UNLV starts second half of Mountain West schedule without Ben Carter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As the second half of Mountain West play begins, two major factors have emerged giving strong indications as to how the rest of UNLV's basketball season will play out.

The Rebels must force their will upon other teams and get into a transition game; getting bogged down in a halfcourt set is almost sure doom for them.

And the Rebels must find a way to get better — a lot better — on the road.

Both issues will be at play this week as UNLV hits the road twice, at 5 p.m. PST Tuesday at New Mexico and at 4 p.m. Saturday at Fresno State.

If UNLV (13-9, 4-5 MW) is to make a true charge in the second half of conference play, that effort begins against those opponents. Tuesday's game against New Mexico (13-8, 6-2) at WisePies Arena/The Pit will be quite telling coming off Saturday's 67-52 home loss to San Diego State.

The Lobos are 2½-point favorites in the game that will be televised by CBS Sports Network.

UNLV will have to go into this game and the rest of the season without junior 6-foot 9-inch forward Ben Carter, a key player off the bench. He tore his left anterior cruciate ligament against the Aztecs. The Bishop Gorman High School product averaged 8.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and his absence forces the Rebels to rely on a smaller lineup.

"We are very disappointed for Ben," interim coach Todd Simon said. "He was obviously an impact player for us, but more than that he is a pillar of our program with his toughness, spirit and leadership. It is a huge loss for our team."

With or without Carter, New Mexico has Simon's full attention. He knows he and his team can't fall into the trap of looking big picture when the Lobos present enough of a challenge on their own.

"We're really focused on the short term," Simon said. "We have to lot to do to become better. Getting beyond the next day isn't our thinking."

But looking at the first half of conference play can provide clues on what to expect in the second half.

When UNLV allowed itself to get caught in a halfcourt game, the Rebels were as sure to go down as oil prices. They played games in the 50s or 60s against Fresno State, Colorado State, Wyoming, UNR and San Diego State. All losses.

UNLV scored 86 points against New Mexico, 100 against Air Force, 80 against Utah State and 87 against Boise State. All victories.

The road largely brought out the worst in the Rebels, where they went 1-3 against conference opponents. They are 3-2 at home, not great, but certainly better.

Five of UNLV's remaining nine Mountain West games are on the road.

But there is opportunity down the stretch as well. UNLV should be favored in all four home games (San Jose State, Colorado State, UNR and Wyoming) as well as at Air Force, and victories this week at New Mexico and Fresno State wouldn't be shockers.

So the Rebels could move up from seventh in the conference standings. The top five receive byes into the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament.

San Diego State (16-6, 9-0) almost certainly will be the top seed, and if the Rebels are going to challenge the Aztecs, they can't get caught in a game like Saturday's. The Aztecs outrebounded UNLV 44-27.

"It shows the level of toughness it takes," Simon said. "We've got to raise our level of physicality and our toughness."

If UNLV can accomplish that and take momentum into the league tournament, which again is in its building, the Rebels could be as dangerous as any team.

That effort starts this week. It begins Tuesday.

"Now that we've played (the first half), we're more mature as a team," freshman forward Stephen Zimmerman Jr. said. "We've already played against them once, and we know what to expect. But we had a couple of ones that got away from us early in the season, and now is our time to make up for it."

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