Illinois @ UNLV preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 26, 2013 ) Illinois 61, UNLV 59

Illinois snapped a three-game losing streak with a lethargic 64-57 non-conference win over Austin Peay on Wednesday night. First-year head coach Brad Underwood is looking for a much more fiery effort on Saturday night when the Fighting Illini travel to Las Vegas to face UNLV in a Coaches vs. Cancer matchup at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Illinois may have had a reason for feeling a little flat heading into the the game with the Governors after dropping back-to-back Big Ten Conference games in overtime at Northwestern (72-68) and at home to Maryland (92-91), a contest in which the Illini rallied from a 22-point deficit to take the lead only to fall in OT. Underwood said he told his coaches the locker room felt like "a morgue" before the Austin Peay game, and Illinois responded with a sloppy effort, turning the ball over 25 times while picking up just nine assists. "I'm not used to that," Underwood said. "I'm used to guys bouncing off the walls. I'm used to guys ripping the doors off. ... There's a passion you have to have to play this game." Because of the National Finals Rodeo taking over its homecourt at the Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV, which crushed Oral Roberts, 92-66, on Tuesday night, will be playing its second game in five games at the MGM Grand Arena,.

TV: Midnight ET, ESPN2

ABOUT ILLINOIS (7-3): Junior forward Leron Black (14.8 points per game) leads a balanced Illini offensive attack which features six players averaging 8.1 points or more. Junior forward Michael Finke (11.7) is second in scoring and tied with Black (5.6 board) for the rebounding lead, and shot 41.1 percent from 3-point range last season. Junior guard Aaron Jordan (11.6 points) and sophomore forward Kipper Nichols (10.3) also are averaging in double figures with Jordan also shooting a team best 62.2 percent (23-of-37) from beyond the arc.

ABOUT UNLV (7-2): The Runnin' Rebels, trying to rebound from a 11-21 campaign that was the worst in school history, ranks No. 2 in the nation in rebounding (46.4 per contest) and third in assists (20.3) thanks in part to playing a schedule that ranks just 326th in the nation according to KenPom.com. Brandon McCoy, a 7-foot freshman center, leads the team in scoring (20.0) and had 33 points in a 91-88 overtime loss to Arizona and star forward DeAndre Ayton last Saturday. Shakur Juiston, a 6-7 forward who was the national junior college player of the year last season, is second in scoring (14.7) while starting guards Jovan Mooring (13.9), Jordan Johnson (12.9) and Kris Clyburn (10.0) also are averaging in double figures.

TIP-INS

1. Illinois leads the series 4-1 including a 61-59 victory in the last meeting on Nov. 26, 2013, at the Thomas & Mack Center.

2. Juiston (5th, 11.9) and McCoy (T-7th, 11.2) both rank in the top-10 nationally in rebounding while Johnson, a transfer from Milwaukee, is fourth in assists (8.1).

3. The Illini are tied for 279th in the nation in turnovers with an average of 15.3 per game.

PREDICTION: Illinois 90, UNLV 87