In a pressure-packed season, UNLV still opts for a tough schedule
Many coaches whose jobs are in jeopardy assemble a cupcake-heavy schedule designed to make getting to 20 wins as attainable as possible.
Dave Rice certainly did not take such an easy way out.
The embattled UNLV coach has put together a schedule laden with challenging opponents entering what appears to be a sink-or-swim season for him and his staff. The Rebels haven't won an NCAA tournament game in Rice's first four seasons and they haven't reached the postseason at all the past two years.
The first big challenge for UNLV will be the Maui Invitational, which includes national powers Kansas, Indiana and UCLA and improving Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. The Rebels would probably have to pull an upset to finish with a winning record in Lahaina.
UNLV also has three matchups with Pac-12 competition, a road game at likely preseason top 15 Arizona, a home game against Arizona State and a neutral-court matchup in Las Vegas against a very strong Oregon team. The Rebels pulled off a memorable upset against the Wildcats last season in Las Vegas but lost to the Sun Devils in Tempe by 22 points.
As if those games weren't tough enough, the Mountain West decided to throw in another challenge by handing UNLV by far the toughest assignment in the league's head-to-head challenge with the Missouri Valley Conference. The Rebels will visit Wichita State, a likely preseason top 15 team with one of the best backcourts in the nation.
UNLV has enough to talent to survive that gauntlet in spite of the early departures of first-round draft pick Rashad Vaughn and undrafted forward Christian Wood.
Anchoring UNLV's frontcourt will be elite incoming freshman Stephen Zimmerman, a skilled center who chose the Rebels over the likes of Kentucky, UCLA and others. He'll be joined by former Oregon transfer Ben Carter and ex-top 100 recruits Goodluck Okonoboh and Dwayne Morgan.
UNLV will have more outside shooting and scoring options in the backcourt than it had a year ago when Vaughn and Patrick McCaw were the two primary weapons. McCaw is the most proven perimeter weapon, but Rutgers transfer Jerome Seagears, sharpshooter Jordan Cornish and incoming freshmen Jaylen Posner and Derrick Jones should offer support.
Whereas many other Mountain West teams opt to schedule soft in November and December in hopes that piling up wins will impress the selection committee, UNLV has annually challenged itself in non-conference play. That has paid off with high-profile victories against North Carolina and Arizona, but it has also taken a toll in other years too.
UNLV will have to hope its newcomers mesh with its returners in time to enjoy some success in Maui and against some of the tough December opponents.
Rice and his staff need a bounce-back season, but they didn't make it easy on themselves.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
