LAS VEGAS — Josh Pastner credited the press with winning UNLV’s opener. Samford will test how well the Rebels defend when it doesn’t produce a turnover.
UNLV forced Northern Arizona into 18 turnovers Tuesday, but the Lumberjacks made 10 of 14 shots at the rim and eight of 13 threes before halftime. Pastner said Friday that Samford presents a familiar problem, agreeing with his earlier description of the Bulldogs as similar to NAU, only better. Samford plays five out and has shooters across the floor. “You have to take the three out,” he said. Getting a steal is one answer. Defending the next pass when the press fails is another.
The Rebels host the Bulldogs at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center, with the game streaming on MW+. Both teams are 1-0. UNLV recovered from a 12-point first-half deficit to beat Northern Arizona 89-77. Samford opened with an 87-58 win over Division III Berry.
The first challenge is getting Samford to slow down. Lennie Acuff has emphasized running after makes as well as misses, so UNLV cannot celebrate a basket and assume the Bulldogs will walk into their offense. The first defenders back need to stop the ball and locate shooters while Jeremy Foumena and Tyrin Jones recover into the play.
Pressure can help by delaying Samford’s first action, even without producing a steal. Ty Davis, who had 17 points and five assists in the exhibition win at Jacksonville State, gives the Bulldogs a scorer and passer to handle it. Samford committed seven turnovers against Berry and six at Auburn.
UNLV can make those guards work. It also needs to recognize when a trap has failed. Once Samford finds an outlet in the middle, protecting the basket and recovering outward becomes more important than chasing the ball. Two defenders following it would leave the Bulldogs an extra passer or cutter to use.
Pastner went so far Friday as to argue that Lennie Acuff belongs in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The immediate problem is the offense Acuff teaches. His approach combines that early push with Princeton principles: cutting, passing through the center and moving to another action when the first one stalls. His big man can run to the rim, then work higher on the floor with four perimeter players around him.
Will Shaver showed how those responsibilities can fit together against Berry. He scored 11 of Samford’s first 15 points, making three threes in the opening 6 minutes, 12 seconds. Cade Norris, Davis and Isaiah Campbell-Finch each assisted one. Between his first two threes, Shaver assisted a Campbell-Finch layup.
That gives UNLV something else to defend after pressuring Davis into giving up the ball. A guard can pass to the center, follow for a handoff or cut behind a defender denying the return pass. Help on that cut can free the player filling the space the cutter left.
On a handoff, getting caught on Shaver’s body would leave Foumena choosing between the ballhandler and Samford’s center. The guard has to recover quickly enough to let Foumena stay with Shaver.
Shaver’s shooting adds another decision. He missed his only three at Auburn before going 3-for-4 against Berry, an early sample that hardly settles what he will do Saturday. UNLV should make him repeat it under a contest. If Foumena follows him outside, though, a guard beaten off the dribble could force Jones to leave his own man.
That opening is what Samford’s perimeter movement is meant to create. The Bulldogs made 21 of 26 shots at the rim against Berry, according to CBB Analytics. Acuff has emphasized getting into the paint to create better threes, and Norris can compound the problem by scoring in the post or passing when doubled.
Help becomes especially expensive when it comes from Cooper Noard’s defender. Noard scored 30 points and made six threes in the 80-68 exhibition loss at Auburn. He made 80 threes at a 37.6 percent rate last season. UNLV cannot let his five-point opener fool it into leaving him alone.
Friday’s warning about Samford’s shooting came from the same mistake Pastner described after the opener. UNLV led Northern Arizona 13-4 before Ryan Abelman made consecutive threes, the first after Tyrin Jones gave him room on the perimeter. Pastner returned to that closeout Friday. He could live with the difficult shots NAU made against good defense; he could not excuse leaving a shooter that much space.
Against Samford, the big men cannot stay near the paint simply because their assignments play in the frontcourt. Following Will Shaver outside too slowly offers him a three; following the ball too aggressively gives a cutter the space he wants behind the defense.
The work starts before the closeout. Pastner wants defenders positioned inward, where they can help on a drive and then move out toward their assignment. Starting beside a shooter, rushing into the paint and trying to get all the way back gives Samford time to spray the ball out for a three.
“If you start out, go in and then out, you’re going to get sprayed for three,” Pastner said.
That also means resisting the urge to crowd every drive. Foumena needs help if he is beaten, but three Rebels converging on the ball would leave shooters available. In transition, Pastner warned, Samford’s players will sprint to the arc. Finding the nearest man in the lane will not be enough.
Samford’s own defense makes the next pass just as important for UNLV. Acuff has described his defensive preference as protecting the rim in the half court, with less gambling for turnovers. Shaver blocked four shots against Berry and three at Auburn. Driving into waiting help would let him do his work without making a difficult choice.
Sebastian Mack can make Shaver step toward the ball while Foumena waits near the basket. Pastner said Friday that Mack has some freedom to take an extra dribble because he can get downhill, but the ball must move once he creates an advantage. The coach wants “0.5 decisions,” not extra handling while Samford’s defense recovers.
Mack scored 31 in his debut, but Pastner still wanted a pass on a late possession when Cam Miles was open to his left. Mack committed six of UNLV’s 10 turnovers. Friday, Pastner praised his response to demanding coaching while repeating the standard he has set: “consistency over occasional greatness.” Mack said he and Miles regularly exchange ideas about how to play together and described his job as trying to be “an extension” of Pastner on the court. Against Samford, recognizing that teammate before the defense closes could turn one of Mack’s difficult shots into a better chance for someone else.
There were enough productive players around him Tuesday to trust that pass. Miles had four assists against one turnover. Dontrez Williams made all four of his shots and scored 12 without a turnover. UNLV’s second half brought nine assists on 17 baskets and four turnovers; the Rebels scored more while producing fewer fast-break points.
Jackson Kiss helped by catching in the middle of Northern Arizona’s zone and finding Kota Suttle Jr. for a three. Giving Kiss that passing role offers Mack another outlet when multiple defenders converge, without asking Kiss to manufacture a shot.
Freshman Kota Suttle Jr. also gave Pastner somewhere to turn when Dontrez Williams tired. He had two second-half steals and two defensive rebounds against NAU. Those minutes mattered with Mack and Miles playing 37 minutes each and Terrance Ford Jr. returning for only three minutes after a concussion absence.
Pastner said Friday that Tyler Harris and Issac Williamson were “to be determined” for Saturday. He called a return sometime in November a fair timeline without clearing either player for the Samford game. AJ Storr remains ineligible. Pastner said lawyers might file another case Friday or Monday but did not announce a confirmed filing or ruling.
Foumena and Jones can take some pressure off the guards by extending possessions. They combined for 11 of UNLV’s 18 offensive rebounds Tuesday, helping produce 21 second-chance points. Drawing Shaver toward the ball could leave another defender responsible for finding one of them.
Auburn collected 12 offensive rebounds and scored 22 second-chance points against Samford. The Bulldogs finished more of those possessions against Berry, collecting 32 of 43 available defensive rebounds. UNLV should make them demonstrate they can hold up against its frontcourt, too.
Sending both big men to the glass requires the guards to recognize when a rebound is beyond their reach and get back. Foumena and Jones can create another shot without every Rebel chasing one, especially against a team looking to run. They need to make Samford defend the glass without gifting the Bulldogs a clean break.
UNLV can make Shaver run, too. Four of Foumena’s five second-half baskets Tuesday were dunks. He does not need a post-up on every trip to make Samford’s center work.
After Chris Komin hit a late three, Foumena dunked six seconds later. Shaver’s shooting can stretch UNLV’s defense, but he still has to get back and guard the basket.
