LAS VEGAS – UNLV missed 10 free throws in Saturday’s 82-71 loss to San Diego State. On Tuesday, New Mexico brings a different problem to the Thomas & Mack Center: the Lobos can turn a missed box-out by the Rebels into another shot for one of the league’s best perimeter offenses.
“We had a lot of empty possessions … missed free throws and/or didn’t get the and-ones,” Pastner said. “When you’re playing for first place, you just can’t leave those.”
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network.
“We’ve gotta be great on the glass,” Pastner said. “When we are rebounding the ball at a high level, we’re really good. When we’re not … it’s a struggle.”
The Rebels average 78.9 points despite shooting 31.5% from 3-point range. They make 17.9 free throws per game and score 18.4 points off turnovers, evidence of the production available without relying on outside shooting. Their plus-1.8 turnover margin, 8.6 steals and 4.4 blocks also show how often they can disrupt an opponent’s possession.
Against San Diego State, UNLV shot 51% from the field and still lost by 11. The Rebels went 12 of 22 at the free-throw line and allowed their frustration on offense to influence their defensive execution.
“They hit late-clock tough shots … and we had a lot of empty possessions,” Pastner said. “That bites you in the butt.” “We let our offensive errors … affect our defensive intensity, and that bit us,” he said.
“They shoot a lot of threes. They make a lot of threes. They’re really good defensively,” Pastner said.
Jake Hall makes that threat concrete. The freshman leads New Mexico with 15 points per game and has made 59 of 142 threes, or 41.5%. He averaged 17.5 points and six rebounds in last week’s wins over Fresno State and Reno, earning Mountain West Freshman of the Week. UNLV cannot help toward the ball without knowing whether the next pass will find Hall.
The Lobos enter 16-4 overall and 7-2 in the conference, tied for second and one game behind San Diego State. Their latest win was 80-73 over Reno. UNLV is 10-9 and 5-3, making Tuesday an opportunity to beat another team ahead of it after the win at Utah State and loss to the Aztecs.
Pastner identified Buljan as the conference’s leading rebounder and made the connection to what UNLV has struggled with at different points this season.
Buljan enters with nine double-doubles and a 10.1-rebound average, including 3.8 offensive boards per game. He has recorded double-doubles in three straight games. His production makes the matchup more specific than a general request for UNLV to work harder: the Rebels have to locate him before the ball leaves a shooter’s hand, then keep him away from the most direct route to the miss.
Jacob Bannarbie leads UNLV with 5.9 rebounds per game. His work belongs in that discussion alongside Jones and Stephen. A second big can help finish a possession after the first contests the shot, while Hamilton and the guards have to account for rebounds that come away from the basket. Buljan’s pursuit cannot become one defender’s assignment once the shot is in the air.
Jones has become increasingly important despite being a freshman. His interior scoring, shot blocking and physicality give UNLV something it needs against teams that can control the paint, but Pastner continues to demand more consistency from his motor.
“He can’t be cool, casual, or cute,” Pastner said. “If his motor isn’t moving, he’s gonna sit right next to me.”
New Mexico’s defense will test that approach in another way.
“They try to take away the middle … keep it on the sideline,” Pastner said. “They give you three-point shot attempts, but they’re good at defending the three.”
New Mexico has held opponents to 28.9% from three, 12th nationally entering the game. That percentage describes the results teams have produced against the Lobos; it does not make every available jumper a bad shot. It does reinforce the need to avoid treating a perimeter invitation as permission to stop moving the defense.
Deyton Albury averages 11.3 points and a team-leading 3.4 assists, while freshman Uriah Tenette adds 10.8 points and leads the Lobos in steals. Eric Olen’s first New Mexico team has several players who can continue a possession after UNLV takes away its first action. The Rebels need to protect the ball against those guards as carefully as they pursue Buljan’s rebounds.
Gibbs-Lawhorn entered the season without the expectation that he would have to become UNLV’s full-time point guard, but his role has grown as the season has developed. He has become the Rebels’ primary creator and the player Pastner increasingly trusts to manage important possessions.
“We’ve kinda settled into a rotation right now,” he said.
