# 2017–18 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 2017–18 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Rebels were led by second-year head coach Marvin Menzies and played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 20–13, 8–10 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated Air Force in the first round of the Mountain West tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Nevada. Despite having 20 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament after declining an invite to the CBI Tournament.

## Previous season

The Runnin' Rebels finished the 2016–17 season 11–21, 4–14 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for tenth place. They lost in the first round of the Mountain West tournament to San Diego State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Christian Jones | F | 6'7" | 225 | RS Sr. | Arlington, TX | Graduated |
| Uche Ofoegbu | F | 6'4" | 220 | RS Sr. | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Tyrell Green | F | 6'7" | 215 | Sr. | Toronto, ON | Graduated |
| Dwayne Morgan | F | 6'8" | 215 | Jr. | Baltimore, MD | Transferred to Southern Utah |
| Larry Bush | G | 6'2" | 165 | Jr. | Calabasas, CA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Jaylen Poyser | G | 6'4" | 180 | So. | Malton, ON | Transferred to St. Bonaventure |
| Jaylan Ballou | F | 6'0" | 175 | Fr. | Santa Fe Springs, CA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Troy Baxter Jr. | F | 6'8" | 190 | Fr. | Tallahassee, FL | Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast |
| Zion Morgan | G | 6'5" | 180 | Fr. | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Wabash Valley College |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Shakur Juiston | PF | 6'7" | 215 | Jr. | Paterson, NJ | NJCAA Player of the Year from Hutchinson Community College. Juiston has 2 years of remaining eligibility. |
| Anthony Smith | SF | 6'7" | 190 | Jr. | Sacramento, CA | Junior college transfer from Feather River College. |
| Noah Robotham | PG | 6'1" | 165 | Sr. | Las Vegas, NV | Transferred from Akron. Under NCAA transfer rules, Robotham will not play for the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |
| Nick Blair | SF | 6'5" | 205 | Jr. | Las Vegas, NV | Transferred from Idaho. Under NCAA transfer rules, Blair will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. Joined the team as a preferred walk-on. |

### 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jay Green SG | Glendale, AZ | Hillcrest Prep Academy (AZ) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 16, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 68 ||||||
| Cheikh Mbacke Diong C | Melbourne, FL | Florida Prep Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Mar 3, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Brandon McCoy C | San Diego, CA | Cathedral Catholic HS | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Apr 25, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Amauri Hardy PG | Farmington Hills, MI | North Farmington HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 26, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Tervell Beck SF | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Central Catholic HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 11, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017. "2017 UNLV Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017. ||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Trey Woodbury SG | Las Vegas, NV | Ed W. Clark High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Aug 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Bryce Hamilton SG | Pasadena, CA | Pasadena High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Oct 23, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2017. ||||||

## Preseason

In a vote by conference media at the Mountain West media day, the Rebels were picked to finish in sixth place in the Mountain West. Freshman forward Brandon McCoy was named to the preseason Mountain West Freshman of the Year.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 3, 2017 7:00 pm | | Alaska Fairbanks | W 97–73 | | Thomas & Mack Center (7,974) Paradise, NV |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Florida A&M | W 108–66 | 1–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (9,457) Paradise, NV |
| Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Prairie View A&M MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game | W 98–63 | 2–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,078) Paradise, NV |
| Nov 17, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Eastern Washington MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game | W 91–76 | 3–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,900) Paradise, NV |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | vs. Rice MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight semifinals | W 95–68 | 4–0 | T-Mobile Arena (8,107) Paradise, NV |
| Nov 22, 2017* 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Utah MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight championship | W 85–58 | 5–0 | T-Mobile Arena (8,424) Paradise, NV |
| Nov 25, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Southern Utah | W 101–82 | 6–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (9,543) Paradise, NV |
| Nov 29, 2017* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa MW–MVC Challenge | L 68–77 $^{OT}$ | 6–1 | McLeod Center (4,546) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Arizona | L 88–91 $^{OT}$ | 6–2 | Thomas & Mack Center (14,579) Paradise, NV |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm | | vs. Oral Roberts UNLV on the Strip | W 92–66 | 7–2 | MGM Grand Garden Arena (6,317) Paradise, NV |
| Dec 9, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Illinois UNLV on the Strip | W 89–82 | 8–2 | MGM Grand Garden Arena (9,668) Paradise, NV |
| Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Pacific | W 81–76 | 9–2 | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,279) Stockton, CA |
| Dec 20, 2017* 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | Mississippi Valley State | W 95–63 | 10–2 | Thomas & Mack Center (9,128) Paradise, NV |
| Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Northern Colorado | W 94–91 | 11–2 | Thomas & Mack Center (9,192) Paradise, NV |
| Mountain West regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | Boise State | L 74–83 | 11–3 (0–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,892) Paradise, NV |
| Jan 3, 2018 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | at San Jose State | W 82–76 | 12–3 (1–1) | Event Center Arena (1,376) San Jose, CA |
| Jan 6, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | Utah State | L 78–85 | 12–4 (1–2) | Thomas & Mack Center (12,386) Paradise, NV |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | at Air Force | W 81–76 | 13–4 (2–2) | Clune Arena (1,911) Colorado Springs, CO |
| Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | New Mexico | L 81–85 | 13–5 (2–3) | Thomas & Mack Center (10,546) Paradise, NV |
| Jan 20, 2018 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Colorado State | W 79–74 | 14–5 (3–3) | Moby Arena (4,383) Fort Collins, CO |
| Jan 23, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Fresno State | L 63–69 | 14–6 (3–4) | Save Mart Center (5,385) Fresno, CA |
| Jan 27, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | San Diego State | W 88–78 | 15–6 (4–4) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,137) Paradise, NV |
| Jan 31, 2018 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | San Jose State | W 76–67 | 16–6 (5–4) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,344) Paradise, NV |
| Feb 3, 2018 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Boise State | L 91–93 $^{OT}$ | 16–7 (5–5) | Taco Bell Arena (10,737) Boise, ID |
| Feb 7, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 23 Nevada | W 86–78 | 17–7 (6–5) | Lawlor Events Center (11,285) Reno, NV |
| Feb 10, 2018 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | Wyoming | W 85–70 | 18–7 (7–5) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,421) Paradise, NV |
| Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | Air Force | W 81–73 | 19–7 (8–5) | Thomas & Mack Center (9,027) Paradise, NV |
| Feb 17, 2018 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at San Diego State | L 56–94 | 19–8 (8–6) | Viejas Arena (11,180) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fresno State | L 64–77 | 19–9 (8–7) | Thomas & Mack Center (9,302) Paradise, NV |
| Feb 25, 2018 11:00 am, CBSSN | | at New Mexico | L 90–91 | 19–10 (8–8) | The Pit (12,080) Albuquerque, NM |
| Feb 28, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 21 Nevada | L 75–101 | 19–11 (8–9) | Thomas & Mack Center (13,998) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 3, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Utah State | L 67–79 | 19–12 (8–10) | Smith Spectrum (5,853) Logan, UT |
| Mountain West tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 2018 11:00 am, Stadium | (8) | (9) Air Force First round | W 97–90 $^{OT}$ | 20–12 | Thomas & Mack Center (4,994) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 8, 2018 12:00 pm, CBSSN | (8) | (1) No. 22 Nevada Quarterfinals | L 74–79 | 20–13 | Thomas & Mack Center (6,753) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||