NCAA Basketball: Ranking the final 10 unbeaten teams for 2022-23 season
By Joey Loose
9. UNLV
It’s been a long time since UNLV was a national contender, and while this may not be the year that that changes, it’s great to see the nice start for the Runnin’ Rebels. Another Mountain West team has gotten off to a solid start, and they’ve even picked off a few quality opponents en route to an 8-0 beginning.
During the second week of the season, UNLV got an 8-point win at home over a then-ranked Dayton squad despite playing one of their worst offensive games of the season. The defense has carried the Runnin’ Rebels, who looked good in wins over Southern Illinois and Minnesota in southern California. They’ve also beaten a High Point squad that’s now 8-1 and won their first true road game at San Diego just a few days ago.
UNLV added a slew of transfers to this team and it’s all come together nicely to this point. Keshon Gilbert is the leading scorer through eight games while transfers Elijah Harkless and Luis Rodriguez are also averaging double figures. There were definitely questions before the season about the offense on this team and how these new pieces would fit together, but Kevin Kruger’s squad has answered those questions in one month.
Moving forward, UNLV has four more nonconference games and will be challenged in all of them, especially against Washington State and San Francisco on the next two Saturdays. Even if they manage to run through those games, MWC play will not be easy, including a road trip to the aforementioned New Mexico in early January.