Bet on it: UNLV basketball won’t overlook Northern Arizona

Be sure of this:

UNLV’s basketball team won’t be looking past Northern Arizona when the Runnin’ Rebels open their season Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Rebels know all too well about losing an initial game they were supposed to win, having fell to UT-Martin 86-81 last year.

Now, this is for the most part an entirely new team for UNLV.

But coach Josh Pastner is in his second year with the program, and he understands what can happen when you’re not at your best.

No matter the opponent.

Think about it: NAU recently beat Grand Canyon somewhat handily in a scrimmage. The same Grand Canyon many have picked to win the Mountain West this season.

“It wasn’t a fluke,” Pastner said. “You don’t go beat Grand Canyon without being a good team. (NAU) is very well-coached and has really good shooters and guys who can drive it. They’re a really good basketball team. We have to be ready to play and play at a high level.

“Look. Here’s my theory: I think everyone is good and everyone is well-coached and everyone has good players. Unless you’re one of those schools with a certain amount of money, one in the upper Power Four with that type of financial NIL, you’re probably in a different world than everyone else. But it’s less about the opponent than it is UNLV. We have to be good in terms of what we do well … The biggest thing is, we got better from (exhibition games) against Utah to BYU to Missouri. We improved.”

Fewer miscues

Still, little things persist that has Pastner wanting to see get better.

Winning is the operative answer. But there are other areas he believes UNLV must be better at Tuesday to reach a higher level of execution.

First things first: Cut down on silly turnovers.

UNLV plays fast and with such a pace will come at times mistakes with the ball. But the Rebels must do a better job at cleaning up those self-inflicted wounds and unforced errors.

“Basketball is a possession game,” Pastner said. “You do the job on the glass and you do the job on the turnover board by taking care of the ball. By creating turnovers and not turning it over yourself.”

This is will be the first official game for sophomore standout Tyrin Jones since a second-round loss in the NIT last season. Jones sat out exhibitions against Utah and BYU before scoring a team-high 21 points in a 90-81 victory against Missouri. He also had eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

“At the end of the day, whether you’re playing Duke or Lincoln (University), our mindset has to be that it’s a good basketball team and we have to control our controllables,” Jones said. “We have to bring energy and can’t play to the competition. We have to play every game like it’s BYU or Missouri.”

More vocals

The Rebels will continue to be without injured forward Tyler Harris (knee) and guard Issac Williamson (hamstring), along with senior guard AJ Storr (NCAA ineligible). But they will have guard Cam Miles, who came within a rebound of a triple-double against Missouri.

Miles isn’t the most vocal of sorts, certainly not for a point guard, something his coaches and teammates have implored him to improve. He’s trying.

“Everybody in the building says, ‘Come on, Cam. We need you to talk,’” Miles said. “It’s about getting better at it every day and coming out of my little shell. I feel like we got better with each (exhibition game). We’re ready to go and get the season going and show everyone what we can do.”

Said Jones: “Everybody is ready to go. It’s go time. We’re just ready to fight.”

No matter if it’s Duke or Lincoln University or, in this case, NAU.

Contact Ed Graney at [email protected]. Follow @edgraney on X.