Saturday, November 29th, 8:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Thomas & Mack Center (18,500) -- Las Vegas, Nevada. Television: None. Home Record: UNLV 4-1, Cincinnati 4-0. Away Record: UNLV 1-0, Cincinnati 0-0. Neutral Record: UNLV 0-0, Cincinnati 0-1. Conference Record: UNLV 0-0, Cincinnati 0-0. Series Record: Cincinnati leads, 4-0.

GAME NOTES: The UNLV Runnin' Rebels try to bounce back from their first loss of the season as they take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in the final round of the Global Sports Classic at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Rebels had run off five straight victories to begin the new season, but yesterday the team's luck ran out in a lopsided 73-55 defeat at the hands of California. Meanwhile, the Bearcats were also undefeated heading into action yesterday, but after scoring at least 74 points in every game thus far, the squad was thumped by Florida State in the third round of the tournament in a 58-47 final just four days after posting 82 points against Coastal Carolina. The series between these two teams has been dominated by the Bearcats, the squad winning all four previous meetings. The most recent of those encounters took place in 2001 in Ohio where Cincinnati posted a 74-61 triumph.

Shooting only 8-of-31 from the field in the first half yesterday, the Rebels put themselves in a hole and were never able top dig out from versus California. Wink Adams and Oscar Bellfield both tallied 10 points. but Adams did so only by shooting a mere 3-of-14 from three-point range. As a team, UNLV made good on just 29.7 percent shooting from the field over 40 minutes of action. Adams, the only player on the team scoring in double figures on a regular basis after six games, is posting 15.2 ppg. However, the all- conference performer has had a hard time shooting the ball from the field at just 36.4 percent and is an even worse 25.0 percent behind the three-point line. Rene Rougeau (8.5 ppg) has given the team a presence in the paint at both ends of the floor, averaging a team-best eight rebounds per contest and also coming up with 12 of the unit's 28 blocked shots through six outings.

The Bearcats were competitive in the first half against Florida State, trailing by only four points at the break, but then the offense fell off dramatically, hitting a total of just eight field goals in the second half of the 11-point setback. Mike Williams tried his best to keep Cincinnati afloat with his 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Deonta Vaughn tossed in 16 points, but the latter shot a mere 5-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-10 behind the three-point line. Considering Vaughn's accuracy yesterday, he really wasn't that far from the norm because he's shooting only 38.6 percent from the floor after five starts, en route to his team-best 12.8 ppg. Alvin Mitchell, a reserve in all five outings, is the only other double-digit scorer for the group at 10.2 ppg, thanks to his 11-of-22 effort behind the three-point line in the early going. Despite the poor offensive showing yesterday, the Bearcats are still a tough defensive group, allowing a mere 51.4 ppg on 34.3 percent from the floor and 26.3 percent beyond the arc.

The Bearcats will slow the pace and make sure that every shot by UNLV is challenged, but even so, the Rebels don't want to drop back-to-back games on their own floor this early in the campaign.

Predicted Outcome

UNLV 62, Cincinnati 58