2009–10 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 2009–10 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The team was coached by Lon Kruger, returning for his sixth year with the Runnin' Rebels. They played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center on UNLV's main campus in Paradise, Nevada and are a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Runnin' Rebels finished the season 25–9, 11–5 in MWC play. They advanced to the championship game of the 2010 Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament before losing to San Diego State. They received an at–large bid to the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning an 8 seed in the Midwest Region, where they lost to 9 seed Northern Iowa in the first round.

2009–10 UNLV Rebels men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, First Round
ConferenceMountain West Conference
2009–10 record25–9 (11–5 Mountain West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThomas & Mack Center
2009–10 Mountain West Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 8 New Mexico142 .875  305  .857
No. 17 BYU133 .813  306  .833
UNLV115 .688  258  .758
San Diego State115 .688  259  .735
Colorado State79 .438  1616  .500
Utah79 .438  1417  .452
TCU511 .313  1319  .406
Wyoming313 .188  1021  .323
Air Force115 .063  1021  .323
2010 MWC Men's Basketball Tournament winner
As of March 20, 2010; Rankings from AP/Coaches Poll

Preseason

Recruiting

Coach Lon Kruger signed a three-man class for 2008, including the #4 ranked prospect out of Nevada (#66 Rivals, #80 Scout, #85 ESPN), shooting guard Anthony Marshall of North Las Vegas, power forward Carlos Lopez of Henderson and shooting guard Justin Hawkins out of Woodland Hills, California. UNLV also signed power forward Quintrell Thomas, who transferred to UNLV from Kansas.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Anthony Marshall
SG
North Las Vegas, Nevada Mojave (NV) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Aug 14, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 91
Carlos Lopez
PF
Lajas, Puerto Rico Findlay College Prep (NV) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Mar 25, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 89
Justin Hawkins
SG
Woodland Hills, California Taft (CA) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sep 30, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  • "2009 UNLV Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  • "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2009-12-31.

    Season

    Non-conference schedule

    On November 28, 2009, the team defeated #16 Louisville and became ranked nationally the following week.[1][2] After defeating Arizona in double overtime, 74–72, on December 2, 2009, UNLV marked their first 6–0 start since the 1992–93 season and defeated Santa Clara on December 5 to move to 7–0, their best start since going 34–0 in 1990–91 and losing to Duke in the Final Four.[3] UNLV would raise to #17/18 by the time they took on Kansas State on a neutral court at the Orleans Arena. As in the previous two games, UNLV's sloppy first half play allowed their opponent to jump to an early lead. Unlike in the games against Arizona and Santa Clara, UNLV was unable to move back in front and would lose their first game of the season, 95–80.[4] UNLV's loss to Kansas State would drop them to #23 in the Coaches poll and knock them out of the AP poll all together.[5] The Runnin' Rebels were able to rebound from the loss with a road win at Southern Utah,[6] and home wins against Weber State[7] and South Carolina – Upstate, before heading to Hawai'i for the inaugural Diamond Head Classic.[8]

    The Runnin' Rebels would enter the tournament only ranked in the coaches poll at #20.[9] UNLV's first game of tournament would come against SMU. UNLV took control of the game quickly, sprinting out to an 18–4 lead within mere minutes of tip off and never looked back in a 67–53 victory.[10] In the tournament's semifinal, the Rebels would face the tournament host, Hawai'i. Thanks to a relentless defense, UNLV was able to take Hawai'i out of the game early en route to a 77–53 victory, advancing UNLV to the Diamond Head Classic finals versus Southern California.[11] UNLV's offensive might that had helped them to big early leads against SMU and Hawai'i was silenced by a tough USC defense. The Trojans were able to keep the Rebels at bay for most of the game and came away with the 67–56 win and the Diamond Head Classic title.[12] The loss to Southern California would knock UNLV out of the Coaches poll.[13]

    Conference schedule

    After eleven days off, UNLV began conference play against #23/25 BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo. Despite leading the Cougars for much of the game, including a six-point lead with less than six minutes to play. Late miscues would doom the Runnin' Rebels, leading to a 77–73 defeat to BYU.[14] The following Saturday, UNLV would travel to The Pit to take on the #13/15 New Mexico Lobos. UNLV was able to keep the sell-out crowd of 14,586 quiet for most of the game, beginning by forcing New Mexico into two turnovers on their first two possessions of the game and jumping to a 9–2 lead. New Mexico would come back, taking over the lead twice in the game, but sophomore guard Kendall Wallace would pace the Rebels, going 7 of 10 on three-pointers as UNLV upset New Mexico 74–62.[15] The Runnin' Rebels had their conference home opener against San Diego State, a team that swept UNLV in their three meetings the previous season. The first half of the game belonged to the bigger and athletically stacked SDSU, taking a 39–33 halftime lead. The Runnin' Rebels however, were able to take control in the second half and came away with a hard-fought 76–66 victory over their rival to improve to 2–1 in the Mountain West and 14–3 overall.[16]

    However, thing soon went downhill as UNLV fell to Utah at home, 73–69. The Rebels rebounded and won in both Colorado State and TCU. Returning home, UNLV came from behind to beat Air Force, 60–50.

