UNLV Rebels at New Mexico Lobos, University Arena, Albuquerque, NM
Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 9:15 pm Eastern, TV: CBS College Sports
Opening Line: New Mexico -2
Current Line: New Mexico -2 1/2
Opening Total: 133
Current Total: 133 1/2
Money Line: New Mexico -150 / UNLV +130
New Mexico had played themselves into bubble contention with a 4 game winning streak a couple of weeks ago. Now the Lobos have lost 3 straight and appear headed to the NIT unless they win the Mountain West Tournament next month. Tonight, The Lobos host a UNLV team that might have secured a bid to the NCAA tournament with a gutsy, gritty 68-61 win at Colorado St Saturday night. New Mexico is 17-10 overall and 5-7 in conference. UNLV is 20-7 overall and 8-5 in conference. UNLV escaped with a 63-62 victory in Las Vegas Janaury 22, the last time these two teams played. New Mexico also has losses to California, Northern Iowa, Dayton, Wyoming, San Diego St twice, Utah twice, and Colorado St. New Mexico lost at home to Utah Saturday 62-60 in a game New Mexico couldn’t afford to lose. New Mexico has wins over Arizona St, New Mexico St twice, Colorado, Texas Tech, Colorado St, TCU, BYU, Air Force, and Wyoming. UNLV has wins over Wisconsin, Tulsa, Murray St, Virginia Tech, Nevada, Kansas St, TCU twice, Air Force twice, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado St. The Rebels have losses to Louisville, UC Santa Barbara, BYU twice, San Diego St twice, and Colorado St. The Rebels have won 6 of their last 8 games.
UNLV leads the overall series 26-15. The teams have alternated wins in the last 6 games, and are 3-2-1 ATS against each other. Four of the last five games have gone under the total in the series.
UNLV has no significant injuries right now. Guard/forward Chace Stanback is the teams leading scorer with 12.8 points a game. He also averages 6 rebounds to lead the team, 1.5 assists, and 1 steal a game. Senior guard Tre’von Willis is averaging 12.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.6 steals a game to lead the team. Guard Oscar Bellfield averages 11 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists to lead the team, and 1 steal a game. Guard Anthony Marshall averages 10 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.2 steals a game. UNLV is outscoring opponents 71-62 on the season. The Rebels shoot 45.4% from the field and 30.5% from 3-point range. UNLV opponents are shooting 39.9% from the field. The Rebels make 68.8% of their free throws. UNLV averages 34.7 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +0.9. The Rebels average 15 assists a game and 12.3 turnovers a game. They force 16.9 turnovers a game on defense. The Rebels average 8.1 steals and 3.7 blocks a game.
New Mexico forward Emmanuel Negedu is out for the season with an illness. He hasn’t played since December 19, but was averaging 4.7 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. New Mexico has four players averaging in double figure scoring. They are led by guard Dairese Gary who is averaging 13.4 points to lead the team, 3.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists to lead the team, and 1.4 steals a game. Forward Drew Gordon averages 12.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks a game. He leads the team in rebounds and blocks. Guard Kendall Williams averages 11.3 points, 3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.6 steals a game to lead the team. Guard Phillip McDonald averages 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds a game. New Mexico is outscoring opponents 73-65 on the season. The Lobos are shooting 46.3% from the field, and 34.9% from 3-point range. New Mexico opponents are shooting 41.3% from the field. The Lobos make 70.8% of their free throws. They average 36.8 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +5.4. The Lobos average 15.6 assists and 13.4 turnovers a game. They force 13.9 turnovers a game on defense. The Lobos average 6.4 steals and 3.5 blocks a game.
These two teams are very similarly statistically. UNLV is better defensively, but New Mexico scores slightly more. New Mexico’s main advantage is rebounding. UNLV forces a lot of turnovers. UNLV tends to go on shooting slumps and struggles to score. This game should come down to the wire as these teams usually bring out the best in each other.
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