*One play Monday:

 

New Mexico at UNLV (-1) - 9:00pm Pacific - Game #729-730

I suspected at some point this season UNLV would show improvement, I just did not think it would take until February to see it.  First year coach Lon Kruger is a good one and it was just a matter of time.  UNLV has won 5 straight games and three of them came on the road in MWC play where wins are always hard to come by.  Senior forward Odartay Blankson has been sensational of late averaging 22.2ppg and 8.0rpg over his last 7 games.  Senior guard Romel Beck recently sat out 3 games due to injury which gave playing time to talented sophomore guard Michael Umeh who has played very well averaging 11.3ppg over last 6 games.  Beck returned to action three games ago and now the team just has more weapons.  New Mexico is coming off a double digit road win at San Diego State, but it should be noted that it was a 2 point game at halftime and SDSU forward Marcus Slaughter left the game due to injury 5 minutes into the second half.  Slaughter still led the Aztecs in scoring and rebounding in only 23 minutes so he was clearly missed badly.  With the win New Mexico is still only 2-4 in MWC road games with both wins coming vs bottom feeders Colorado State and SDSU.  Season ending injury to New Mexico starting point guard Kris Collins in late January flew under the radar due to injury to leading scorer Granger that occurred in the same time period.  Collins is missed in road games and vs athletic teams such are both the case tonight.  In first meeting at New Mexico, UNLV committed 22 turnovers but still led by as many as 9 in the second half and by 5 with under 9 minutes left before falling 62-58.  It was definitely a winnable game for them.  They are playing with much more confidence now and change of home court advantage is key.  UNLV has had two poor showings on ESPN this year (double digit losses vs Oklahoma State and at Utah) and would very much like to reverse that trend tonight.  It is also senior night for Blankston, Beck, and Blassingame.

 

Official Play:  UNLV-1  1 UNIT