The University of North Carolina Tarheels were the clear cut favorites heading into the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament. After all, most agree that they have the best starting five in college basketball, including potentially three first round draft picks in Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, and John Henson.
So the Heels should have had an easy time mowing down the rather mediocre LV Invitational field consisting of teams like South Carolina, Mississippi Valley St, and USC, right? Well apparently the de facto home team UNLV had other ideas as the Runnin Rebels took it to the top ranked Tarheels, besting UNC 90-80 in the Finals.
It shouldn’t come as a shock that the Rebels, behind a raucous home crowd at the Orleans Arena, gave a spirited effort to take home the tourney crown as they also boast a talented, yet often overlooked roster filled with former high major transfer players and some of the best hidden talent gems in all of college basketball and are now coached by former BYU coach Dave Rice.
Led by senior backcourt mates Oscar Bellfield(16pts, 9ast, 4-8 3PT) and UCLA transfer Chace Stanback(28pts, 10reb, 4-11 3PT), the Rebels took every punch the Heels could muster, but used excellent outside shooting and a dominance on the glass(46-37) to hold on for the 10 point win.
The Rebels also got help from another UCLA transfer Mike Moser (16pt, 18reb, 6ast), while Kansas transfer Quintrell Thomas, senior Brice Massamba, and 6-11 sophomore Carlos Lopez all held the vaunted UNC frontcourt (Barnes, Henson, and Zeller) in check.
Barnes, a potential lottery pick in the 2012 NBA Draft did muster 15 points, albeit on 6-16 shooting, but suffered a nasty ankle sprain in the first half an missed significant playing time. Zeller and Henson both had off nights, combining for 16 points and 15 boards.
The nation’s best PG, Kendall Marshall(7pts, 8ast, 4reb) was his usually efficient self, making several key passes from beyond halfcourt in a losing effort. UNC got an outstanding effort from fabulous frosh PJ Hairston (15pts, 3-5 3PT), who got extended minutes with Barnes’ injury.
Congrats to the UNLV Runnin Rebels, who were one of the pre-season favorites in the Mountain West Conference. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make their first appearance in the newest Top 25 poll in only the third week of the 2011 season. Maybe the Rebels were inspired by former coach Jerry Tarkanian seated courtside?
Check out UNLV fans storming the court after beating UNC:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
