UNLV and UNR have a storied history of competition, but Kevin Kruger has been around basketball long enough to know that rivalries have changed because of the transfer portal.
The fourth-year Rebels coach was the program’s point guard during its last Sweet 16 appearance in 2007. His father, Lon Kruger, was the coach.
Following in his dad’s footsteps, the younger Kruger started with a four-game win streak against the Wolf Pack as UNLV’s coach. That all ended last season, when UNR beat the Rebels in both regular-season matchups.
On Saturday, UNLV (11-10, 5-5 Mountain West) will travel to Reno and try to steal a win on enemy turf against UNR (11-10, 3-7).
Star sophomore UNLV point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. and sixth-year forward Jalen Hill understand the roots of the rivalry because they grew up in Las Vegas. Kruger knows that’s not the case for everyone.
“Those rivalries, they get into your blood for us,” Kruger said of himself and his two hometown players. “They’re a little bit different, of course, with the portal now. (When) you’ve got nine new guys every year, rivalries will have little different meaning.”
UNR’s roster features six Division I transfers. The Rebels have 10 newcomers, but only four of them are Division I transfers, with the rest arriving from junior college and high school.
Even with the changing college basketball landscape, Kruger believes the in-state rivalry between UNR and UNLV remains strong.
“There’s still an understanding with the administration and the fan base of what the rivalries mean,” he said. “There’s still a lot of bad blood between the two schools, which makes for a great rivalry. But it’s not something we bring up … because I remember as a player, it didn’t change our approach.”
Throw out records
Ahead of most rivalry matchups, fans are advised to disregard the records of the teams. That becomes even more sage for UNLV and UNR, who both enter Saturday looking to break three-game losing streaks.
“When you look at two teams in our situation, I think you’re going to watch two teams that the record doesn’t necessarily indicate the capability and how good of a team you can be,” Kruger said.
Thomas isn’t sparing much thought on the recent defeats.
“It’s just bumps in the road,” he said. “Every season is up and down, but the goal still hasn’t changed at all. There’s always a chance to get to the (Mountain West) tournament.”
Last March, UNLV lost its regular-season finale to UNR and fell to the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
Kruger said after that 75-65 loss that the Rebels simply got off to a bad start, which was also part of the story of the team’s most recent defeat, 76-71 at Utah State on Wednesday.
“I just feel like we just come out with no energy in the start of the game,” Thomas said at Friday’s practice.
He said slow starts have been a problem in each of the Rebels’ past three contests, but he doesn’t foresee that being an issue Saturday.
“There’s a lot of intensity, a lot of energy, a lot of hype around this rivalry,” Thomas said. “It’s definitely something we’re excited for. It’s going to be a great game.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
Up next
Who: UNLV at UNR
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Lawlor Events Center, Reno
TV/radio: CBSSN, KWWN (1100 AM, 100.9 FM)
Line: UNR -6; total 133
