Currently in Third!

[Rebel1986]

With some really bad loses this season, I am amazed UNLV is currently in third place overall. This has been such an up and down season that at least half of us on this site don't know if we want to replace coach Kruger or bring him back for another year? What is really interesting is that UNLV mostly sucked in the out of conference games, while they have mostly played well in conference (Air Force is a huge exception).

While UNLV has really bad blowout loses to Southern and Air Force, they also lost really close games to Saint Mary (currently in first in WCC) in double OT and a game by 1 to Utah State (first in MWC) due to really poor officiating, and beat Creighton and New Mexico twice.

I have said this entire season that I feel like a ping pong ball in regards to keeping Kruger, I think his team can play him back into another year if they finish the season by going 5-2 during the regular season with a 12-6 in conference record and a 19-11 overall record. Win the first tournament game and they get to 20 wins. This would show an improvement in the team record each of the last 3 years under Kruger.

The following is the UNLV record in conference and out of conference:

2023-2024 7-4 (3rd) 14-9 Kruger

2022-2023 7-11 (7th) 19-13 Kruger
2021-2022 10-8 (5th) 18-14 Kruger
2020-2021 8-10 (6th) 12-15 TJ Otzelberger
2019-2020 12-6 (2nd) 17-15 TJ Otzelberger
2018-2019 11-7 (4th) 17-14 Menzies
2017-2018 8-10 (7th) 20-13 Menzies
2016-2017 4-14 (10th) 11-21 Menzies
2015-2016 8-10 (6th) 18-15 Rice/Simon
2014-2015 8-10 (7th) 18-15 Rice
2013-2014 10-8 (4th) 20-13 Rice

 

[Masked_rebel]

Considering the Top 7 teams are all within a game of each other, I don't think it's an accomplishment to be 3rd.. while we've been able to win games we should and beat up on UNM, we still struggle and can't close out games with leads. Fresno has multiple looks the other night to tie on last possession and we shouldn't even have been in that position. We've also lost 2 conference Games where we had leads in final few minutes. Simple record improvements aren't good enough and we need to stop trying to justify mediocre record comparisons as reasons to keep a coach.
If it comes down to not making the tournament and what to do We either have a competent guy lined up to come in or we ride it out with Kevin and hope next year is the year. Simply improving a record or conference record but not winning a championship or making the tournament isn't good enough anymore to "just be" the reason to keep a coach. Not with how fast rosters can turn over and how easy other teams have been able to flip scripts. It's a bs argument we've sold ourselves at UNLV.

 

[Rebel1986]

The problem is we haven't done any better going back to either the first two season under Rice, or back to his father, otherwise UNLV has been mostly middle or lower end of the MWC with a handful of second place finishes, and never finishing first. While most of us agree that Kruger is not to the level as a coach currently that he can keep UNLV at the top of the conference, that doesn't mean he can't continue to improve.

 

[Rebel1986]

Side note, Utah State was blown out today, so all the conference now has at least 4 loses.

 

[saulpaul21]

Side note, Utah State was blown out today, so all the conference now has at least 4 loses.

To anyone who takes a fair look at things, we have 3 conference losses. Utah St should not count as a loss.

I see we are favored by 1.5 tonight