UNLV vs BYU Basketball Recap

UNLV 88, BYU 74

While it's undeniably positive for a college basketball conference to have one dominant team, it's an even better benefit for a league to get more than one team to the NCAA Tournament. That's why Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson has to be pleased with what happened on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.

Coach Lon Kruger's UNLV lineup started strong and remained solid in a convincing 14-point takedown of Mountain West-leading BYU. The unexpected rout not only roused a happy crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center. It meant that the Runnin' Rebels have now joined UNLV as a slayer of the Cougars. BYU will certainly make the field of 65 as an at-large, but this display of Vegas vigor means that the Mountain West could well produce three teams in the upcoming Big Dance.

On a day when other bubble teams thrived at home when playing regional powerhouses (think Oklahoma over Texas, Richmond over Temple, and Dayton over Xavier), UNLV joined the parade and toppled the biggest, baddest bunch in its backyard. The Rebels were unconscious in the first half, hitting 20 of 31 shots (just under 67 percent) and 9 of 13 3-pointers (a little better than 67 percent). The man who made things happen for Kruger's kids was Tre'Von Willis. The 6-4 junior from Fresno did everything for Vegas at the offensive end, scoring 33 points in a way that enabled his teammates to thrive.

Some scorers hog the ball and cause a halfcourt offense to stagnate, but truly great players manage to set up the other players on the floor even while they put the ball in the bucket. That's what Willis did against Coach Dave Rose's flummoxed BYU defense. Willis rang up 33 points on Saturday, but he did so in a balanced fashion. Willis hit 11 of 20 shots overall, but he added 4 of 7 3-pointers to his portfolio and then got to the foul line as well, hitting 7 of 9 free throws. Because Willis made himself a multi-pronged threat who could do damage from the perimeter but also showcase a mid-range game and dribble penetration, he distorted the shape of BYU's defense. As a result, Willis was also able to hand out eight assists, most of which came in the first 15 minutes of the game. Willis's combination of shooting, slashing and passing was so thoroughly dominant in the early going that UNLV was able to ring up 47 points with 5:13 still left before halftime. That pace - on track to score over 125 points - was unsustainable, but it nevertheless decided the issue and enabled the Rebels to bag their biggest win of the season.

Where there's a Willis, there's a way to break down an opposing defense. As long as UNLV doesn't cough up a bad loss in the coming weeks, the Rebels should have an above-average shot at receiving a Dance card.

Craig Thompson will be very pleased if that happens.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer