Dave Rice is heading into a critical season in his tenure at UNLV.
The Runnin’ Rebels haven’t won an NCAA tournament game in his four seasons at the helm, and they’ve failed to get past the Mountain West tournament the last two years despite the fact that they have been able to clean up on the recruiting trail in recent seasons.
Christian Wood and Rashad Vaughn are both gone, but there is more than enough talent on the roster to be able to make some noise this season. Patrick McCaw, Goodluck Okonoboh and Dwayne Morgan are all back in the fold and will be joined by the likes of Stephen Zimmermann, Derrick Jones and transfers Ben Carter, Jerome Seagears and Jordan Cornish.
On the schedule this season? It starts with the Maui Invitational, which includes Kansas, Indiana, UCLA and Vanderbilt. The Rebels will also take road trips to Wichita State and Arizona, play Oregon on a neutral court and host Arizona State. By the time Mountain West play comes around, the Rebels will be tested.
Here is the complete schedule:
11/13 vs. Cal Poly
11/16 vs. New Mexico Highlands
11/18 vs. Southern Utah
11/23-11/25 Maui Invitational (Kansas, Indiana, UCLA, Vanderbilt)
11/28 vs. Prairie View A&M
12/04 vs. Oregon
12/09 at Wichita State
12/12 at UC Riverside Riverside
12/16 vs. Arizona State
12/19 at Arizona
12/22 vs. South Dakota