The Arizona Wildcats became just the second team to go from as high as No. 2 in the polls to unranked after suffering three losses in a week. Could they go through another defeat at the hands of an improved UNLV team?
TV schedule: Saturday, Dec. 2, 10:00 p.m. ET. CBSSN
Arena: Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
Few highly regarded teams have had as bad a week as Arizona (4-3), who went from a potential top ten matchup with Villanova to losing all three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis. It was, at times, two on five basketball with Allonzo Trier and DeAndre Ayton the only Arizona players to contribute in any meaningful way. The blowout loss to Purdue was the exclamation point to a dreadful few days.
They’ve had to go back to the drawing board and restart things, and it started with a 91-56 win on Wednesday to Long Beach State. This game was a collective effort, with six guys in double figures. One of them was Brandon Randolph, who was installed into the starting lineup in place of Emmanuel Akot, who struggled badly in the Bahamas.
They’ll face tougher competition this weekend in UNLV (6-1), who has a completely revamped roster filled with transfers and freshmen. The leader of the pack is likely one and done Brandon McCoy, who’s been averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds. He’s paired with Shakur Juiston, the top Junior College transfer coming into the season and a rebounding machine with over 12 a night.
The Rebels started out winning six straight before losing their first game of the season to Northern Iowa in overtime. The starting backcourt, Jovan Mooring and Jordan Johnson, shot a combined 5/29 from the field. Both had been playing well beforehand.
The key to this game will be how the coaches use the star freshmen against each other. Ayton is a forward whereas McCoy is a throwback center. For Arizona head coach Sean Miller, he’s likely to use senior center Dusan Ristic to guard the Rebels star. Whether he can guard him is another issue altogether. As for UNLV, they don’t have a plethora of options off the bench to guard Ayton if foul trouble occurs, so McCoy staying on the court is important.
Next: Arizona-UNLV by the position
There’s a level of excitement among the fans at UNLV so expect the Thomas and Mack to him electric on a Saturday night game. Both teams need a win for both a resume builder and momentum for the month of December. Because it’s at home, Marvin Menzies and the Rebels have the pressure on them to get this win. The pressure could be too much to deal with. Of course it’s way too early to know if the Wildcats have solved their problems yet.
Prediction: Arizona 75 – UNLV 79