# 2022–23 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 2022–23 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Rebels were led by second-year head coach Kevin Kruger and played their home games for the 40th season at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. They participated as members of the Mountain West Conference for the 24th season. They finished the season 18–12, 7–11 in MWC play to finish in seventh place. In the MWC tournament, they defeated Air Force in the first round before losing to Boise State in the quarterfinals. They failed to receive an invite to a postseason tournament.

## Previous season

The Runnin' Rebels finished the 2021–22 season 18–14, 10–8 in Mountain West play to finish in 5th place.
They were defeated by Wyoming in the first round of the Mountain West tournament to end the season.
Following the departure of coach T.J. Otzelberger to Iowa State, the roster saw a significant amount of turnover from the 2020-21 season. Only 3 players - Bryce Hamilton, Reece Brown and Trey Hurlburt - returned from the prior season.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Michael Nuga | 1 | G | 6'2" | 180 | GS Senior | Toronto, ON | Completed college eligibility |
| Donovan Williams | 3 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Junior | Houston, TX | Declared for 2022 NBA draft |
| Bryce Hamilton | 13 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Pasadena, CA | Declared for 2022 NBA draft |
| Royce Hamm Jr. | 14 | F | 6'9" | 225 | GS Senior | Houston, TX | Completed college eligibility |
| Reece Brown | 15 | F | 6'9" | 200 | RS Sophomore | Albany, NY | Entered transfer portal |
| Josh Baker | 22 | G | 6'4" | 175 | Junior | Tempe, AZ | Entered transfer portal |
| Trey Hurlburt | 24 | G | 5'11'' | 175 | Senior | Las Vegas, NV | Graduated |
| James Hampshire | 30 | C | 7'1" | 240 | GS Senior | Flagstaff, AZ | Graduated |
| Marvin Coleman | 31 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Senior | Las Vegas, NV | Graduated |
Source

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Elijah Parquet | 1 | G | 6'4" | 195 | GS Senior | Beaumont, TX | Transferred from Colorado. Will be eligible to play immediately since Parquet graduated from Colorado. |
| Shane Nowell | 3 | G | 6'6'' | 215 | Sophomore | Seattle, WA | Transferred from Arizona. Nowell will be eligible to play immediately under the one-time transfer rule. |
| Isaiah Cottrell | 13 | F | 6'10'' | 245 | RS Sophomore | Las Vegas, NV | Transferred from West Virginia. Cottrell will be eligible to play immediately under the one-time transfer rule. |
| Luis Rodriguez | 15 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Senior | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred from Ole Miss. Rodriguez will be eligible to play immediately under the one-time transfer rule. |
| Karl Jones | 22 | F | 6'10'' | 250 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Transferred from Los Angeles Southwest College. Jones will be eligible to play immediately under the one-time transfer rule. |
| Jackie Johnson III | 24 | G | 5'11" | 185 | Sophomore | Wichita, KS | Transferred from Duquesne. Johnson III will be eligible to play immediately under the one-time transfer rule. |
| Cameron Burist | 34 | G | 6'3'' | 185 | Senior | Las Vegas, NV | Transferred from Mesa Community College. Burist will be eligible to play immediately under the one-time transfer rule. |
| Elijah Harkless | 55 | G | 6’3” | 195 | GS Senior | San Bernardino, CA | Transferred from Oklahoma. Will be eligible to play immediately since Harkless graduated from Oklahoma. |
Source

### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Keyshawn Hall SG | Cleveland, OH | Denver Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Feb 6, 2022 |
| 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: "2022 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 23, 2022. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 23, 2022. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov. 7, 2022* 7:15 p.m., MW Network/SSSEN | | Southern | W 66–56 | 1–0 | 13 – Gilbert | 7 – Rodriguez | 3 – Tied | Thomas & Mack Center (5,039) Paradise, NV |
| Nov. 12, 2022* 3:00 p.m., MW Network/SSSEN | | Incarnate Word | W 88–63 | 2–0 | 23 – Gilbert | 9 – Iwuakor | 5 – Rodriguez | Thomas & Mack Center (4,931) Paradise, NV |
| Nov. 15, 2022* 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | No. 21 Dayton | W 60–52 | 3–0 | 24 – Harkless | 9 – Muoka | 3 – Tied | Thomas & Mack Center (5,732) Paradise, NV |
| Nov. 18, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network/SSSEN | | High Point SoCal Challenge campus-site game | W 78–68 | 4–0 | 15 – Harkless | 10 – Rodriguez | 8 – Gilbert | Thomas & Mack Center (4,589) Paradise, NV |
| Nov. 21, 2022* 10:00 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Southern Illinois SoCal Challenge Semifinals | W 56–49 | 5–0 | 18 – Gilbert | 6 – Iwuakor | 2 – Rodriguez | The Pavilion at JSerra San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| Nov. 23, 2022* 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Minnesota SoCal Challenge Championship | W 71–62 | 6–0 | 17 – Gilbert | 9 – Rodriguez | 4 – Gilbert | The Pavilion at JSerra San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| Nov. 26, 2022* 7:30 p.m., MW Network | | Life Pacific | W 126–54 | 7–0 | 20 – Jones | 12 – Jones | 8 – McCabe | Thomas & Mack Center (4,549) Paradise, NV |
| Dec. 3, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | at San Diego | W 95–78 | 8–0 | 19 – Rodriguez | 8 – Muoka | 7 – Gilbert | Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,274) San Diego, CA |
| Dec. 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., Youtube | | vs. Hawaii | W 77–62 | 9–0 | 18 – Rodriguez | 9 – Muoka | 4 – Gilbert | Dollar Loan Center (4,207) Henderson, NV |
| Dec. 10, 2022* 1:30 p.m., FS1 | | vs. Washington State Las Vegas Clash | W 74–70 | 10–0 | 25 – Gilbert | 5 – Gilbert | 4 – Rodriguez | MGM Grand Garden Arena (-) Paradise, NV |
| Dec. 17, 2022* 2:00 p.m., MW Network/SSSEN | | San Francisco | L 73–75 | 10–1 | 21 – Harkless | 7 – Tied | 6 – Gilbert | Thomas & Mack Center (6,446) Paradise, NV |
| Dec. 22, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network/SSSEN | | Southern Miss | W 74–63 | 11–1 | 19 – Harkless | 10 – Gilbert | 6 – Harkless | Thomas & Mack Center (6,093) Paradise, NV |
| Mountain West regular season |||||||||
| Dec. 28, 2022 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | at San José State | L 72–75 $^{OT}$ | 11–2 (0–1) | 20 – Harkless | 8 – Rodriguez | 3 – Tied | Provident Credit Union Event Center (2,234) San Jose, CA |
| Dec. 31, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBS | | San Diego State | L 67–76 | 11–3 (0–2) | 24 – Rodriguez | 6 – Tied | 8 – Harkless | Thomas & Mack Center (7,249) Paradise, NV |
| Jan. 7, 2023 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at No. 21 New Mexico | W 84–77 | 12–3 (1–2) | 25 – Harkless | 7 – Muoka | 5 – Tied | The Pit (15,424) Albuquerque, NM |
| Jan. 11, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Boise State | L 66–84 | 12–4 (1–3) | 14 – Gilbert | 7 – Tied | 4 – Gilbert | Thomas & Mack Center (5,102) Paradise, NV |
| Jan. 14, 2023 4:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Colorado State | L 81–82 $^{OT}$ | 12–5 (1–4) | 33 – Harkless | 9 – Tied | 4 – Gilbert | Thomas & Mack Center (5,802) Paradise, NV |
| Jan. 17, 2023 6:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Utah State | L 71–75 | 12–6 (1–5) | 19 – Hall | 6 – Rodriguez | 5 – Gilbert | Smith Spectrum (7,611) Logan, UT |
| Jan. 21, 2023 3:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Fresno State | L 63–76 | 12–7 (1–6) | 15 – Harkless | 7 – Harkless | 4 – Harkless | Save Mart Center (5,950) Fresno, CA |
| Jan. 24, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Wyoming | W 86–72 | 13–7 (2–6) | 28 – Harkless | 8 – Tied | 4 – McCabe | Thomas & Mack Center (4,539) Paradise, NV |
| Jan. 28, 2023 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Nevada Battle for Nevada | W 68–62 | 14–7 (3–6) | 18 – Harkless | 9 – Harkless | 5 – Harkless | Thomas & Mack Center (8,734) Paradise, NV |
| Jan. 31, 2023 6:00 p.m. | | at Colorado State | W 83–71 | 15–7 (4–6) | 17 – Harkless | 6 – Rodriguez | 5 – Harkless | Moby Arena (4,657) Fort Collins, CO |
| Feb. 3, 2023 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Fresno State | L 79–82 | 15–8 (4–7) | 27 – Harkless | 7 – Iwuakor | 4 – Harkless | Thomas & Mack Center (5,762) Paradise, NV |
| Feb. 8, 2023 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | at Wyoming | W 69–59 | 16–8 (5–7) | 33 – Harkless | 8 – Harkless | 3 – Gilbert | Arena-Auditorium (3,717) Laramie, WY |
| Feb. 11, 2023 1:00 p.m., FOX | | at No. 25 San Diego State | L 71–82 | 16–9 (5–8) | 24 – Harkless | 4 – Rodriguez | 3 – Tied | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Feb. 14, 2023 7:00 p.m., MW Network/SSSEN | | San José State | L 66–75 | 16–10 (5–9) | 19 – Harkless | 7 – Tied | 3 – Gilbert | Thomas & Mack Center (4,783) Paradise, NV |
| Feb. 19, 2023 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Boise State | L 69–73 | 16–11 (5–10) | 14 – Tied | 6 – Iwuakor | 3 – Tied | ExtraMile Arena (11,004) Boise, ID |
| Feb. 24, 2023 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | | Air Force | W 54–53 | 17–11 (6–10) | 23 – Harkless | 7 – Harkless | 3 – McCabe | Thomas & Mack Center (5,831) Paradise, NV |
| Mar. 1, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Utah State | L 66–91 | 17–12 (6–11) | 20 – Harkless | 9 – Nowell | 2 – Tied | Thomas & Mack Center (5,747) Paradise, NV |
| Mar. 4, 2023 2:00 p.m. | | at Nevada Battle for Nevada | W 69–67 $^{OT}$ | 18–12 (7–11) | 24 – Harkless | 13 – Tied | 4 – Harkless | Lawlor Events Center (11,327) Reno, NV |
| Mountain West tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2023 1:30 pm, Stadium | (7) | vs. (10) Air Force First round | W 78–70 $^{OT}$ | 19–12 | 35 – Harkless | 11 – Rodriguez | 4 – 2 tied | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| March 9, 2023 6:00 pm, CBSSN | (7) | vs. (2) Boise State Quarterfinals | L 76–87 $^{OT}$ | 19–13 | 18 – 2 Tied | 8 – Muoka | 7 – Harkless | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||
Source