2017–18 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 2017–18 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Rebels were led by second-year head coach Marvin Menzies and played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 20–13, 8–10 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated Air Force in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Nevada. Despite having 20 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament after declining an invite to the CBI Tournament.

2017–18 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight champions
Conference	Mountain West Conference
2017–18 record	20–13 (8–10 MW)
Head coach	Marvin Menzies (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Andre LaFleur Rob Jeter Eric Brown
Home arena	Thomas & Mack Center

2017–18 Mountain West Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 24 Nevada	15	–	3		.833			29	–	8		.784
Boise State	13	–	5		.722			23	–	9		.719
New Mexico	12	–	6		.667			19	–	15		.559
Fresno State	11	–	7		.611			21	–	11		.656
San Diego State †	11	–	7		.611			22	–	11		.667
Wyoming	10	–	8		.556			20	–	13		.606
UNLV	8	–	10		.444			20	–	13		.606
Utah State	8	–	10		.444			17	–	17		.500
Air Force	6	–	12		.333			12	–	19		.387
Colorado State	4	–	14		.222			11	–	21		.344
San Jose State	1	–	17		.056			4	–	26		.133
† 2018 MW Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Runnin' Rebels finished the 2016–17 season 11–21, 4–14 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for tenth place. They lost in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament to San Diego State.[1]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Christian Jones	F	6'7"	225	RS Sr.	Arlington, TX	Graduated
Uche Ofoegbu	F	6'4"	220	RS Sr.	Chicago, IL	Graduated
Tyrell Green	F	6'7"	215	Sr.	Toronto, ON	Graduated
Dwayne Morgan	F	6'8"	215	Jr.	Baltimore, MD	Transferred to Southern Utah
Larry Bush	G	6'2"	165	Jr.	Calabasas, CA	Walk-on; didn't return
Jaylen Poyser	G	6'4"	180	So.	Malton, ON	Transferred to St. Bonaventure
Jaylan Ballou	F	6'0"	175	Fr.	Santa Fe Springs, CA	Walk-on; didn't return
Troy Baxter Jr.	F	6'8"	190	Fr.	Tallahassee, FL	Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast
Zion Morgan	G	6'5"	180	Fr.	Chicago, IL	Transferred to Wabash Valley College

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Shakur Juiston	PF	6'7"	215	Jr.	Paterson, NJ	NJCAA Player of the Year from Hutchinson Community College. Juiston has 2 years of remaining eligibility.[2]
Anthony Smith	SF	6'7"	190	Jr.	Sacramento, CA	Junior college transfer from Feather River College.[3]
Noah Robotham	PG	6'1"	165	Sr.	Las Vegas, NV	Transferred from Akron. Under NCAA transfer rules, Robotham will not play for the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Nick Blair	SF	6'5"	205	Jr.	Las Vegas, NV	Transferred from Idaho. Under NCAA transfer rules, Blair will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. Joined the team as a preferred walk-on.

2017 recruiting class

UNLV recruit Brandon McCoy at the 2017 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jay Green SG	Glendale, AZ	Hillcrest Prep Academy (AZ)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Nov 16, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 68
Cheikh Mbacke Diong C	Melbourne, FL	Florida Prep Academy	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Mar 3, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Brandon McCoy C	San Diego, CA	Cathedral Catholic HS	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Apr 25, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 93
Amauri Hardy PG	Farmington Hills, MI	North Farmington HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Apr 26, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Tervell Beck SF	Cleveland, OH	Cleveland Central Catholic HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	May 11, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 73
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017. "2017 UNLV Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Trey Woodbury SG	Las Vegas, NV	Ed W. Clark High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Aug 1, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 78
Bryce Hamilton SG	Pasadena, CA	Pasadena High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Oct 23, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 75
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2017.

Preseason

In a vote by conference media at the Mountain West media day, the Rebels were picked to finish in sixth place in the Mountain West.[4] Freshman forward Brandon McCoy was named to the preseason Mountain West Freshman of the Year.[5]

