Live blog: UNR blows out UNLV, 94-58

Published Sat, Feb 25, 2017 (2 a.m.)

Updated Sat, Feb 25, 2017 (5:04 p.m.)

How bad did it get for UNLV today? Djordjije Sljivancanin played.

The freshman big man usually only sees the court in extreme blowouts, and this game definitely qualified. He checked in with four minutes to play and UNLV trailing by 37 points, and needless to say, he didn't spark a miraculous comeback. Final score: UNR 94, UNLV 58.

It's the biggest margin of victory for UNR in this rivalry series, beating the previous record set earlier this month when the Wolf Pack beat UNLV, 104-77, in Reno.

Marcus Marshall and Jordan Caroline combined to score 59 points — yes, two UNR players outscored the entire UNLV team.

Christian Jones led the Rebels with 15 points.

UNLV has now lost nine straight games and remains in last place in the Mountain West with a league record of 3-13.

Rebels heading toward ninth straight loss

UNR has broken this game wide open, and with 11:31 to play, the Wolf Pack have a commanding 70-49 lead.

A 15-2 run by UNR has pretty much sucked the last remnants of drama out of this one. Until that spurt, the Rebels were surprisingly holding strong, staying mostly within 11-14 points and showing some heart in the process. But UNLV simply can't shoot well enough to keep up with a team like UNR. Marcus Marshall and Jordan Caroline have 20 points apiece for the Wolf Pack.

Rebels down 15 at half

UNLV is down by 15 at halftime, but it could be much, much worse for the Rebels.

Until UNR guard D.J. Fenner hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer, UNR had scored just one point in the final five minutes of the half. The Rebels didn't take advantage by cutting into the deficit — UNLV managed just four points during the same span — but the dual scoring droughts at least had the effect of keeping the margin manageable at the break.

Down 45-30, UNLV isn't completely dead. Jovan Mooring has nine points and four assists, while Christian Jones has chipped in eight points.

For the Wolf Pack, it's been Marcus Marshall and Jordan Caroline doing most of the damage, as they've combined for 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting.

UNLV played with enough effort in the first half to prove they haven't quit on the season, but the talent disparity between UNLV and UNR continues to be evident at both ends of the floor. It's going to take the Rebels' best 20 minutes of the season — and a ton of fortunate bounces — to make this a game in the second half.

Rebels can't stop UNR's Marshall

UNR is shooting a scorching 55.2 percent from the field, and the hottest member of Wolf Pack so far has been senior guard Marcus Marshall, as he's drilled all four of his 3-point attempts to stake UNR to a 42-28 lead with 3:54 left in the half.

Marshall is perfect from downtown, but he's not the only UNR player ripping the nets, as forward Jordan Caroline has a game-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

UNLV is getting a bit of a boost from Kris Clyburn (five points) and Christian Jones (eight points), but the Rebels are shooting just 41.4 percent as a team. With UNR on pace to score 100-plus, UNLV is going to have to start making at a higher rate or this is going to be another non-competitive second half for the Rebels.

UNR out and running early

After playing UNR even for the first four minutes, UNLV has fallen into one of its patented scoring droughts, and UNR has taken a 27-14 lead with 11;02 remaining in the first half.

Jovan Mooring got the Rebels off to a good start by hitting two 3-pointers in the opening minutes, but the offense has gone cold since then. UNLV has scored just two points in the last 4:32, and the Wolf Pack have taken advantage with a 16-2 run.

UNR has used its athleticism to get into the open court for a couple easy layups, and the Pack is 10-of-16 from the field. UNLV is just 6-of-17.

Can UNLV score against UNR?

Offense has been a struggle for UNLV this season, but considering UNR went over 100 points in the first meeting between these teams (a 104-77 win on Feb. 8), the Rebels are obviously going to have to make some buckets if they want to stay in this game. Are they up to the task?

UNR is quicker and more athletic than UNLV at every position, and that's a fact the Rebels are going to have to deal with today. UNR used that physical advantage to apply aggressive ball pressure in the first game, and it clearly affected the Rebels, who committed nine first-half turnovers. There's nothing UNLV can do about UNR's athleticism advantage (except hit the recruiting trail), but the Rebels have to be prepared to play fast right away and avoid getting swarmed from the opening tip. And they also have to play smart.

