Rebels and Cougars Meet in Provo: UNLV at BYU

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at BYU Cougars, Marriott Center, Provo, UT
Saturday, February 5, 2011, 4:00 pm Eastern, TV: Versus
Opening Line: BYU -8
Current Line: BYU -7 1/2
Opening Total: 145
Current Total: 147
Money Line: BYU -335 / UNLV +285

Jimmer Fredette and BYU take on rival UNLV in a crucial Mountain West match-up in Provo. BYU isa 7 1/2 point home favorite.

These two rivals played in Las Vegas Janaury 5 in the Mountain West opener for both teams. BYU dominated the game and won 89-77. At one point BYU led by 21 in the second half. The loss snapped an 8 game losing streak in Las Vegas against UNLV for the Cougars. BYU was led by player of the year candidate Jimmer Fredette who had 39 points in that game. Fredette is the nation’s leading scorer. UNLV is 17-5 on the season and 5-3 in the rugged Mountain West conference. BYU is 21-2 overall and 7-1 in conference. They are ranked #9 in both polls. Both of these terms will probably make the NCAA tournament. BYU has not swept the regular season series against UNLV since the 2003-04 season. UNLV has losses to Louisville, UC Santa Barbara, San Diego St, and Colorado St on the season in addtion to the BYU loss. They have wins over Wisconsin, Tulsa, Virginia Tech, Nevada, Boise St, Kansas St, TCU, Air Force, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah. The Rebels have won 3 straight games including a 67-54 victory at home against Utah Wednesday night. The Rebels held the Utes to 29.5% shooting from the field. BYu has losses to UCLA and New Mexico, both on the road. They have additional wins over Fresno St, Utah St, South Florida, St. Mary’s (CA), Creighton, Hawaii, Arizona, UTEP, Air Force, Utah, TCU, Colorado St, San Diego St, and Wyoming. On Wednesday night they won at Wyoming 69-62 in frigid Laramie. UNLV leads the overall series 18-15. The Rebels have won and covered 4 of the last 6 meetings, and 5 of those 6 have gone over the total.

UNLV has no significant injuries right now. Guard/forward Chace Stanback is the teams leading scorer with 13.0 points a game. He also averages 5.5 rebounds to lead the team, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. Senior guard Tre’von Willis is averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 steals a game to lead the team. Guard Oscar Bellfield averages 10.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists to lead the team, and 1.1 steals a game. Guard Anthony Marshall averages 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. UNLV is outscoring opponents 72-61 on the season. The Rebels shoot 46.6% from the field and 30.1% from 3-point range. UNLV opponents are shooting 39.1% from the field. The Rebels make 67.5% of their free throws. UNLV averages 34.7 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +0.3. The Rebels average 15.5 assists a game and 12.6 turnovers a game. They force 17.5 turnovers a game on defense. The Rebels average 8.7 steals and 4 blocks a game.

BYU has been playing with out reserve forward Chris Collinsworth since conference play began. He is out for the season with a knee injury. Collinsworth averaged only 16 minutes a game and scored 5.9 points a game, but he was one of the Cougar’s top rebounders with 5.6 a game. His little brother Kyle also plays for the Cougars. The Cougars are led by guard James Fredette better known as Jimmer. He has one of the sweetest shots in the country, and will be a lottery pick in the NBA draft. Fredette is averaging 27.6 points a game, 3.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists to lead the team, and 1.4 steals a game. He is shooting 41.8% from 3 point range and 88.5% from the free throw line. Guard Jackson Emery averages 12.3 points a game, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and leads the team in steals with 2.7 a game. Forward Brandon Davies averages 12 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1 assist a game. Noah Hartsock averages 9.3 points, and leads the team in rebounds with 6 a game and blocks with 1.5 a game. BYU is outscoring opponents 84-68 on the season. The Cougars average 45.6% shooting from the field and 36.7% from 3-point range. Cougar opponents are shooting 41% from the field. BYU shoots 73.6% from the free throw line. BYU averages 39.7 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +3.7. The Cougars average 14.7 assists and 10.9 turnovers a game. They force 15.1 turnovers a game on defense. BYU averages 8.2 steals and 4 blocks a game.

Though UNLV has had the upper hand recently in the last 3 or 4 years, BYU is the better team this year. They are almost unbeatable at home. UNLV needs another quality win to improve their tournament resume. The Rebels really have no answer for Fredette, but few teams do. I think UNLV has the talent to pull off the upset, but the Rebels have been a little inconsistent this season.