A number of Cal students will take a trip to the desert during their time at Berkeley. For Cal men's basketball, they'll be doing it not to test Timothy Leary's hypothesis on hallucinogens and to listen to substandard music, but to take on the Runnin' Rebels of UNLV.
It isn't the best of times for this Cal team, coming off an opening day loss to UCSD where the Bears couldn't defend in the second half, but hope springs eternal in the oasis of Vegas, where UNLV is in their own rebuild. Kevin Kruger, son of longtime UNLV and Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger, has added eight D1 transfers to the roster, and stands at 1-0 after a season opening win against Gardner-Webb.
For Cal, the hope is to leave Las Vegas not like Nicholas Cage, but with a win, as they did over the Rebels in game two of the 2019-20 season, a 79-75 win in overtime.
Notes
Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
When: 5 PM, Saturday November 13th, 2021
TV: Mountain West Network/Stadium
Spread: UNLV -6 (O/U 132.5)
Cal has won the last two matchups, though they are 3-5 all-time against UNLV. The last win came in 2019, prior to that Cal beat UNLV in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, a 64-60 win played in San Jose.
Injuries:
Cal has been without five players this week, as G Makale Foreman, G Marsalis Roberson, G Jalen Celestine, G/F Monty Bowser, and F DJ Thorpe have all been out for the Bears. Mark Fox noted that they may get one of them back, but declined to say who.
On UNLV:
- The Rebels have one player from their 2019 matchup with Cal still on the roster in Bryce Hamilton (Cal has four players on the roster who played then). The senior guard played 7 minutes in that contest, with 6 points and 2 rebounds. Now Hamilton is a senior and appears to be one of the main engines of the UNLV offense. He went 8-25 for 22 points in the opener, and while his numbers aren't always efficient looking, he'll draw plenty of fouls, something a depleted Cal backcourt needs to watch for.
- The other big name to watch for is Royce Hamm. Hamm, no relation to the Minnesota beermaker, was a force in their opener against Gardner-Webb, with 18 points and 17 rebounds. The Texas transfer and super senior is a load at a listed 6'9" and 225 lbs, someone Andre Kelly and Lars Thiemann will be tasked with.
- The eight D1 transfers UNLV added are Hamm, Donovan Williams (Texas), James Hampshire (Pacific), Victor Iwuakor (Oklahoma), Jordan McCabe (West Virginia), David Muoka (Lamar), Michael Nuga (Kent State), and Justin Webster (Hawaii).
- UNLV won their opener despite shooting 8% from beyond the arc (2-25)
Likely Starters
G Bryce Hamilton - 6'4", 205
G Josh Baker - 6'4", 175
G Michael Nuga - 6'2", 180
F Donovan Williams - 6'6", 190
F Royce Hamm - 6'9", 225
Keys to the Game
- Cal has to defend the perimeter better than they did against UCSD. UNLV isn't going to take as many threes as the Tritons did, but they won't shoot 8% beyond the arc forever. Nuga in particular was a 40% 3 point shooter at Kent State a year ago, as was Justin Webster at Hawaii.
- Finding space for players other than Jordan Shepherd to get in rhythm offensively will be necessary, especially with the Bears having some assist issues in the opener. The Bears recorded four assists, as players aside from Shepherd and Andre Kelly struggled to find openings in the rhythm of the offense. Some of that comes from not being able to turn defense into offense, but Cal's half court sets can't be sloppy.
- After Grant Anticevich went wild in Cal's exhibition, he was tamped down for 4 points on 2-10 shooting against UCSD. Cal will need more scoring from the fifth year Aussie forward, who had a handful of open shots that didn't go down in the opener.
