Lots to be happy about in this win. The recurring theme here is the stellar play of Patrick McCaw. Just when u think the odds are stacked against him and that he'll plateau, the phenomenal freshman continues to elevate his game. Pat was red hot and he put this team on his back and carried them to this victory.
Usually i go with a Pro/Con breakdown, but today i'm going to just give my thoughts. The first thing that comes to mind is what i'm sure all of u were waiting for as well; that inevitable 2nd half collapse. Not today. The Rebels went into the break for the 12th straight game with a lead. For only the 6th time, they were able to hold it and even build upon it. I believe that the team as a whole maintained their focus, but more than that they upped the aggression. Too many times this season they've been rocked back on their heels by a haymaker punch from the opposition and have responded by not fighting back, or not battling back hard enough. Tonight, it was the Rebels throwing the punches and coming away victorious as a result.
Again, i was impressed with Dwayne. He still needs to learn the difference between a good shot and a horrible one, but his aggression was what helped keep UNLV ahead. He got after it and used his athleticism to get himself some impressive and important buckets. I still want to see him commit to rebounding the ball better, but all in all Morgan was a huge bright spot tonight at the T&M. Way to build off that momentum.
With Chris, i thought Rice did an excellent job sitting him on the bench to start the 2nd half. With such a short rotation, he can't really send to many messages by benching a guy, but i think this message got through loud and clear. To me Dave was saying, "Bring it, or i'll go with 6 guys to try and get this game." Wood responded with ten 2nd half points and some really good defense to coincide with it. We all would have preferred a full 40 minutes from our star, but i'm glad he continues to demonstrate that he can be coached up.
Sometimes i want to throttle Doolin, other times i want to hug him. I think today it was about 50/50 in terms of how i felt about his performance. On one hand he comes out guns blazing in the 1st half and gives this team a much needed 10 points. In the 2nd, nothing. So my question is where's the consistency? It's befuddling to me that a 5th year senior with as much intelligence as Cody possesses can completely take himself out of a game and do it of his own volition. He's shown on many occasions that he can get his own and it couldn't be any clearer that this squad is desperate for the scoring. Yet in nearly every instance this kid takes his foot of the accelerator and coasts the rest of the way. By now this is the way it's going to be, but i'll never understand it.
Goodluck and Cornish weren't amazing by any stretch, but what i like is the improvement is obvious. Okonoboh showed off his ever improving post game and Jordan showed us that his shooting numbers aren't a fluke. Goodluck needs to do a better job on the backboard and Cornish needs to stop bulldozing his way into the lane so much, but they're freshmen and they're growing up all the time. Can't ask for anything more than that.
Again the leashes were off and our young dawgs were looking impressive runnin' in the open floor. It used to be i would wonder how we were going to squander a layup after a steal. Now, my adrenaline gets pumping and i salivate because i know there's going to be an exciting finish. Runnin' Rebel basketball, it's what we all want to see and it's what we're getting.
In summation, beating up on Wyoming felt good today. It certainly helps when going 11/19 from 3, but it just looked like no matter what UNLV wasn't going to be denied. They took this game from the Cowboys and it was fun to watch. Thanks for reading and u know the drill; let's constructively talk some UNLV basketball.
Usually i go with a Pro/Con breakdown, but today i'm going to just give my thoughts. The first thing that comes to mind is what i'm sure all of u were waiting for as well; that inevitable 2nd half collapse. Not today. The Rebels went into the break for the 12th straight game with a lead. For only the 6th time, they were able to hold it and even build upon it. I believe that the team as a whole maintained their focus, but more than that they upped the aggression. Too many times this season they've been rocked back on their heels by a haymaker punch from the opposition and have responded by not fighting back, or not battling back hard enough. Tonight, it was the Rebels throwing the punches and coming away victorious as a result.
Again, i was impressed with Dwayne. He still needs to learn the difference between a good shot and a horrible one, but his aggression was what helped keep UNLV ahead. He got after it and used his athleticism to get himself some impressive and important buckets. I still want to see him commit to rebounding the ball better, but all in all Morgan was a huge bright spot tonight at the T&M. Way to build off that momentum.
With Chris, i thought Rice did an excellent job sitting him on the bench to start the 2nd half. With such a short rotation, he can't really send to many messages by benching a guy, but i think this message got through loud and clear. To me Dave was saying, "Bring it, or i'll go with 6 guys to try and get this game." Wood responded with ten 2nd half points and some really good defense to coincide with it. We all would have preferred a full 40 minutes from our star, but i'm glad he continues to demonstrate that he can be coached up.
Sometimes i want to throttle Doolin, other times i want to hug him. I think today it was about 50/50 in terms of how i felt about his performance. On one hand he comes out guns blazing in the 1st half and gives this team a much needed 10 points. In the 2nd, nothing. So my question is where's the consistency? It's befuddling to me that a 5th year senior with as much intelligence as Cody possesses can completely take himself out of a game and do it of his own volition. He's shown on many occasions that he can get his own and it couldn't be any clearer that this squad is desperate for the scoring. Yet in nearly every instance this kid takes his foot of the accelerator and coasts the rest of the way. By now this is the way it's going to be, but i'll never understand it.
Goodluck and Cornish weren't amazing by any stretch, but what i like is the improvement is obvious. Okonoboh showed off his ever improving post game and Jordan showed us that his shooting numbers aren't a fluke. Goodluck needs to do a better job on the backboard and Cornish needs to stop bulldozing his way into the lane so much, but they're freshmen and they're growing up all the time. Can't ask for anything more than that.
Again the leashes were off and our young dawgs were looking impressive runnin' in the open floor. It used to be i would wonder how we were going to squander a layup after a steal. Now, my adrenaline gets pumping and i salivate because i know there's going to be an exciting finish. Runnin' Rebel basketball, it's what we all want to see and it's what we're getting.
In summation, beating up on Wyoming felt good today. It certainly helps when going 11/19 from 3, but it just looked like no matter what UNLV wasn't going to be denied. They took this game from the Cowboys and it was fun to watch. Thanks for reading and u know the drill; let's constructively talk some UNLV basketball.
