Kansas vs. UNLV: Game Preview, Prediction

By Tim Letcher
Denny Medley, USA TODAY SPORTS
Denny Medley, USA TODAY SPORTS

The 13th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks host the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels on Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.

Kansas is 10-2 on the season, which is a very good record. However, their two losses have caused quite a bit of concern for head coach Bill Self. Kansas was thumped by the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 72-40 in November and was crushed 77-52 by the Temple Owls in December.

Outside of those two losses, Kansas has played well. The Jayhawks have wins over the Michigan State Spartans and the Utah Utes, both on neutral courts. Kansas also beat the Florida Gators and the Georgetown Hoyas earlier in the season.

Self is trying to get his team to put together consistent efforts in each game. The team continues to struggle in scoring (118th in the country) and field goal percentage (233rd in the nation).

Perry Ellis leads Kansas in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game and in rebounding, grabbing 6.4 per outing. Frank Mason III scores 11.9 per contest and is the only other Jayhawk scoring in double figures.

UNLV is 9-4 on the season and, much like Kansas, UNLV head coach Dave Rice is looking for consistent play from his team. When the Rebels have been good, they’ve been very good. They handed the Arizona Wildcats their lone loss this season with a 71-67 win 12 days ago. But UNLV was blown out by the Stanford Cardinal (89-60), the Arizona State Sun Devils (77-55) and, in their most recent game, they lost to the Wyoming Cowboys (76-71).

Freshman guard Rashad Vaughn leads UNLV in scoring, posting 17.9 points per game. Sophomore big man Christian Wood is second on the team in scoring (15.7 points per game) and first in rebounding (9.8 rebounds per game).

This game is a hard pick, due to the inconsistency of both teams. However, Kansas rarely loses at home, so the Jayhawks get the nod in this game.

Final score prediction: Kansas 78, UNLV 64

Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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