In preparation for the first round of the Mountain West tournament, the UNLV men’s basketball team spent some extra time stretching after Tuesday’s practice.
It was an understandable move for the sixth-seeded Rebels, who face No. 11 Air Force on Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center with a limited rotation of players who have managed to avoid the injury bug.
“I think that’s something we probably should’ve started doing a little while back,” guard Brooklyn Hicks said of Tuesday’s post-practice routine. “Maybe we would be a tad more healthy. But it was great to do that, especially since it could be our last practice.”
They’ll need to win four straight games to win the tournament and earn the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 2013. It’s a goal the team has touted all season, which has seemingly become less and less likely with each injured player.
After joining the stretch session, fourth-year coach Kevin Kruger told reporters that the health of the team has been a result of misfortune, not negligence — and that the stretching is normally done in a downstairs portion of the Rebels’ athletic facilities.
“They’ve done what they’ve needed to best take care of their bodies,” he said. “It’s just, we’ve run into a couple worst case scenarios or 0.1 percent possibilities. But that (stretching) wasn’t anything abnormal. We just did it up here because the coaches wanted to do it, so that’s why we kind of selfishly put it up here, so we can get involved.”
Injury updates
Kruger confirmed that senior guard Julian Rishwain is out for the tournament because of a knee injury he sustained in an 81-67 loss at New Mexico in the regular-season finale Friday.
Sophomore guard Dedan Thomas Jr. missed practice again with a shoulder injury that has kept him out since a win over Fresno State on Feb. 15. He was named to the All-Mountain West third team Tuesday after he led UNLV in scoring (14.9 points per MW game), assist/turnover ratio (2.9, second in MW), assists (5.1, third in MW) and field-goal percentage (.420). His 36 minutes per game were No. 1 in the league.
When asked if Thomas was still expected to make a return, Kruger said: “I guess you’ll just have to see. We’ve got a couple more, too, if you want to keep going.”
That was presumably Kruger’s way of pre-empting any questions about senior forward Rob Whaley (back) and junior guard Jace Whiting (foot), who have not played since sustaining injuries after the second game of the season.
Fatigue
Senior forward Jalen Hill and junior guard Jaden Henley have shared a bulk of the ballhandling duties in Thomas’ absence. They both played 40 minutes against New Mexico, while Hicks and Jailen Bedford each tallied 36 minutes.
“It was pretty obvious to see around that six-minute mark that we kinda just lost energy,” Hicks said. “But it happens when you don’t have as many players. Hopefully we can play 40 minutes deep for the rest of the season.”
Although UNLV swept Air Force with 77-58 and 77-52 wins this season, UNLV isn’t taking the Falcons lightly.
Kruger said he understands there are certain mistakes the Rebels will have to “live with” given that so many players are playing such extensive minutes, but he hopes his team can keep miscues to a minimum.
“(Air Force is) one of the hardest covers and preps in the league, so we’ve gotta be extremely disciplined,” he said. “We can’t let fatigue creep in and cost us a couple possessions because they’re really good at making you pay if you take a break.”
The reality is that players like senior forward Isiah Cottrell and freshman guard DeMarion Yap, who are both averaging less than seven minutes per game this season, are likely to have their numbers called against Air Force.
“DeMarion is gonna go in and he’s gonna give you everything he can, so we’re comfortable there,” Kruger said. “Of course, he hasn’t gotten game reps. We’ve told him in these couple days, just play as hard as you can. … Don’t be surprised as you see him and everyone else that’s available.”
Despite rolling with a skeleton crew, UNLV boasts high morale for the tournament.
“It’s a fun time of year,” Kruger said. “Hopefully tomorrow we can just kind of get back to playing free. … I think guys understand that tomorrow’s our Super Bowl. Hopefully we’ll get a win, and immediately and the next day becomes a Super Bowl.”
For Hill, there’s a novelty aspect to the tournament since the senior transfer’s first season as a Rebel was impacted by injury.
“It’s my first time playing in it, so I’m very excited,” he said. “I know that we can make a run, that’s just what excites me the most.”
Kruger seems to have the same hope.
“I think we’re gonna fight,” he said. “I’m just so proud of them.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
Up next
Who: UNLV vs. Air Force
What: Mountain West tournament first round
When: 4 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Thomas & Mack Center
TV: Mountain West Network (streaming)
Radio: KWWN (1100 AM, 100.9 FM)
Line: UNLV -12½; total 130