UNLV Rebels vs TCU Horned Frogs Basketball Recap

UNLV 83, TCU 49

An angry and irritated basketball team notched a win on Saturday night in a city that has long been associated with sin. However, it was hard to shake the notion that the past week was still less than fulfilling for a club that expects to do a lot better in the Mountain West Conference.

The Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels put together a standout performance on both sides of the basketball Saturday evening in dismantling the Texas Christian Horned Frogs at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.  The defensive performance was just too much for the Frogs to handle.  Using full court pressure, and the type of athleticism which has become a staple for Coach Lon Kruger's Vegas ballclub, UNLV went on a dizzying 24-0 run midway through the first half to scuttle any chance at a TCU comeback.

Mere days after a misguided performance against highly-ranked BYU, the Rebels were back to their old selves.  Tre'Von Willis had 22 points and 7 rebounds, as all five UNLV starters scored in double figures.  Chase Stanback recovered from a shooting slump, hitting on 5-of-6 shot attempts, and pouring in 15 points.

It was simply too much UNLV defense for Jim Christian's Horned Frogs to stand.  TCU committed 23 turnovers on the evening and allowed the Rebels to extend their lead to as much as 25 points in the first half.  TCU was led by Garlon Green, who scored 11 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. The Frogs shot only 31 percent from the field.

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However, enough of the UNLV win. In a bigger context, this was a week that will stick under the craw of the Rebels. They took out their frustrations on poor old TCU, but that’s partly because of their 89-77 loss to BYU on the very same slab of Thomas and Mack hardwood. UNLV was supposed to get an early jump on BYU in the race for second place in the Mountain West. San Diego State is clearly setting the pace to this point in the season, so if a battle was to emerge between BYU and UNLV for the second slot in the league, the Rebels knew they had to hold serve at home this past Wednesday. They didn’t do the deed. This 34-point whacking of an undermanned opponent from a football school won’t count for two wins; it won’t erase the memory of the BYU setback; it won’t change UNLV’s somewhat precarious position.

The main storyline of this game really isn’t particular to the game itself. A focused 40 minutes from Vegas only goes to show how little concentration and consistency were devoted to the past week’s earlier and much more consequential conference collision. UNLV needs to be alert and attentive if this still-young Mountain West season is going to amount to anything.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer