# 2019–20 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 2019–20 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Rebels were led by first-year head coach T. J. Otzelberger and played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 17–15, 12–6 in Mountain West play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament to Boise State.

## Previous season

The Runnin' Rebels finished the 2018–19 season 17–14, 11–7 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament to San Diego State.
On March 15, head coach Marvin Menzies was fired. He finished at UNLV with a three-year record of 48–48.
On March 27, UNLV hired South Dakota State head coach T. J. Otzelberger as their next head coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Kris Clyburn | 1 | G | 6'6" | 175 | Senior | Romulus, MI | Graduated |
| Ben Coupet Jr. | 2 | G | 6'7" | 185 | RS Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Little Rock |
| Noah Robotham | 5 | G | 6'1" | 165 | RS Senior | Las Vegas, NV | Graduated |
| Shakur Juiston | 10 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | Paterson, NJ | Graduated, transferred to Oregon |
| Djordjije Sljivancanin | 12 | F | 6'10" | 230 | Junior | Belgrade, Serbia | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Tervell Beck | 14 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Sophomore | Cleveland, OH | Transferred to Kent State |
| Trey Woodbury | 22 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Freshman | Las Vegas, NV | Transferred to Utah Valley |
| Joel Ntambwe | 24 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Freshman | Kinshasa, Congo | Transferred to Texas Tech |
| Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 30 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Freshman | Douala, Cameroon | Transferred to Baylor |
| Louis Bangai | 43 | C | 6'10" | 230 | Freshman | Yaoundé, Cameroon | Walk-on; transferred to Grand Canyon |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Donnie Tillman | 1 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Junior | Detroit, MI | Transferred from Utah. NCAA approved Donnie Tillman’s waiver to play for UNLV, Tillman will be able to play in the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Moses Wood | 4 | F | 6'8" | 190 | Sophomore | Reno, NV | Transferred from Tulane. Under NCAA transfer rules, Wood will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| David Jenkins | 5 | G | 6'2" | 200 | Junior | Tacoma, WA | Transferred from South Dakota State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Jenkins will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Jonah Antonio | 10 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Junior | Perth, Australia | Junior college transferred from South Plains College. |
| Trey Hurlburt | 12 | G | 5'10" | 160 | RS Sophomore | Henderson, NV | Transferred from Cal State San Marcos. Will be eligible to play immediately. Join the team as a walk-on. |
| Vitaliy Shibel | 22 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Grad Student | Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine | Transferred from Arizona State. Will be eligible to play immediately since Shibel graduated from Arizona State. |
| Taka Hall | 24 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Grad Student | San Marcos, CA | Transferred from Johnson & Wales. Will be eligible to play immediately since Hall graduated from Johnson & Wales. Join the team as a walk-on. |
| Elijah Mitrou–Long | 55 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Grad Student | Mississauga, Canada | Transferred from Texas. Will be eligible to play immediately since Mitrou–Long graduated from Texas. |

### 2019 recruiting class

No recruits.

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2020) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nick Blake SF | Bradenton, FL | IMG Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jun 14, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Jhaylon Martinez C | Glendale, AZ | Dream City Christian | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Aug 10, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Isaac Lindsey SG | Mineral Point, WI | Mineral Point High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | N/A | Aug 10, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Donavan Yap SG | Las Vegas, NV | Arbor View High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Jul 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Nick Fleming PG | Atlanta, GA | Highland Community College | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| 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: "2020 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019. |||||||

### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Keshon Gilbert PG | Las Vegas, NV | Durango High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 7, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| 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: "2021 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 25, 2019* 7:00 pm | | West Coast Baptist | W 112–54 | – | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Purdue Fort Wayne | W 86–71 | 1–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (7,728) Paradise, NV |
| November 9, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kansas State | L 56–60 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,796) Paradise, NV |
| November 12, 2019* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at California | L 75–79 $^{OT}$ | 1–2 | Haas Pavilion (3,423) Berkeley, CA |
| November 15, 2019* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at UCLA | L 54–71 | 1–3 | Pauley Pavilion (6,601) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 18, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Abilene Christian Southwestern Showdown | W 72–58 | 2–3 | Thomas & Mack Center (6,906) Paradise, NV |
| November 20, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Texas State Southwestern Showdown | L 57–64 | 2–4 | Thomas & Mack Center (7,067) Paradise, NV |
| November 23, 2019* 7:30 pm, Stadium | | SMU Southwestern Showdown | L 68–72 | 2–5 | Thomas & Mack Center (7,803) Paradise, NV |
| November 26, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Jackson State Southwestern Showdown | W 80–57 | 3–5 | Thomas & Mack Center (7,164) Paradise, NV |
| November 30, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cincinnati | L 65–72 $^{OT}$ | 3–6 | Fifth Third Arena (10,783) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 4, 2019 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | at Fresno State | W 81–80 $^{2OT}$ | 4–6 (1–0) | Save Mart Center (5,436) Fresno, CA |
| December 7, 2019* 12:00 pm, BYUtv | | vs. BYU | L 50–83 | 4–7 | Vivint Smart Home Arena (11,356) Salt Lake City, UT |
| December 18, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Pacific | L 66–74 | 4–8 | Thomas & Mack Center (7,023) Paradise, NV |
| December 21, 2019* 12:00 pm | | Robert Morris | W 96–81 | 5–8 | Thomas & Mack Center (6,910) Paradise, NV |
| December 28, 2019* 12:00 pm | | Eastern Michigan | W 64–49 | 6–8 | Thomas & Mack Center (7,463) Paradise, NV |
| January 1, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Utah State | W 70–53 | 7–8 (2–0) | Thomas & Mack Center (7,571) Paradise, NV |
| January 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Air Force | W 71–59 | 8–8 (3–0) | Thomas & Mack Center (7,633) Paradise, NV |
| January 8, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Boise State | L 66–73 | 8–9 (3–1) | ExtraMile Arena (4,509) Boise, ID |
| January 11, 2020 4:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | at Wyoming | W 78–69 $^{OT}$ | 9–9 (4–1) | Arena-Auditorium (3,000) Laramie, WY |
| January 15, 2020 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | San Jose State | W 98–87 | 10–9 (5–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (7,338) Paradise, NV |
| January 18, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | New Mexico | W 99–78 | 11–9 (6–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (9,022) Paradise, NV |
| January 22, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Nevada | L 72–86 | 11–10 (6–2) | Lawlor Events Center (10,325) Reno, NV |
| January 26, 2020 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 4 San Diego State | L 67–71 | 11–11 (6–3) | Thomas & Mack Center (12,287) Paradise, NV |
| February 1, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Colorado State | L 77–95 | 11–12 (6–4) | Moby Arena (5,057) Fort Collins, CO |
| February 5, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Utah State | L 54–69 | 11–13 (6–5) | Smith Spectrum (8,987) Logan, UT |
| February 8, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Fresno State | W 68–67 | 12–13 (7–5) | Thomas & Mack Center (8,497) Paradise, NV |
| February 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Nevada | L 79–82 $^{OT}$ | 12–14 (7–6) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,607) Paradise, NV |
| February 15, 2020 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | at New Mexico | W 78–73 | 13–14 (8–6) | Dreamstyle Arena (11,794) Albuquerque, NM |
| February 18, 2020 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | Colorado State | W 80–56 | 14–14 (9–6) | Thomas & Mack Center (7,509) Paradise, NV |
| February 22, 2020 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 4 San Diego State | W 66–63 | 15–14 (10–6) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| February 26, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Boise State | W 76–66 | 16–14 (11–6) | Thomas & Mack Center (9,627) Paradise, NV |
| February 29, 2020 2:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | at San Jose State | W 92–69 | 17–14 (12–6) | Provident Credit Union Event Center (2,074) San Jose, CA |
| Mountain West tournament ||||||
| March 5, 2020 2:00 pm, CBSSN | (4) | (5) Boise State Quarterfinals | L 61–67 | 17–15 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,189) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source