After a thrilling come-from-behind opening night victory against Missouri, Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers will look to improve to 2-0 against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels Saturday afternoon (5 p.m. CT).
The Tigers dominated the second half against Missouri, thanks in large part to an impressive performance from PJ Haggerty, who scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half.
Now, Memphis will deal with their first true road environment against a UNLV program looking to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013.
What to look for from the Rebs
Coach Kevin Kruger’s UNLV team was picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll.
They are led by sophomore point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. Thomas averaged 13.6 points, 5.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds a year ago starting all 34 games. Thomas is a crafty scorer with a game akin to former Memphis star Kendric Davis.
In their season opening win over former Memphis assistant Tony Madlock’s Alabama State Hornets, the Runnin’ Rebels won 93-79.
JUCO transfer big man Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds. At 6-foot-11, 280 pounds, Cherry has terrific footwork and thrived in the post against a relatively undersized Hornets squad.
Off the bench for UNLV, Florida transfer wing Julian Rishwain scored 13 points going 4-8 from the three-point-line.
The Runnin’ Rebels played man-to-man exclusively against Alabama State, but they allowed 79 points. In KenPom’s defensive efficiency ranking, UNLV sits at No. 134.
Memphis’ path to 2-0
Through two exhibitions and the Missouri game, Memphis has been outscored by 27 points in the first half of games. In every one of these contests, the Tigers have made a second-half surge, but falling behind early on the road is not a winning formula.
Those late surges were the result of an increase in defensive pressure and the dominance of PJ Haggerty. Haggerty scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half against Missouri.
As for defense, Penny Hardaway’s most successful teams have thrived through full-court pressure. This year’s squad has all of the tools to press effectively.
Alabama State’s occasional pressure bothered UNLV in their opener, and Memphis’ athleticism should create more problems for the Runnin’ Rebels.
A great test
UNLV sits at No. 92 at KenPom and No. 90 at Barttorvik. While the Tigers are significantly higher in both metrics, No. 39 and No. 35, a road game against a top 100 opponent will prepare Memphis for those pesky road conference games later this season.
UAB ,Wichita State, and FAU are all ranked similarly to UNLV metrically. Last season, Memphis struggled in conference play, so playing a dangerous mid-major on the road early should better prepare them for AAC play.
The Tigers are more talented and more athletic than UNLV, but they will need to play a complete game to leave Vegas with a victory.