    Roster

    # Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous school
    0 Oscar Bellfield 6'2" 185 G So. Los Angeles, CA Westchester HS
    1 Quintrell Thomas† 6'8" 245 F So. Newark, NJ Kansas
    2 Kendall Wallace 6'4" 190 G Jr. Mesa, AZ Mountain View HS
    3 Anthony Marshall 6'3" 200 G Fr. Las Vegas, NV Mojave HS
    5 Derrick Jasper 6'6" 215 G Jr. Paso Robles, CA Kentucky
    10 Tyler Norman 6'0" 190 G Jr. Las Vegas, NV Iowa State
    11 Carlos Lopez 6'11" 215 F Fr. Lajas, Puerto Rico Findlay Prep
    12 Brice Massamba 6'10" 240 F/C So. Sodertalje, Sweden Findlay Prep
    14 Todd Hanni 6'4" 215 G So. Danville, IN Wabash Valley
    15 Mychal Martinez 6'5" 205 F Jr. Las Vegas, NV Yavapai
    20 Steve Jones 6'1" 220 G Sr. Portland, OR Arizona State
    22 Chase Stanback 6'8" 210 G/C So. Los Angeles, CA UCLA
    31 Justin Hawkins 6'3" 190 G Fr. Los Angeles, CA Taft HS
    33 Tre'Von Willis 6'4" 195 G Jr. Fresno, CA Memphis
    34 Matt Shaw 6'8" 240 F Jr. Los Angeles, CA Fairfax HS
    44 Darris Santee 6'8" 225 F Sr. Houston, TX Midland

    Notes: † – denotes the player must sit out the 2009–10 season per NCAA transfer rules.

    Rankings

    Ranking Movement
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV–Received Votes
    PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18Final
    AP RV 24 18 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 RV RV RV RV RV RV
    Coaches RV RV RV 21 17 23 20 RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 RV RV RV RV RV RV

