No. 8 Alabama and UNLV each will look to rebound from opening-night losses at the Players Era men’s tournament when they face off in the nightcap on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The Crimson Tide (3-2) drew the toughest matchup of the tournament on Monday and didn’t fare well, falling to No. 12 Gonzaga 95-85. Alabama faded late, as the Bulldogs made 6 of their last 7 field-goal attempts.
Labaron Philon Jr. had 29 points and seven assists for Alabama, but the rest of the starting lineup combined for just 29 points.
Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats made it clear in the postgame press conference that Philon’s teammates needed to help him. He also emphasized that Philon needs to clean up his game and start crashing the boards as well, because wins at the highest level of college basketball come in the margins.
“We can’t ask (Philon) to score 40 to win the game,” Oats said. “It would be nice if he’d grab a rebound or take care of the ball better. He can’t have six turnovers either, but we got to get more help for him, and some of that’s on him. He’s got to set his teammates up a little bit better to score and help model a little bit.”
While UNLV (3-3) lost 74-67 to Maryland on Monday, the Runnin’ Rebels led for a significant portion of the game against the Big 10 opponent and showed their usual level of energy.
That energy has some hope building around the team again despite being upset by UT Martin in its season opener and Montana in its third game.
Josh Pastner, in his first year at UNLV after stints as head coach at Memphis and Georgia Tech, has molded his team’s style of play to fit the fast-paced identity that Runnin’ Rebels basketball became known for in its heyday.
UNLV doesn’t have Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon or Greg Anthony in the fold, but the new fast pace at least provides entertainment in a way that former coach Kevin Kruger’s anemic, slow-paced offense couldn’t. The problem for UNLV is that no matter how much it scores, its defense is rather generous.
That trait likely will pose significant problems for UNLV on Tuesday, as Alabama possesses a potent offense.
Monday’s loss to Maryland actually was uncharacteristic in that UNLV scored a season-low point total and yielded its second-lowest of the season.
While time will tell whether it was a fluke or a building block, Pastner insisted it was a byproduct of the team’s work in practice.
“We spent a lot of time on us defensively,” Pastner said. “I felt that we’ve gotten better at it, and we really have. I think we can be a really good defensive team. … So we’ll continue to improve on that.”
