Saturday afternoon basketball in Las Vegas: the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels continue their opening week at home against the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday, November 7, 2026, with tip-off at 1:00 PM Pacific at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Samford makes the long trip from Birmingham, Alabama with one of the most entertaining identities in mid-major basketball: a frenetic, pressing, three-point-heavy style — widely known as “Bucky Ball” — that forces opponents to play faster than they want for all forty minutes. For UNLV, that makes this a genuine early-season measuring stick just days after the opener: ball security, transition defense and depth will all be tested in a matinee that should be played at a sprint.
Date, time and game details
What: UNLV Rebels vs Samford Bulldogs — men’s college basketball
When: Saturday, November 7, 2026 — tip-off 1:00 PM Pacific
Where: Thomas & Mack Center, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154
The early tip makes this one of the most family-friendly dates on UNLV’s home calendar — a full college game-day atmosphere, band and student section included, wrapped up by mid-afternoon with the rest of a Las Vegas Saturday still ahead of you. Doors typically open about an hour before tip-off; arriving early also means first pick of the campus parking lots closest to the arena.
Styles make fights, and they make basketball games, too: UNLV’s length and home-court pace against Samford’s pressure and volume shooting is exactly the kind of nonconference matchup that reveals a rotation in November. Expect the Rebels’ guards to be the story — Samford’s system is designed to speed ball-handlers into mistakes, and the team that controls tempo usually controls this game.
The venue: Thomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center has been the home of UNLV basketball since 1983 and seats more than 18,000 for basketball, making it one of the largest on-campus arenas in the country. Set on the UNLV campus at 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, just east of the Strip, it pairs a classic college atmosphere with Las Vegas production values, and also hosts the National Finals Rodeo each December.
Tickets
Tickets for UNLV vs Samford on November 7, 2026 are available through UNLV athletics’ official ticketing channels and the program’s Ticketmaster listings. No primary face-value starting price was published on the official listing at announcement time, so check the official UNLV Rebels website for current inventory, single-game pricing and student ticket information before buying from any resale marketplace.
Getting to the Thomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center sits at 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, on the UNLV campus near Tropicana Avenue, about two miles east of the Strip. Parking lots surround the arena off Maryland Parkway and Tropicana, RTC buses run along Maryland Parkway, and rideshare drop-off zones operate on campus roads around the arena. For a 1:00 PM Saturday tip, late-morning arrival beats the pregame rush on Tropicana.
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