As always, Jovan Mooring represents UNLV's best chance to put up points. He posted 20 points and eight assists against the Wolf Pack the first time around, and his style of play presents some matchup problems for UNR. The weakest aspect of the Wolf Pack's defense is the way they handle the pick-and-roll, as they have particular issues guarding the man with the ball in his hands. According to Synergy Sports data, UNR allows 0.836 points per possession against the ball-handler in pick-and-roll situations, which ranks 293rd in the nation. Guard D.J. Fenner and forward Jordan Caroline are the team's worst at defending the play, so the Rebels would be wise to find favorable matchups for Mooring, put the ball in his hands and let him attack off screens.

It's not the most crowd-pleasing style of play, but Mooring has proven to be an effective pick-and-roll facilitator this season, so that's probably the Rebels' best chance to avoid another embarrassing blowout.

Rebels readying for second round with rival UNR

On the court, today's matchup between UNLV and UNR (3 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center) doesn't hold a lot of intrigue. UNR is heading toward a possible Mountain West title, while UNLV (3-12 in league play) is riding an eight-game losing streak that has landed the Rebels in last place. And when the teams met in Reno a few weeks ago, UNR scored an early knockout and hung 104 points on the Rebels, so there are no questions about which is the superior team.

But there are still story lines worth monitoring today, especially after the way UNLV apparently shut it down in the second half of Wednesday's loss at Air Force. Are the Rebels quitting on the season? Or can Marvin Menzies get his guys to play like this is a big game?

A few keys to keep an eye on today:

Intensity

For the first time all season, I thought the players stopped competing against Air Force. Once the Rebels sensed an eighth consecutive loss was imminent, the effort level waned significantly in the second half, turning a routine double-digit deficit into a 23-point laugher.

The Rebels simply aren’t talented enough — not even close — to take possessions off and still beat anyone in this league. Menzies rightfully unloaded on his players after the game, so we’ll see if that message carries over to today’s game.

The last time UNLV played UNR, the Rebels were not prepared for the Wolf Pack’s level of intensity. UNR immediately stormed out to a big lead (perhaps playing with a little extra verve on behalf of assistant coach Dave Rice) and never let up, eventually scoring a 104-77 victory. After that game, Jovan Mooring said UNLV didn’t understand how heated the intra-state rivalry was, but that the Rebels would be ready the next time.

The next time is now, and there will be no excuses if the Rebels play at anything less than full intensity for 40 minutes.

Droughts

UNLV is having a hard time scoring — the team ranks 314th nationally (out of 351 Division I schools) in points per possession, 345th in 2-point percentage, 274th in 3-point percentage and 338th in overall field goal percentage — and sometimes it seems like the Rebels can’t score at all.

In Wednesday’s loss at Air Force, the Rebels struggled through a 10-minute drought without a field goal, and then later went through another six-minute drought without a basket. The Rebels were outscored, 43-11, during those stretches, which essentially cost UNLV any chance at winning. That can’t happen against UNR.

The Rebels lack shooters and finishers, but they’ve got to find some way to avoid the scoring droughts that have plagued them all season. Maybe Menzies has to be willing to call timeouts more quickly when he senses offensive stagnation setting in, or perhaps UNLV has to commit to getting into transition more regularly in hopes of finding an easy basket or two.

If the Rebels don’t find a solution, a single five-minute scoreless stretch will be fatal against UNR.

Youth movement?

Fans have been clamoring for Menzies to give more playing time to the team’s younger players, but he has resisted to this point in the season, instead choosing to play seniors like Uche Ofoegbu and Christian Jones upwards of 30 minutes a night. The argument has its merits — Ofoegbu and Jones may be reliable, but they’re not going to help UNLV beyond the next four games, whereas young players like Troy Baxter, Jalen Poyser, Kris Clyburn and Zion Morgan could be potential building blocks whose development would benefit from more game action.

Will we see more of the young guys against UNR? I don’t think it’s in the cards. Baxter is talented, but he’s currently battling a series of injuries and may be out of the rest of the season. Poyser is still working his way back from a one-game suspension, so his playing time may be affected by off-court factors. And Clyburn and Morgan are already seeing regular playing time, with Clyburn having regained a starting role two games ago.

Anything more than that would be forcing it. “Win now” is not a top priority for UNLV, not with three games left in an obvious rebuilding season, but I'm not sure flooding the floor with freshmen like Ben Coupet and Djordjije Sljivancanin would make much of a difference for the future, either.

Mike's prediction: UNR 88, UNLV 74. The Rebels simply don't match up with UNR athletically, and the effort level at Air Force was not inspiring. Players may be looking forward to the end of the season, and that mentality is not going to work against UNR.

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