Rebels game will be 'big test' for seniors - UNM Daily Lobo

The men’s basketball team will head to Las Vegas this weekend to face its biggest challenge yet.

Coming off a 75-70 loss to No. 16 San Diego State at The Pit, the Lobos go to Las Vegas to face No. 20 UNLV.

“The Thomas & Mack Center is a tough environment and (UNLV) is outstanding,” head coach Steve Alford said. “They are a really good, deep basketball team.”

The Lobos (15-3, 1-1 MWC) are playing a Rebels team which opened conference play at San Diego State and came two points short of the win, but have key wins against then-No 1. North Carolina, No. 19 Illinois and California.

“It’s going to be a big test for our seniors,” Alford said. “This is going to be the best basketball team we’ve played.”

The Runnin’ Rebels (17-3, 1-1 MWC) lost their top scorer from last year in Tre’Von Willis to graduation, but return four starters and have added two transfers. Senior guard Oscar Bellfield and juniors Anthony Marshall and Quintrell Thomas have helped the Rebels rank as high as 12th in national polls.

Senior guard Chace Stanback leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game, and was the go-to guy in the 10-point upset over North Carolina.

Sophomore forward Mike Moser is averaging a double-double this season with 14.0 points per game and 11.4 rebounds this season, after transferring from UCLA. Marquette transfer Reggie Smith just became eligible to play last month.

The Lobos this season are 8-1 away from The Pit, including 4-0 in non-neutral site games. Senior guard Phillip McDonald said his team has confidence to go and get a win in a hostile environment.

“I’m just going to remind my teammates that we’re a good ball club on the road,” McDonald said. “We’re just going to have to step it up at UNLV. We really need that game.”

Despite UNM’s success on the road under Alford, the Lobos have struggled in Las Vegas.

UNM is 5-16 all-time at the Thomas & Mack Center, including 1-3 under Alford.

The Lobos lost a 63-62 thriller last season in Las Vegas after sophomore guard Kendall Williams missed one of his two free throws with 1.1 seconds left, which would’ve sent the game into overtime.

This time around, there might be a lot more scoring.

The Rebels like to run the court and have the ninth best offense in the country, averaging 81.6 points per game.

Because the conference schedule has been condensed from 16 games to 14, after the departure of Brigham Young and Utah, Alford said his team needs a victory to keep it alive in the Mountain West, but playing two ranked teams back-to-back is not an easy task.

“This was a difficult week,” Alford said. “It didn’t start out well for us. We’ve got to pick things up and we’ve got to try and make some adjustments and play better on Saturday.”