By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – MBB Beat Reporter
San Jose State men’s basketball (7-9, 0-4 MW) slides into Sin City to take on the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (10-8, 2-3 MW).
Both teams are nearly a week removed from facing each other in a lopsided 81-56 victory for UNLV. Donovan Williams was the leading scorer for UNLV going for 20 points while SJSU’s Myron “MJ” Amey Jr. led all scorers with 23 points thanks to 16 second-half points. Amey posed as the main silver lining for a Spartans team that turned the ball over 19 times and allowed the Rebels to go 11-22 from three.
Know Your Foe
UNLV has an opportunity to be an agent of chaos and turn SJSU’s brutal losing streak from four to five games, all four previous losses have been by at least 15 points.
The Runnin Rebels are coming off a 69-62 defeat against Air Force, due in large part to Bryce Hamilton and Donovan Williams combining for 51 points, while no other Running Rebel scored more than five. Air Force came into the game having lost three straight and six of its past seven.
A loss to a UNLV squad that is a country mile away from the crém de la crém of the Mountain West would be yet another blemish on the Spartans’ resume, but wouldn’t be a total cry for help.
The Runnin’ Rebels roam on defense with a psychopathic craving for suffocating defenders on the perimeter. It’s an energy that doesn’t have a direct calculation, however some of the remnants of it are found in the box score as turnovers. Which is exactly where things went awry last outing for the Spartans.
Rebels’ Jordan McCabe and Victor Iwuakor caused anarchy all night for the Spartans forcing them into ill advised passes and iso situations that resulted in missed shots.
San Jose State ended up scoring 10 points in the paint and minus Amey’s hot streak would’ve left the arena with their tail tucked between their legs.
Offensively the Rebels can fall victim to going to the Bryce Hamilton well too many times. At Hamilton’s best he can disembowel defenses without needing much movement from his teammates to create space for him. Then there are the cold streaks and luls that result from Hamilton not finding the bottom of the net.
An eye must be kept on Donovan Hamilton as well who is averaging 14 points per game while shooting 44% from three. In Hamilton’s last four games he’s averaged 20.8 points per game playing second fiddle to Hamilton.
Spartan’s Route to Victory
In the recent “Spartan’s Route to Victory” against Wyoming I was hoping for the Spartans to cut their 19 turnovers in half from their previous game against UNLV. They accomplished this by surrendering 10 against Wyoming which helped aid them scoring their most points during the recent skid.
With that cleaned up, it’s time for the Spartans to start firing away from three point range in order to free up driving lanes. The Spartans currently rank 10th in 3-pointers made per game and 21st in 3-point percentage per game which is something to write home about, but it’s also a byproduct of having a weak inside game.
The 32 points scored inside against Wyoming was an uptick compared to the previous games. When Omari Moore is gliding through the paint and utilizing his cunning finishes around the rim the Spartans are playing winning basketball. It starts with making threes and everything around the restricted area falls into place after that.
The Spartans and Rebels battle Jan. 22 at 12 p.m. and can be viewed on the Stadium Network.