UNLV Beats New Mexico Inside & Out, 83-73 Tuesday Night

Game Recap: UNLV 83, New Mexico 73 The Runnin’ Rebels homecourt advantage holds true Tuesday night. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Boone brothers lead UNLV over New Mexico in conference opener. Las Vegas, NV-After a single matchup between …

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 Game Recap: UNLV 83, New Mexico 73


The Runnin’ Rebels homecourt advantage holds true Tuesday night.


Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Boone brothers lead UNLV over New Mexico in conference opener.

Las Vegas, NV–After a single matchup between New Mexico and UNLV last season that was a true testament to the gauntlet of a conference the Mountain West truly is. Then second year head coach Kevin Kruger’s squad went into the Pit and handed the Lobos their second straight loss to start off conference play.

Both programs met as two of the more impressive teams during non-conference play to that point. It was the only meeting between them last season. Setting the stage for a possible revenge win for New Mexico on the road.

UNLV opened the doors to the Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday evening with a 7-6 (0-1, MWC) record but a top-10 win over Creighton back in December. The Runnin’ Rebels were missing key transfers early on & have since been victims of the injury bug. But that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.

New Mexico (13-2, 1-1) made the trip to Sin City looking to bounce back after a road loss to top-25 ranked Colorado State over the weekend. A win over UNLV would be just what’s needed inside the Lobo program to get things rolling in the new year. Unfortunately, Kevin krugers team had something else in mind.

The Runnin’ Rebels came out swinging. Taking a quick 4-0 lead to open things up and exert dominance over their guests with the help of their three point shooting early. UNLV enjoyed a 13-4 lead before a timeout halted their barrage.

The Lobos made adjustments after that and were sparked by the always entertaining combo guard Jaelen House. New Mexico was able to close the gap after that. With the help of true freshman Tru Washington off of the bench, they were able to take their first lead of the game around the nine minute mark with a pair of free throws (23-21).

This one stayed close as foul trouble in the first-half contributed to surges and setbacks for both teams. UNLV leaned on their 3-point shooting to hold New Mexico off, finishing the half 50% (6-12) while the Lobos went 0-3.

Richard Pitino’s group played reserved as their impact players went to the bench one-by-one due to foul trouble. Keeping New Mexico in this one was transfer forward Mustapha Amzil. The former Dayton Flyer has struggled in Albuquerque, but managed a team high 10 points in the first-half. It helped, as the Lobos went into the break only down 40-38.

UNLV emerged from the half-time break with the same energy they began the game with. With the same strategy that worked for them all game, pass the ball to Kalib in the post & Keylan on the perimeter. Helping extend their team’s lead to 21 points approaching the ten minute mark. It also turned out to be the winning formula of the night, combined with New Mexico’s turnover problem & complete absence from behind the arc.

Kalib ended with a game high 29 points from a dominant performance in the paint. While Keylan had a season high 17 points thanks to a near career high five made three point attempts. There was four Runnin’ Rebels to reach double figures, along with Luis Rodriguez (13 points) & Dedan Thomas Jr. (14 points).

The freshman sensation was particularly impressive. As the target of Jaelen House’s defensive torment all night, Thomas Jr. prevailed. Adding 7 assists, 3 rebounds & 2 steals to his 13 points while playing a whopping 38 minutes.

House himself tried to spark a run late in the second-half but it wasn’t enough. The Lobos were able to shrink their deficit to a slightly respectable margin in the closing minutes.

House was joined by freshman JT Toppin with 16 points a piece and maybe the only respectable field goal percentages of someone wearing cherry & silver (7-11, 63.3%). But it’s clear, New Mexico needs to make some adjustments as they dive deeper into conference action.

UNLV secured the quad 2 win at home while keeping the Thomas & Mack Center their home court fortress this season (6-1).

Player Spotlights

New Mexico G-Jaelen House

Stat line: 16 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds on 7-11 (63.3%) shooting in 26 minutes of action

During House’s time in Albuquerque, his reputation around the Mountain West is well known. The grad student combo guard is hardnosed, lightening fast with the ball, undersized at times but high energy.

But maybe his most important quality is he never backs down, from no one. Tuesday night House helped keep his team from Mountain West mediocrity as he took the offensive reigns to help himself & freshman JT Toppin to a team high 16 points a piece.

He was also disruptive defensively even though he ended the night with 0 steals, for only the second time this season. It wasn’t his best performance but in a game where most of his teammates looked intimidated, House stood tall.

UNLV-Keylan & Kalib Boone

Stat line: Kalib-29 points, 4 rebounds on 11-16 (68%) shooting, 7-8 FTs in just 28 minutes. Keylan-17 points, 5 rebounds on 5-11 (45%) from deep in 29 minutes on the floor

I was only going to give the spotlight to Kalib after his dominant paint performance against every player the Lobos threw at him. It was fun to watch in an era of less & less back to the basket play.

