The past several days have been epic.

1. UNLV vs Wyoming – The Rebels wrapped up their regular season taking Wyoming to the woodshed. The Cowboys looked like a sad basketball team, and UNLV didn’t play around with them. Final score was 74-56, and it wasn’t even that close. This wrapped up the regular season for UNLV, and was my 23rd game of the season.

2. After this game, it became apparent that my dream of attending 50 college basketball games in one season would continue to be a dream. Attending classes and turning in required assignments took precedent over the WCC tournament, which was a requirement of mine previously. Such is life. It will be here next year, along with the WAC tournament. Options galore!

3. As Nate mentioned below, our very own Jimmy led his Allen Park Jags to a playoff victory against some team called the Crestwood Chargers. I know nothing about the high school basketball make up of the south eastern Michigan area, but I know that Jimmy is a good coach because his drills are excellent. Jimmy ended up losing another heart breaker to some team from Dearborn, but it doesn’t matter, because he’s still better. Just the way we feel.

4. