GAME NOTES: The Stanford Cardinal and UNLV Runnin' Rebels will meet in the semifinal round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Barclays Center on Friday evening.

The winner of this game will take on either Duke or Temple for the tournament title on Saturday.

Johnny Dawkins' Cardinal opened the 2014-15 season with a pair of home games in this event and posted double-digit wins over both Wofford (74-59) and South Dakota (84-73). Stanford made a surprising run to the Sweet 16 a year ago and the hope is that the Cardinal will build on that and be one of the better teams in the Pac-12 this season.

Dave Rice's Rebels also opened with a pair of home games in earlier round action of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, but unlike the Cardinal, UNLV's wins were by the skin of its teeth. The Rebels slipped by Morehead State in the season opener (60-59) and did the same against Sam Houston State (59-57) two days later. UNLV has a nice string of 20+ win seasons coming into this campaign and the hope is that the Rebels will keep it going in the always challenging Mountain West Conference.

Stanford holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series with UNLV thanks to an 86-71 decision in Palo Alto in 2003, the last time these two teams met.

UNLV's recent recipe for success will eventually come back and haunt them, as they had to overcome a double-digit deficit to get past Sam Houston State last time out. Freshman forward Rashad Vaughn scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to propel the Rebels to victory. Cody Doolin was the only other Rebel to post double figures with 10 points. Center Goodluck Okonoboh added a modest six points to the cause, but did grab 10 rebounds and block six shots.

The offensive numbers through two games don't look pretty for UNLV, which averages just 59.5 ppg on a mere .390 shooting. The shooting woes extend beyond the arc (.290) and include the foul line as well (.519). Vaughn has made an immediate impact and has materialized as the only reliable scoring threat thus far. He is averaging 22.0 ppg, but it comes thanks to a high volume of shots (15-of-37). Sophomore forward Christian Wood is a distant second in the scoring column at 9.5 ppg, although he tops the team in rebounding (9.0 rpg).

The Cardinal have been much more effective on the offensive end through their two games, shooting a healthy .471 from the floor, despite a poor .238 from 3- point range (5-of-21). The team has been able to control the boards as well, averaging 37.5 rpg and holds a +10.5 rebounding advantage. Veteran center Stefan Nastic is off to an incredible start, shooting .737 from the field and pacing the team in scoring (20.0 ppg), rebounding (tied with 8.0 rpg), assists (4.0 apg) and blocked shots (2.0 bpg). Senior guard Chasson Randle gives the team perimeter balance with 17.5 ppg. Senior Anthony Brown (13.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and freshman Reid Travis (11.0 ppg) give the team a couple of other offensive options.

Stanford struggled to find its groove in terms of shooting efficiency against South Dakota, shooting a modest .412 from the floor overall. However, was active in getting to the rim and outscored South Dakota 38-18 at the free- throw line as a result. Randle led all scorers with 23 points, thanks in large part to his 12-of-12 effort from the charity stripe. Roscoe Allen poured in 17 points, Nastic (14 pts, 11 rebs) and Brown (11 pts, 10 rebs) both recorded double-doubles.

The Cardinal have the advantage here as UNLV has shown absolutely nothing offensively to suggest it can keep winning games against a better level of competition.