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LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV men’s basketball team, which has won three of its last four games, will travel to San Jose, California, to play at San Jose State on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The 7 p.m. game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and ESPN Radio Las Vegas.
The Runnin’ Rebels have held their last four opponents to just 55.3 points per game on average and 36.8% shooting.
UNLV (14-13, 8-8) had won three straight – a 68-57 road win at Wyoming on Feb. 8, which snapped a five-game losing streak, a 77-52 home win over Air Force on Feb. 11 and a 52-51 road win at Fresno State on Feb. 15 – before falling on Saturday evening at home to Colorado State, 61-53. Saturday’s game was UNLV’s first without point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who was out because of injury. SJSU (13-16, 6-11) is coming off an 82-73 road win at Wyoming on Saturday, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
UNLV has three players averaging double figures in scoring: Dedan Thomas Jr. with 15.6 points per game (8th in MW), Jaden Henley with 11.0 ppg and Jailen Bedford with 10.2 ppg. Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry, Julian Rishwain and Jalen Hill are all averaging between 9.8 ppg and 7.5 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 5.2 rpg and blocks with 1.5 bpg (2nd in MW), while Thomas Jr. is the team’s assist leader with 4.7 apg (3rd in MW) and Henley leads in steals with 1.5 spg.
UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 72-53 (.576).
ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season’s UNLV squad features six returners from last year’s team along with 10 newcomers. The newcomers are made up of four Division I transfers, a junior college transfer and five freshmen. UNLV has eight upperclassmen, including two sixth-year players. A total of six players on the roster are playing in their hometown of Las Vegas. The Runnin’ Rebels returned two starters from last year’s team in sophomore guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who was the Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year last season and was named to this season’s preseason all-conference team, and senior forward Rob Whaley Jr. (currently injured) Forward Jalen Hill is also back for a sixth year of college after suffering a season-ending knee injury in January of 2024 (in the MW opener at San Diego State). Thomas Jr. led UNLV in scoring and assists last year with 13.6 and 5.1 per game, respectively, Whaley Jr. had averages of 7.6 ppg and 3.6 rpg, while Hill averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg in seven contests.
LAST TIME OUT: In Saturday’s loss to CSU, the Runnin’ Rebels, who were led by Jailen Bedford’s 17 points off the bench, were without point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. for the first time. Bear Cherry added 16 points and six rebounds, and Jalen Hill contributed 10 points with eight rebounds and two steals. UNLV made just 7 of its 17 free-throw attempts. UNLV found itself down 14-2 five minutes into the contest, but battled back to tie the game at 18 apiece with 6:30 to go until halftime. CSU held a one-point lead at the break, 27-26. CSU started the second half with an 8-1 spurt but the Runnin’ Rebels fought back again and a long Bedford 3-pointer gave them a 37-36 lead with 13 minutes to play. The Rams pushed their lead back up to eight at 48-40 with 7:30 to go, but UNLV again battled and tied the game on a Cherry hook shot with 3:11 to go (53-53). Colorado State held the Runnin’ Rebels scoreless from there, finishing the game on an 8-0 run.
ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE: The Spartans are coming off an 82-73 road win at Wyoming on Saturday, which snapped a four-game losing streak. Tuesday’s game will be the first at home for SJSU since a 73-58 loss to UNR on Feb. 14. San Jose State is 6-7 in home games this season. The Spartans have three players averaging in double figures in scoring: Josh Uduje with 16.4 ppg, Will McClendon at 12.0 ppg and Latrell Davis at 11.6 ppg. Robert Vaihola is the rebounding leader at 6.9 rpg as well as blocked shots with 1.4 bpg. San Jose State was predicted to finish eighth in the Mountain West this season in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Spartans had an overall record of 9-23 last season, finishing tied for 10th in the MW with a league mark of 2-16. San Jose State has 10 upperclassmen on its 16-man roster. Head coach Tim Miles is in his fourth season at the school with a record of 51-76 (.402) and is in his 28th overall as a Division I head coach with a career mark of 450-414 (.521).
LAST TIME VS. SAN JOSE STATE: In the season’s first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 4 in Las Vegas, four UNLV players scored in double figures, led by Dedan Thomas Jr.’s 17 points and Jailen Bedford’s 16. Jaden Henley contributed 13, while Jalen Hill added 10. UNLV out-shot the Spartans 51.5% (17 of 33) to 25.8% (8 of 31) in the first half and led 44-26 at the break. After UNLV led by as many as 20 points with 11 minutes to play (64-44), San Jose State used a 14-0 run to cut its deficit to just three points with 3:25 to go. However, UNLV pushed its lead back to seven points with 1:26 to play and was never seriously threatened again.
BROADCAST INFO: Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network with Ben Braun and Dave Benz calling the action. The radio call will be handled by Matt Neverett and former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry, which may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas and worldwide on SiriusXM 387. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.
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