Three takeaways from the UNLV basketball team’s 74-62 victory over UC Riverside on Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center:
1. UNLV really needed this victory.
True, the Rebels (1-1) aren’t expected to be in contention for the postseason given the rebuilding job first-year coach Marvin Menzies has undertaken, not to mention a demanding December schedule.
But there are opportunities to win this month, and UNLV already missed one of them with a 76-68 loss to South Alabama on Friday. The Rebels didn’t want to miss another one, or confidence issues could become a real problem.