Don’t Let a Team Beat You Twice
Good advice for San Diego State who dropped a heartbreaker 70-69 at GCU on Wednesday night. The Aztecs don’t have time to dwell on the loss as they hit the road again for a Saturday afternoon showdown in Las Vegas with UNLV. Here are three crucial aspects to watch in this all important game.
San Diego State at UNLV
Thomas & Mack Arena (the Vacation Home)
Tip-Off 1:00pm Pacific
TV: CBS
Rebels Rising?
Josh Pastner was named head coach in the offseason to lead a revival of the Runnin’ Rebels program that had fallen on hard times—again. The once national powerhouse UNLV has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2013. They have not escaped the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament in 11 seasons.
The 2025-2026 campaign figured to be another downer after UNLV started the season 7-8 including losses to UT Martin, Montana and Tennessee State. Then the Runnin’ Rebels knocked off a struggling Boise State team in overtime.
After an easy win over San Jose State at home, UNLV then traveled into Logan, Utah as 15.5 point underdogs on Tuesday night. They hadn’t won at Utah State since 2016.
UNLV marched back from a double digit deficit and continued that march all the way home to Las Vegas with a 86-76 victory over the Aggies.
Riding a 3-game win streak and unquestionably the biggest win in Coach Pastner’s brief tenure at UNLV so far, it begs to ask the question many in college basketball circles are right now; are the Runnin’ Rebels a program on the rise, or will they fall back to perennial underachievers?
A win over the Aztecs would signal to the rest of the Mountain West that the Rebs are back and for real this season.
Length, Athleticism & Speed
UNLV to the eye test looks a lot like previous Steve Fisher era Aztec players: long, athletic and positionless. The Rebs have a formidable front line in High Point transfer Kimani Hamilton, freshman Tyrin Jones and Arizona transfer Emmanuel Stephen.
The trio combined for 40 points against Utah State and helped dominate the Aggies on the boards 40-31. While none are threats from 3 point range, they make their living attacking in the paint. Hamilton and Jones are good ball handlers for their size who have a positive assist to turnover ratio on the year.
In the backcourt, Illinois transfer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn leads UNLV in scoring at 17.1 points per game. He is a downhill guard who can score inside the paint while also burying 35.7% of his 3 point attempts. The junior came up big with 21 points against Utah State.
The Aztecs may not face another team as athletic as UNLV in the Mountain West this season.
1-3-1 Zone
The same zone defense that spurred one of the biggest Aztec comebacks in Viejas Arena and a conference championship clinching win over New Mexico in 2014, is employed by Coach Pastner’s UNLV squad.
Intended to confuse offenses and get them out of rhythm, it stymied Utah State in the 2nd half as the Aggies turned the ball over and watched shots clank off the rim erasing a 14-point lead at one point.
The Runnin Rebels further confuse opponents by sometimes switching between man-to-man and the 1-3-1 zone in the same possession. SDSU has had problems diagnosing zone defenses and how to attack them. The Aztecs better be prepared to see various defensive looks on Saturday and have a plan to attack each one after struggling to score in their half court offense against GCU.
Final Thoughts
Expect UNLV to be confident after their road win at Utah State that put them back into the conference championship conversation. Runnin’ Rebels home games have been sparsely attended due to the team’s poor non conference and early season conference record.
Will UNLV fans begin to return to the Thomas Mack Arena after the team’s massive win at Utah State?
With San Diego State being the Harlem Globetrotters of the Mountain West that draws fans and the game being played on a weekend afternoon on a major television network, it is highly likely that UNLV will see a boost in fan support for the game.
If San Diego State plays with discipline, sharing the basketball to get open shots while limiting turnovers on offense and offensive rebounds on defense, the Aztecs have the firepower to win going away against UNLV.
Outside of a road win at Wyoming, SDSU hasn’t shown the full game consistency needed to put teams away comfortably on the road. It is likely SDSU will be in for another road battle that comes down to the wire against a UNLV team that is getting its swagger back.
Strap in and hold on, Aztecs fans.
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