On the heels of their 73-64 loss to No. 10 San Diego State on Wednesday, UNLV announced Thursday that guard Bryce Dejean-Jones has been suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. Dejean-Jones will miss the Runnin’ Rebels game at Nevada on Saturday as a result of the suspension.
Dejean-Jones had a frustrating night against the Aztecs, shooting 1-for-7 from the field and finishing the game with seven points, two assists and three turnovers. And according to Matt Youmans of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that frustration may have boiled over the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s defeat.
Starting forward Roscoe Smith missed Wednesday’s game and has yet to be cleared after suffering a concussion against Air Force last weekend, meaning that there’s still a chance that UNLV could be without two starters on Saturday. As for Dejean-Jones, he’s averaging a team-high 13.4 points per game but has struggled with shot selection at times.
Without Dejean-Jones in the lineup more will be asked of guards Kevin Olekaibe and Deville Smith, with the former scoring 11 points against San Diego State. Smith struggled against the Aztecs, finishing with two points and seven turnovers, and he’ll need to play much better against the Wolf Pack’s Deonte Burton.