For UNLV Rebels fans, the Mountain West tournament hasn’t been a source of much excitement for over a decade. The last time the Rebels reached the championship game was in 2013, where they were defeated by New Mexico. Their most recent semi-final appearance was in 2014.
First-year head coach Josh Pastner is hoping to change that. Pastner previously led teams to five NCAA Tournament appearances over 14 seasons at Memphis and Georgia Tech.
“This is a great opportunity for us. Everyone starts 0-0, and you get kind of a renewed, fresh season in a sense,” Pastner said. “Obviously, the goal is to win the tournament and keep playing in the NCAA tournament.”
Rebels Face Wyoming in First Round
Pastner acknowledges the challenge ahead for his No. 8-seeded team. Their first obstacle is No. 9 Wyoming.
“You can’t get to the end if you don’t win the first game,” Pastner said. “So we understand how important this first game is.”
Pastner received messages from fans when he was hired, requesting a return to the style of the “Runnin’ Rebels”. He has demonstrated that he can lead a team that plays with pace and scores effectively.
“Our style of play is an exciting brand to watch, and we’ve got to be better defensively. I’ve said that a bunch,” Pastner said. “But there’s also been a lot of positives, so hopefully we can keep extending it.”
Individual Accolades for UNLV Players
The Mountain West announced postseason awards on Tuesday. These accolades highlighted the improvement within Pastner’s overhauled roster.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was named the newcomer of the year and earned first-team all-conference recognition. Jones was selected for the all-defensive team and received an honourable mention all-conference nod.
Gibbs-Lawhorn is only UNLV’s second Mountain West newcomer of the year award winner, the first since 2012. Jones is the first true freshman to be named to the league’s all-defensive team since 2019.
- Jones led the league with 2.0 blocks per game.
- He is the first UNLV player to achieve this since the 2014-15 season.
Gibbs-Lawhorn and Jones both felt the other was deserving of their respective awards.
Rebels Not Focused on External Predictions
Gibbs-Lawhorn dismissed the significance of the awards. He also downplayed the fact that multiple national outlets gave the Rebels only a 3 percent chance to win the Mountain West tournament.
“It’s really not a factor,” Gibbs-Lawhorn said.
No matter what happens in the tournament, the Rebels’ roller-coaster season has demonstrated a strong proof of concept. UNLV is averaging 80.2 points per game, the highest since 2017-18 and second-highest since 1999-00.
The team’s tempo this year is 48th in the country, per KenPom rankings — another best since the 2017-18 campaign.
A turnaround from a season that mostly teetered around .500 to winning the tournament would be a feat, but Pastner knows that he and his team can’t get too far ahead of themselves.