The Rebels are 10-2 with a win over Virginia Tech and a loss at Louisville. The Rebels return all 5 starters from last season (a squad that posted a 25-9 overall record, including a 11-5 mark in the Mountain West Conference). The Rebels are projected to finish 4th in the Mountain West Conference.
The Rebels are lead by Chace Stanback, Oscar Bellfield, Tre'Von Willis and Derrick Jasper. Stanback is averaging 14 points/game (leads the team), 4 rebounds/game and 1 assist/game. A UCLA transfer, Stanback is a 6'7" swingman that was a third-team All-MWC pick last season as a sophomore and was also chosen to the league's all-defensive and all-tournament squads. Stanback was the team's top rebounder, and also led in steals and blocked shots (28).
Bellfield is averaging 12 points/game, 3 rebounds/game and 4 assists/game (leads the team). Bellfield was second in the conference in assists. He's also tough -- he played the last two months of the season with a slight meniscus tear in one of his knees last season.
Willis is averaging 11 points/game, 3 rebounds/game and 3 assists/game. With Willis, UNLV is one of two Mountain West teams (along with San Diego State) that returns all five starters from an NCAA Tournament team. However, on June 29 he was arrested on felony domestic battery-strangulation charges for an altercation with female. However, UNLV has adopted a "total tolerance policy" for violence towards women (kind of like uk).
Jasper is averaging 10 points/game, 5 rebounds/game (leads the team) and 2 assists/game. Jasper is a 6'6" guard in his second year with UNLV after transferring from Kentucky. Jasper started 20 games last season but missed the stretch run with a knee injury that didn't require surgery. Jasper underwent microfracture knee surgery before the 2007-08 season at Kentucky.
UNLV is good enough to contend for a conference title, but Willis makes Rebels a legitimate top 25 team. It's a good thing that the Rebels have Willis because their schedule features four non-conference games against teams that played in last year's NCAA Tournament and six games with the three other Mountain West teams (BYU, New Mexico and San Diego State) that also made the tournament. This will be a tough game for the Cats but it is a game that if they're fortunate enough to win will look really good on their resume (2nd best RPI in the Big XII) come March.
