UNLV Runnin' Rebels Climb In Most Recent Mountain West Power Rankings

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels just had a brutal home stand in which they suffered back-to-back double-digit losses to the San Diego State Aztecs and the New Mexico Lobos. That came off a tremendous road trip when they knocked off both the San Jose Spartans and Utah State Aggies by double-digits. They have established themselves as a volatile team, and they are very difficult to predict or rank.

Recently, Chris Murray of Nevada Sports Net released their weekly Mountain West Conference power rankings. This is what they had to say about the Rebels, their most recent opponents, New Mexico, and their next opponents, the Nevada Wolf Pack.

Nevada Sports Net On Their No. 7 Ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels

"UNLV’s three-game win streak was snapped with an 82-71 loss at SDSU on Saturday. The Rebels have improved on offense and defense since MW play began, but the defense can be leaky in two key areas – offensive rebounds and free throws allowed. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (19.3 ppg, 52.9 FG%) has been fantastic in MW play. UNLV has a tough week ahead – home against New Mexico, at Nevada."

Nevada Sports Net On Their No. 3 Ranked New Mexico Lobos

"New Mexico won a pair of home games last week, topping Fresno State and Nevada, the latter being a highly competitive game that turned when Jake Hall hit a series of second-half 3-pointers. Hall has been a first-team All-MW performer as a freshman. New Mexico is 12-0 at home and has won 23 straight games at the Pit. The Lobos hit the road this week for matchups at UNLV and SJSU."

Nevada Sports Net On Their No. 5 Ranked Nevada Wolf Pack

"After losing a close game at New Mexico, the Wolf Pack is one of just five MW teams without a Quad 1 win, the others being Wyoming, Fresno State, San Jose State and Air Force. The Wolf Pack has been close in games against Utah State, San Diego State and New Mexico but hasn’t gotten over the hump against them. This week brings huge home games against GCU and UNLV."

We would have had UNLV at No. 6 above the Boise State Broncos, who they already beat, but seven is a fair ranking. However, unless they pull off a couple of big wins in the next few days, we'd expect them to fall again after the week they had, and more specifically, the beatdown they caught from the Lobos. UNLV has to get back on track and get back on track in a hurry if they want to continue to climb in the power rankings.

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