PREMIUM
Rogers' NCAAB Late Show >> 6-2 Start in College Hoops!
(NCAAB) UC Riverside vs. UNLV,
Point Spread: -6.00 | -110.00 UNLV (Home)
Result: Win
Point Spread: -6.00 | -110.00 UNLV (Home)
Result: Win
The set-up: UC-Riverside comes to Las Vegas at 1-1, after losing 71-55 at Portland but winning 81-45 at hone over Bristol University. The Rebels lost their season opener, 76-68 at home to South Alabama, as the team's starting guard trio shot a combined 7 of 30, not the way Marvin Menzies had hoped to begin his first season at UNLV.
UC-Riverside. The Highlanders lost their top-two scorers from last year's team, guard Bland (16.1) and the 6-7 Johns (15.5 & 7.5). Returning guards Thames (14.5-5.0-3.0) and Murray (10.5) and 6-5 forward Johnson (12.0 & 7.0) figure to be the mainstays this year for Dennis Cutts, who is in his third season (Thames and Johnson are seniors and Murray a junior). Thames and Murray combined to score 29 points against Portland in Friday's 71-55 loss. "They've got a couple of guys that are very skilled and shooting the ball at a high clip right now, especially their point guard," Menzies said. "No. 11 (Thames) is crafty, just really savvy with his experience. It looks like he grew up with a coach as his dad or something. He does all those little things, and his shot selection is very good."
UNLV: Menzies did an excellent job at New Mexico State, with the Aggies winning 20-plus games in each of his last five years at the school, making four NCAA appearances. He's a welcome replacement to David Rice, who led UNLV to NCAA berths in his first two seasons but lost the team's first game each time. Two tourney-less years followed (not just no NCAA but no postseason tourneys at all), with Rice resigning last January, after UNLV opened 0-3 in MWC play. UNLV starts three guards in Poyser, Cylburn and Ofoegbu but as noted at the top, they shot horribly in the lost to South Alabama. "We were pretty sluggish in our own offensive transition," UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said. "We didn't get out and run the way we wanted to run (and) get to the proper areas on the floor. There was a litany of things. Defensively, I thought we were pretty sad at our fundamentals and weren't aggressive like we want to be and like we will be going forward. "We got some good lessons, that's for sure. You hate to get lessons with a loss, but we were able to take that and move forward into practice."
The pick: Menzies is hoping to re-establish The Thomas and Mack Center as a tough venue for visitors and if Portland could beat UC-Riverside by 16 points, the Rebels should be able to do the same. UNLV is a 10* play.
UC-Riverside. The Highlanders lost their top-two scorers from last year's team, guard Bland (16.1) and the 6-7 Johns (15.5 & 7.5). Returning guards Thames (14.5-5.0-3.0) and Murray (10.5) and 6-5 forward Johnson (12.0 & 7.0) figure to be the mainstays this year for Dennis Cutts, who is in his third season (Thames and Johnson are seniors and Murray a junior). Thames and Murray combined to score 29 points against Portland in Friday's 71-55 loss. "They've got a couple of guys that are very skilled and shooting the ball at a high clip right now, especially their point guard," Menzies said. "No. 11 (Thames) is crafty, just really savvy with his experience. It looks like he grew up with a coach as his dad or something. He does all those little things, and his shot selection is very good."
UNLV: Menzies did an excellent job at New Mexico State, with the Aggies winning 20-plus games in each of his last five years at the school, making four NCAA appearances. He's a welcome replacement to David Rice, who led UNLV to NCAA berths in his first two seasons but lost the team's first game each time. Two tourney-less years followed (not just no NCAA but no postseason tourneys at all), with Rice resigning last January, after UNLV opened 0-3 in MWC play. UNLV starts three guards in Poyser, Cylburn and Ofoegbu but as noted at the top, they shot horribly in the lost to South Alabama. "We were pretty sluggish in our own offensive transition," UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said. "We didn't get out and run the way we wanted to run (and) get to the proper areas on the floor. There was a litany of things. Defensively, I thought we were pretty sad at our fundamentals and weren't aggressive like we want to be and like we will be going forward. "We got some good lessons, that's for sure. You hate to get lessons with a loss, but we were able to take that and move forward into practice."
The pick: Menzies is hoping to re-establish The Thomas and Mack Center as a tough venue for visitors and if Portland could beat UC-Riverside by 16 points, the Rebels should be able to do the same. UNLV is a 10* play.
