It was fun while it lasted. Time to get back to work.

The past three seasons have been great ones for UNLV Runnin’ Rebel fans. Two tournament appearances, three victories after getting there. One year they lost to a hot shooting Oregon team after getting to the sweet 16. The next year they hung with eventual National Champion Kansas. Coach Lon Kruger was righting the ship, getting his kids to play hard defense, team basketball, and believe they could be an elite program.

Well, none of that has changed. Except the post season part.

When you are watching selection Sunday in a few hours, you probably will not see UNLV as one of the chosen 65 to duke it out for the national championship starting this coming week. UNLV, which has wins at Louisville, home against Arizona, Utah, and a season series sweep over BYU, also has lost a slew of horrible games including at TCU, and at Colorado State. They also were beaten three times by San Diego State (including in the first round of the MWC tournament, thus, ending UNLV’s chances to secure an auto-bid to the big dance on their home floor. Guess we won’t have to hear from Steve Alford anymore about how its a sham to have this here in Vegas, even though this is the only way the thing sells tickets, and there is no other practical place to have it. Idiot) and their walking dead gangster coach of a team mentioned in the post below Steve Fisher. In the end, Vegas could not compete with true athletic teams. Due to several subtractions from the program over the past two years for various reasons, the front court is bare. UNLV starts a 3 point shooting, no rebound getting 6′7″ 225 pound Center in Joe Darger, who should not be banging with the big boys on a nightly basis. Their other front court player. Rene Rougeau is 6′6″ and 210. Should be playing a guard spot, and often does on defense. After that, its three point guards in Tre’Von Willis, Oscar Belfield and Wink Adams. Neither one is over 6′4″ and neither one tips the scales past 200 lbs. When they go to the bench, its even worse. With a 7-man rotation they’ve used, the only front court sub has been Mo Rutledge, who rolls out at 6′3″ and 225. No joke. We had a 6′3″ 225 “power forward” guarding player of the year in the conference Luke Nevill, who’s 7′2″.

Now, check a team like San Diego State. Forwards Ryan Amoroso (6′8″), Billy White(6′8″), Tim Shelton(6′7″ and 241), and Lorenzo Wade(6′6″), all out class UNLV on the front line. When you’re grinding it out in conference games with teams that know your system, your style of play, it all comes down to the athletes you put on the floor, and the match-ups between them. That’s why UNLV was able to handle BYU fairly easily, because of the match-ups.

So when you’re filling out your NIT brackets this week, these are the reasons why UNLV will be on there, and not dancing with the rest of the better teams in the country. In some aspects they are deserving to do so, but when it comes down to it, they can’t compete. I’ll highlight what Lon Kruger has done to combat some of this later on this summer.

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