The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) men’s basketball team will play against UC Irvine in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on March 17. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Bren Events Center and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
This matchup marks UNLV’s second postseason appearance in three years. The Runnin’ Rebels, who have won seven of their last eleven games, finished the regular season with a record of 17-16. They entered last week’s Mountain West Tournament as the No. 8 seed, defeating Wyoming before falling to Utah State in the quarterfinals.
The team is led by head coach Josh Pastner, who is in his first year at UNLV but brings fifteen years of collegiate head coaching experience from previous positions at Memphis and Georgia Tech. Pastner holds a career record of 293-203 (.591). This season’s roster features only one returning player from last year, Jacob Bannarbie, and thirteen newcomers including eight Division I transfers, a former international professional, a junior college transfer, and three freshmen.
Key contributors for UNLV include Gibbs-Lawhorn, who leads the team with an average of 20.7 points per game; Kimani Hamilton with 12.9 points; Tyrin Jones with 11.6 points; Howie Fleming Jr., who leads in rebounds and assists; and Issac Williamson averaging 8.4 points per game.
UC Irvine enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed after winning this season’s Big West regular-season title with a conference record of 15-5 and an overall mark of 23-11. The Anteaters are led by head coach Russell Turner in his sixteenth season and feature four players averaging double figures in scoring.
Tuesday’s game will also be available via radio broadcast on ESPN Radio 1100 AM/SiriusXM channel 383, with streaming links and live stats accessible through UNLVRebels.com and the UNLV Rebels App.
