By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
To be polite, it was a small UNLV basketball crowd. To be fair, it was also a 12 noon start on the Saturday before Christmas matching two teams that sported identical 4-8 records. (Just two miles to the west at T-Mobile Arena, college basketball blueblood brands North Carolina and UCLA were also matched in a 12 noon game.)
A couple thousand fans were likely in Thomas & Mack Center even though the score sheet reported attendance at 6,910.
The arena atmosphere was not exactly the fervor you saw when UNLV battled Arizona or hosted Nevada, Reno on the home court in past years.
But UNLV fans who didn’t attend missed arguably UNLV’s best half of basketball under first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger this season as the Runnin’ Rebels outscored Robert Morris from Pennsylvania, 47-34, in the second half en route to an 81-69 win. UNLV trailed, 35-34, at halftime.
The UNLV win came after Otzelberger was ticked off at the team’s effort and passion Wednesday when the Rebs lost to Pacific in a lackluster effort.
Otzelberger sent a strong message to a few starters like guard Amauri Hardy as Hardy didn’t enter the game until 13:13 was left in the first half and players like guards Marvin Coleman (a local product) and Jay Green and forward Vitaliy Shibel played a lot of time on the court for UNLV.
UNLV went back to basics, moving the ball well on the offensive end (especially in the second half) and distributing the ball inside to to forward Cheikh Mbacke Diong (17 points), Donnie Tillman (17 points) and Shibel (13 points). In fact, UNLV outscored Robert Morris, 50-18, in the paint.
Meanwhile, Coleman assumed the role of court general, and was singled out by Otzelberger for his passion and effort. Coleman was six of seven from the field (including two of two from three-point land) and finished with 16 points. Green also had a terrific all-around floor game, being active on the offensive end where UNLV has been bogged down with one-on-one play during the 4-8 start.
For the record, here’s Otzelberger’s post-game statement: “Really proud of our guys’ effort that they displayed today. I thought Marvin Coleman displayed the heart of a champion and winner. Love to see the effort of guys like Jay Green who haven’t had an opportunity. The passion he plays with, how thankful and grateful he is to be a member of this program. Those guys set a great example today. To me, being the leader of this program, it is very humbling and I have a tremendous sense of gratitude and pride.
“I have studied it for a number of years, feel very fortunate to have this opportunity and I am going to make sure every day that everything that we do reflects that. So I am really proud of some individuals today who embody what it is to be a Rebel. It is my job to continue to develop that culture, have that accountability and set that standard.”
Follow LVSportsBiz.com on Twitter and Instagram. Like LVSportsBiz.com on Facebook.