The University of Nevada, Las Vegas men’s basketball team will begin its campaign in the 2026 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship against Wyoming on March 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
This matchup features the Runnin’ Rebels as the No. 8 seed with a record of 16-15 overall and 11-9 in conference play, while the Cowboys are seeded ninth at 18-13 overall and 9-11 in the Mountain West. The teams have met once this season, with Wyoming winning that game on Jan. 6 in Laramie by a score of 98-66.
UNLV enters the tournament after winning six of its last nine games but lost its regular-season finale to San Diego State, despite Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scoring 32 points and Tyrin Jones adding a career-high 22. The Rebels recently secured an overtime win over UNR and defeated Utah State, marking their fourth Quad 1 victory this season. Howie Fleming Jr. recorded his second triple-double in ten days during the Utah State game.
The Runnin’ Rebels average 80.2 points per game and have five players averaging at least 8.7 points per contest: Gibbs-Lawhorn (21.0), Kimani Hamilton (12.6), Tyrin Jones (11.9), Fleming Jr. (9.2), and Issac Williamson (8.7). Fleming Jr. leads in rebounds and assists, while Gibbs-Lawhorn is tops in steals and Jones leads in blocks within both conference and national rankings.
This season marks Josh Pastner’s first year as head coach at UNLV, though he brings experience from previous positions at Memphis and Georgia Tech over a total of fifteen years as a collegiate head coach with a career record of 292-202 (.591). The current roster includes only one returning player, Jacob Bannarbie, alongside thirteen newcomers from various backgrounds including Division I transfers, international professionals, junior college transfers, and freshmen.
Wyoming comes into the tournament on a three-game win streak and has won five out of its last six games under head coach Sundance Wicks, who is now in his second year with the program. The Cowboys feature four players averaging double figures led by Leland Walker with 13.8 points per game.
