Southern University men's basketball team pulled a stunning 85-71 upset over UNLV to start the season. UNLV finished the season 19-13 last year (7-11 in Mountain West) and narrowly defeated Southern 66-56 last year. The Jaguars competed with Runnin' Rebels last year and found a game plan that worked to dominate them this year.

Southern dominated UNLV, showcasing an impressive 16-0 run in just five minutes during the first half. This strong start allowed Southern to establish a commanding 25-11 lead with 7:56 remaining. The Jaguars continued their high level of play, extending their advantage to a 19-point lead by halftime, with the score standing at 40-21.

Although UNLV attempted to mount a comeback in the second half, outscoring the Jaguars 50-45, they fell short. Despite cutting the lead to 13 points with under two minutes left in the game, UNLV was unable to gain control. The Southern offense was firing on all cylinders throughout the game, with the bench players outscoring UNLV's bench 43-5 and dominating the paint with a 38-24 advantage.

Tai'Reon Joseph was the standout player for Southern, contributing 22 points in their 85-71 victory against UNLV. Joseph showcased his shooting skills, going 9 of 21 from the field and 3 for 8 from beyond the arc. Delang Muon also had an impressive performance, scoring 16 points on a perfect shooting record of 7 of 7 from the field, while also grabbing five rebounds. Brandon Davis made his mark from beyond the arc, shooting 3 for 4 and finishing with 13 points, along with six rebounds.

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UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger spoke about the loss and was not pleased with his team's level of play.

“That's not the result we wanted obviously, we were just a little timid. We came out on our heels. They came out and played hard for 40 minutes. We still have a positive outlook for this group. We will go watch the film and get into practice tomorrow, and we'll be a different team on Saturday that's for sure.”

Southern University heads to Tuscon, Arizona for a rematch against Arizona, who beat the Jaguars 95-78 last season. The teams play on Monday, November 13 at 8 PM EST and the game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.