Roster

2017–18 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jay Green 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Hillcrest Prep Glendale, AZ G 1 Kris Clyburn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Ranger College Romulus, MI F 2 Anthony Smith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Feather River College Sacramento, CA G 3 Amauri Hardy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr North Farmington HS Farmington Hills, MI G 5 Noah Robotham  6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Akron Las Vegas, NV F 10 Shakur Juiston 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Hutchinson C.C. Paterson, NJ F 11 Cheickna Dembélé 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Scotland Performance Institute Mali, Africa F 12 Djordjije Sljivancanin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So IMG Academy Belgrade, Serbia G 13 Ben Coupet Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Simeon Career Academy Chicago, IL F 14 Tervell Beck 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Cleveland Central Catholic HS Cleveland, OH F 20 Nick Blair (W)  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Idaho Las Vegas, NV G 24 Jordan Johnson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Wisconsin–Milwaukee Waukegan, IL G 30 Jovan Mooring 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr South Suburban College Country Club Hills, IL F 34 Cheikh Mbacke Diong 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Florida Preparatory Academy Senegal, Africa F 44 Brandon McCoy 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Cathedral Catholic HS San Diego, CA	Head coach Marvin Menzies (UCLA) Assistant coach(es) Andre LaFleur (Northeastern) Rob Jeter (UW–Platteville) Eric Brown (Cal State Fullerton) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 3, 2017 7:00 pm		Alaska Fairbanks	W 97–73		Thomas & Mack Center (7,974) Paradise, NV
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium		Florida A&M	W 108–66	1–0	Thomas & Mack Center (9,457) Paradise, NV
Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm		Prairie View A&M MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game	W 98–63	2–0	Thomas & Mack Center (8,078) Paradise, NV
Nov 17, 2017* 7:00 pm		Eastern Washington MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game	W 91–76	3–0	Thomas & Mack Center (8,900) Paradise, NV
Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM		vs. Rice MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight semifinals	W 95–68	4–0	T-Mobile Arena (8,107) Paradise, NV
Nov 22, 2017* 9:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Utah MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight championship	W 85–58	5–0	T-Mobile Arena (8,424) Paradise, NV
Nov 25, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium		Southern Utah	W 101–82	6–0	Thomas & Mack Center (9,543) Paradise, NV
Nov 29, 2017* 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at Northern Iowa MW–MVC Challenge	L 68–77 ^OT	6–1	McLeod Center (4,546) Cedar Falls, IA
Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Arizona	L 88–91 ^OT	6–2	Thomas & Mack Center (14,579) Paradise, NV
Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm		vs. Oral Roberts UNLV on the Strip	W 92–66	7–2	MGM Grand Garden Arena (6,317) Paradise, NV
Dec 9, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. Illinois UNLV on the Strip	W 89–82	8–2	MGM Grand Garden Arena (9,668) Paradise, NV
Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Pacific	W 81–76	9–2	Alex G. Spanos Center (2,279) Stockton, CA
Dec 20, 2017* 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM		Mississippi Valley State	W 95–63	10–2	Thomas & Mack Center (9,128) Paradise, NV
Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium		Northern Colorado	W 94–91	11–2	Thomas & Mack Center (9,192) Paradise, NV
Mountain West regular season
Dec 30, 2017 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM		Boise State	L 74–83	11–3 (0–1)	Thomas & Mack Center (11,892) Paradise, NV
Jan 3, 2018 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM		at San Jose State	W 82–76	12–3 (1–1)	Event Center Arena (1,376) San Jose, CA
Jan 6, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM		Utah State	L 78–85	12–4 (1–2)	Thomas & Mack Center (12,386) Paradise, NV
Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM		at Air Force	W 81–76	13–4 (2–2)	Clune Arena (1,911) Colorado Springs, CO
Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		New Mexico	L 81–85	13–5 (2–3)	Thomas & Mack Center (10,546) Paradise, NV
Jan 20, 2018 2:00 pm, CBSSN		at Colorado State	W 79–74	14–5 (3–3)	Moby Arena (4,383) Fort Collins, CO
Jan 23, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at Fresno State	L 63–69	14–6 (3–4)	Save Mart Center (5,385) Fresno, CA
Jan 27, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN		San Diego State	W 88–78	15–6 (4–4)	Thomas & Mack Center (11,137) Paradise, NV
Jan 31, 2018 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM		San Jose State	W 76–67	16–6 (5–4)	Thomas & Mack Center (11,344) Paradise, NV
Feb 3, 2018 5:00 pm, CBSSN		at Boise State	L 91–93 ^OT	16–7 (5–5)	Taco Bell Arena (10,737) Boise, ID
Feb 7, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at No. 23 Nevada	W 86–78	17–7 (6–5)	Lawlor Events Center (11,285) Reno, NV
Feb 10, 2018 5:00 pm, CBSSN		Wyoming	W 85–70	18–7 (7–5)	Thomas & Mack Center (11,421) Paradise, NV
Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM		Air Force	W 81–73	19–7 (8–5)	Thomas & Mack Center (9,027) Paradise, NV
Feb 17, 2018 1:00 pm, CBSSN		at San Diego State	L 56–94	19–8 (8–6)	Viejas Arena (11,180) San Diego, CA
Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Fresno State	L 64–77	19–9 (8–7)	Thomas & Mack Center (9,302) Paradise, NV
Feb 25, 2018 11:00 am, CBSSN		at New Mexico	L 90–91	19–10 (8–8)	The Pit (12,080) Albuquerque, NM
Feb 28, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN		No. 21 Nevada	L 75–101	19–11 (8–9)	Thomas & Mack Center (13,998) Paradise, NV
Mar 3, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3		at Utah State	L 67–79	19–12 (8–10)	Smith Spectrum (5,853) Logan, UT
Mountain West Tournament
Mar 7, 2018 11:00 am, Stadium	(8)	(9) Air Force First round	W 97–90 ^OT	20–12	Thomas & Mack Center (4,994) Paradise, NV
Mar 8, 2018 12:00 pm, CBSSN	(8)	(1) No. 22 Nevada Quarterfinals	L 74–79	20–13	Thomas & Mack Center (6,753) Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

References

1. "UNLV vs. San Diego State - Game Recap - March 8, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
2. Stack, Dan. "UNLV rolling with commitment of No. 1 JUCO player Shakur Juiston". FanRagSports.com. Nafstrops Media. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
3. Grimala, Mike. "UNLV gets commitment from juco forward Anthony Smith". LasVegasSun.com. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
4. "Nevada Predicted to Win 2017-18 Mountain West Men's Basketball Regular-Season Title". Retrieved 2017-10-26.
5. "Mountain West Announces 2017-18 Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team". Retrieved 2017-10-26.