a short time will be revealed when they play No. 22 Oregon (9-2) at 8 p.m. at the Moda Center. ESPN2 will televise the game.

UNLV, a 17-point underdog, again will be shorthanded, with forwards Dwayne Morgan (shoulder) and Christian Jones (ankle) expected to each miss their second game in a row. That means another start for 6-foot 11-inch freshman Cheickna Dembele, who had 13 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday’s 92-64 home victory over Incarnate Word.

That performance was a strong response to the disastrous one against Duke, and Rebels coach Marvin Menzies is looking for that kind of play on a more regular basis. More specifically, he hopes for an increased commitment to fundamentals, such as playing hard defensively and keeping turnovers down.

“I want the guys doing the little things more consistently,” Menzies said. “We’re still not locked into enough good habits that we need to do consistently. We’ve got to put those kind of games back-to-back. We had enough of them last game. Now we’ve got to do it again.”

Like against Duke, UNLV faces another strong defensive team. Oregon has held its past 10 opponents to fewer than 70 points, and the Ducks average 8.7 blocks.

That production has helped lead to a seven-game winning streak for the Ducks, who generally were considered a top-five team in the preseason but have battled injuries. One of those was to junior forward Dillon Brooks, a Findlay Prep product, who could receive his first start. Brooks, who averages 12.3 points and seriously considered turning pro after last season, has been eased into the lineup after foot surgery.

“Their overall athleticism and their defense is really, really good,” Menzies said. “They’ve got a bunch of guys that can really do good things defensively in terms of blocking shots. They have guys who have really good field-goal percentages from different positions. Their overall talent and depth is probably the biggest plus they have over us.”

UNLV forward Tyrell Green said the players were eager to show the loss to Duke doesn’t indicate where the team truly stands.

“We know we’re better than what we showed on Saturday,” Green said. “I feel like that behind us now, we know what to expect.”

Menzies has said he thinks the Rebels have the makings of becoming a good team.

“We just haven’t put it together yet,” Menzies said. “One night, it’s one guy and another guy the next day, another guy gives you a good defensive night, another guy gives you a good offensive night. We haven’t played up to our potential yet, so I’m encouraged by the fact if we consistently play together, for each other, that we’ll play better basketball.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.