UNLV hosts the Utah Utes on national tv, with the Rebels looking to build on their early conference momentum and keep pace a game behind BYU.  UNLV is coming off what most anybody would consider a 2-1 start involving the top three teams in the conference.  The key now is for UNLV not to get caught looking past an always dangerous Utah squad.  UNLV leads the all-time series 21-20 and sit as 11.5 point favorites in Vegas.

Utah comes into the game led by junior guard Carlon Brown with 12.7 ppg, senior guard Luca Drca (10.7 ppg) and freshman guard Marshall Henderson (10.1 ppg). Senior forward Kim Tillie leads the team in rebounds with 6.2 rpg followed by Brown with 5.1 rpg. Utah has been a wildly inconsistent team this year, which makes them especially dangerous.  They beat a ranked Illinois team in a neutral site tournament, and they beat LSU on the road and Michigan at home.  At 8-8, Utah will likely need to win the postseason MWC tournament, but that doesn't make them any easier to beat.

UNLV is in the midst of a stretch of four out of five games in which they appear on national television through CBS College Sports or Versus.  In the first two weeks of conference play, the Rebels have been led by Tre'Von Willis, with a league-leading 22.3 ppg in conference play, and Oscar Bellfield, with a league-leading 7.3 apg in conference play.  As important as those two have been, it's the slow emergence of Chace Stanback that could have the biggest impact on where this team finishes the season.  Stanback put up 14 and 9 at New Mexico, followed by 18 and 5 against San Diego State.  If he can gain some consistency the rest of the way, the Rebels could be very dangerous.

UNLV Rebels

Utah Utes