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    11/10/2009*
    7:00 PM
    Washburn W 62–52 
    Thomas & Mack Center (10,238)
    Las Vegas, NV
    Regular season
    11/14/2009*
    7:00 PM
    Pittsburg State W 92–51  1–0
    Thomas & Mack Center (14,304)
    Las Vegas, NV
    11/18/2009*
    7:30 PM, The Mtn.
    Nevada W 88–75  2–0
    Thomas & Mack Center (13,113)
    Las Vegas, NV
    11/21/2009*
    7:00 PM
    Southern Illinois
    MWC–MVC Challenge
    W 78–69  3–0
    Thomas & Mack Center (11,651)
    Las Vegas, NV
    11/25/2009*
    7:00 PM
    Holy Cross W 80–59  4–0
    Thomas & Mack Center (10,946)
    Las Vegas, NV
    11/28/2009*
    1:00 PM, Versus
    No. 16 Louisville W 76–71  5–0
    Thomas & Mack Center (14,390)
    Las Vegas, NV
    12/02/2009*
    6:00 PM, FSAZ
    No. 23 at Arizona W 74–72 2OT 6–0
    McKale Center (13,485)
    Tucson, AZ
    12/05/2009*
    7:00 PM
    No. 23 at Santa Clara W 66–63  7–0
    Leavey Center (2,064)
    Santa Clara, CA
    12/12/2009*
    4:00 PM, FSKC
    No. 18 vs. Kansas State L 80–95  7–1
    Orleans Arena (8,320)
    Las Vegas, NV
    12/15/2009*
    6:00 PM
    at Southern Utah W 77–59  8–1
    Centrum Arena (4,331)
    Cedar City, UT
    12/17/2009*
    7:00 PM
    Weber State W 72–63  9–1
    Thomas & Mack Center (15,715)
    Las Vegas, NV
    12/19/2009*
    7:00 PM
    South Carolina-Upstate W 88–58  10–1
    Thomas & Mack Center (11,300)
    Las Vegas, NV
    12/22/2009*
    7:30 PM, ESPNU
    vs. SMU
    Diamond Head Classic Quarterfinals
    W 67–53  11–1
    Stan Sheriff Center (7,119)
    Honolulu, HI
    12/23/2009*
    8:30 PM, ESPN2
    at Hawai'i
    Diamond Head Classic semifinals
    W 77–53  12–1
    Stan Sheriff Center (6,416)
    Honolulu, HI
    12/25/2009*
    6:30 PM, ESPN2
    vs. USC
    Diamond Head Classic finals
    L 56–67  12–2
    Stan Sheriff Center (6,172)
    Honolulu, HI
    01/06/2009
    7:00 PM, The Mtn.
    at No. 25 BYU L 73–77  12–3 (0–1)
    Marriott Center (15,546)
    Provo, UT
    01/09/2010
    1:00 PM, Versus
    at No. 15 New Mexico W 74–62  13–3 (1–1)
    The Pit (14,586)
    Albuquerque, NM
    01/13/2010
    7:00 PM, CBSCS
    San Diego State W 76–66  14–3 (2–1)
    Thomas & Mack Center (14,530)
    Las Vegas, NV
    01/16/2010
    7:00 PM, CBSCS
    Utah L 69–73  14–4 (2–2)
    Thomas & Mack Center (16,594)
    Las Vegas, NV
    01/20/2010
    7:00 PM, The Mtn.
    at Colorado State W 80–72  15–4 (3–2)
    Moby Arena (4,353)
    Fort Collins, CO
    01/23/2010
    3:00 PM, CBSCS
    at TCU W 79–70  16–4 (4–2)
    Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (4,270)
    Fort Worth, TX
    01/26/2010
    7:30 PM, The Mtn.
    Air Force W 60–50  17–4 (5–2)
    Thomas & Mack Center (14,175)
    Las Vegas, NV
    02/03/2010
    7:00 PM, The Mtn.
    at Wyoming W 78–50  18–4 (6–2)
    Arena-Auditorium (4,718)
    Laramie, WY
    02/06/2010
    1:00 PM, Versus
    No. 12 BYU W 88–74  19–4 (7–2)
    Thomas & Mack Center (18,557)
    Las Vegas, NV
    02/10/2010
    8:00 PM, CBSCS
    No. 23 No. 15 New Mexico L 66–76  19–5 (7–3)
    Thomas & Mack Center (18,044)
    Las Vegas, NV
    02/13/2010
    1:00 PM, Versus
    No. 23 at San Diego State L 58–68  19–6 (7–4)
    Viejas Arena (9,224)
    San Diego, CA
    02/17/2010
    7:00 PM, The Mtn.
    at Utah L 61–66  19–7 (7–5)
    Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,122)
    Salt Lake City, UT
    02/20/2010
    3:00 PM, CBSCS
    Colorado State W 70–39  20–7 (8–5)
    Thomas & Mack Center (13,626)
    Las Vegas, NV
    02/24/2010
    8:00 PM, The Mtn.
    TCU W 78–62  21–7 (9–5)
    Thomas & Mack Center (11,408)
    Las Vegas, NV
    02/27/2010
    12:30 PM, The Mtn.
    at Air Force W 77–47  22–7 (10–5)
    Clune Arena (2,430)
    Colorado Springs, CO
    03/06/2010
    1:00 PM, Versus
    Wyoming W 74–56  23–7 (11–5)
    Thomas & Mack Center (14,116)
    Las Vegas, NV
    2010 Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
    03/11/2010
    8:30 PM, The Mtn.
    vs. Utah
    Quarterfinals
    W 73–61  24–7
    Thomas & Mack Center (12,405)
    Las Vegas, NV
    03/12/2010
    8:30 PM, CBSCS
    vs. No. 14 BYU
    Semifinals
    W 70–66  25–7
    Thomas & Mack Center (18,500)
    Las Vegas, NV
    03/13/2010
    4:00 PM, Versus
    vs. San Diego State
    Championship Game
    L 45–55  25–8
    Thomas & Mack Center (12,728)
    Las Vegas, NV
    2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
    03/18/2010*
    4:10 PM, CBS
    vs. No. 24 Northern Iowa
    First round
    L 66–69  25–9
    Ford Center (N/A)
    Oklahoma City, OK
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll/Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Pacific Time.

    References

    1. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/naj
    2. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=293322439
    3. Youmans, Matt (December 6, 2009). "NARROW ESCAPE: Rebels get by on road". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    4. Greene, Ryan (December 13, 2009). "K-State pesters and flusters No. 18 UNLV in 95–80 victory". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    5. Greene, Ryan (December 14, 2009). "Rebels drop from AP poll, ranked 23rd by coaches". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    6. Greene, Ryan (December 16, 2009). "UNLV explodes in second half to beat Southern Utah, 77–59". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    7. Greene, Ryan (December 17, 2009). "UNLV uses consistency to get by Weber State, 72–63". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 22 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    8. Greene, Ryan (December 20, 2009). "Rebels avoid pitfall, keep focus in 88–58 blowout". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    9. Greene, Ryan (December 21, 2009). "Rebels still unranked in AP poll, rise to 20th in ESPN/USA Today". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    10. Greene, Ryan (December 23, 2009). "Marshall steps up again, helps UNLV dance past SMU, 67–53". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    11. Greene, Ryan (December 24, 2009). "Hawaii K-O: Rebels smack host Warriors, 77–53". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    12. Greene, Ryan (December 26, 2009). "Trojans out-muscle Rebels in Diamond Head Classic finale, 67–56". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 29 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    13. Greene, Ryan (December 28, 2009). "After USC loss, UNLV unranked in both polls". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    14. Greene, Ryan (January 7, 2010). "Late miscues doom UNLV in 77073 loss to BYU". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
    15. Greene, Ryan (January 9, 2010). "Wallace gets 'the feel,' UNLV gets the win, 74–62". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
    16. Greene, Ryan (January 14, 2010). "UNLV surges late to chop down SDSU, 76–66". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
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