But maybe just as fun if not more is a great three-point shooting display. Insert Keylan, who in my opinion gave UNLV the competitive edge in the first-half while his brother finished things off in the post.

These two haven’t been on the floor together much at UNLV, but on Tuesday they looked like headaches for opposing teams in the Mountain West going forward.

Four Takeaways

  • UNLV looked confident & methodical from the tip on Tuesday. They look like they are still adjusting to life with Kalib Boone & life without Jalen Hill. But the Boone brothers showed up in the post & on the perimeter. While everyone else played into their roles and made opportunities work when they were given them.
  • Their shellacking of the Lobos to start the week is a great sign for the Runnin’ Rebels. They needed the quad 2 win incase they make a good enough run in the Mountain West to offset their mediocre non-conference performance.
  • If the Lobos’ season is riding on the ability to make threes OR create offense off of turnovers, it’s going to be a long ride. New Mexico hasn’t even been slightly respectable from deep this season. So teams that handle the ball well and outscore them look like their kryptonite.
  • I’m not sure the 3-guard lineup of Dent, House & Mashburn Jr. is the answer. We saw a different team before Mashburn Jr. rejoined the fold after the holidays. Not to say these last two losses are solely on his shoulders, but the team operates differently with this lineup. Maybe something to take a look at going forward before they are buried too far down the standings before February.

Next Up:

The Lobos return home for a date plenty of fans in New Mexico have circled on their calendar. The always intense rivalry between the Lobos and the No. 19 Aztecs of San Diego State. This clash of Mountain West titans is set for a noon tip-off in Albuquerque and can be watched on regular ole CBS.

While UNLV finish their two game homestand this week against a red hot No. 20 Utah State. Saturday’s noon tip-off against the Aggies can be watched on the CBS Sports Network.

Larry Muniz covers college basketball as a writer for Mountain West Wire and WAC Hoops Digest. Also as a co-host of the college basketball podcast “Hoops Talk W/Jay & Larry”. He is also a USWBA Member.

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All-Big 12 forward has entered the transfer portal per reports

Third-team All-Big forward Kalib Boone entered the transfer portal on Thursday.

On Thursday, All-Big 12 third-team forward Kalib Boone entered the transfer portal per reports.

Boone played four seasons with the Oklahoma State Cowboys averaging 7.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists while appearing in 123 games. He appeared in 36 games while making 30 for the Pokes in the 2022-23 season. Boone scored a career-high 10.6 points per game with 4.9 rebounds this past season.

Oklahoma State didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament but did get selected to the NIT. They fell to eventual champion North Texas in the quarterfinals of the tournament on their home floor.

Boone stands in at 6-foot-9 and would be a welcomed addition to many teams looking to add size to the interior. He is a bit one-dimensional during his career with just two of nine three-point attempts finding the net.

Boone signed with Oklahoma State in the 2019 recruiting cycle and was the No. 1 rated played in the state of Oklahoma according to 247Sports composite rankings. The Cowboys finished 20-16 and 8-10 in Big 12 play this past season.

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Aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith battle for No. 1

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, Basketball News and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Since our last update, the players who have improved the most spots are Ismael Kamagate (Paris), Moussa Diabate (Michigan), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Hugo Besson (New Zealand), Efe Abogidi (Washington State),  Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Max Christie (Michigan State), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas).

The most notable prospects making their debut on our rankings are Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Christian Koloko (Arizona), Wendell Moore (Duke), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame),  Josh Minott (Memphis), Zach Edey (Purdue), and Johnny Davis (Wisconsin).

Some of the top prospects who did not make the cut this time included Hunter Sallis (Gonzaga), Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Tennesse), Kobe Bufkin (Michigan), Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State), Jahvon Quinerly (Albama), Adam Flagler (Baylor), Jaylin Williams (Auburn), Matthieu Gauzin (Le Mans), Isaiah Wong (Miami), Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

2022 aggregate NBA mock draft: Debut ranking of all notable prospects

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Bleacher Report, Yahoo, The Athletic, Yahoo, SB Nation, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Collegiate teams who had more than two players appear on a mock were Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee and UCLA. Three players will be on the G League’s Ignite roster and one is on Overtime’s Elite squad.

Additionally, seven players are rostered in Spain and four are playing in Australia’s NBL. There are also three players on Serbia’s KK Mega Basket included.

Freshmen one-and-done candidates who didn’t make the list but could climb on to join during the season: Harrison Ingram (Stanford), Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), Josh Minott (Memphis), Kowacie Reeves (Florida), Bryce Hopkins (Kentucky), Nathan Bittle (Oregon) and Jeremy Sochan (Baylor).

Some of the most notable collegiate returners who were snubbed from these rankings: Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), Jonathan Davis (Wisconsin), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Zach Edey (Purdue), Adam Miller (LSU), Colin Castleton (Florida) and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Relevant international prospects to know who were not included below: Fedor Zugic, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Jayson Tchicamboud, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Yoan Makoundou, Tom Digbeu and Makur Maker.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Main Image: Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group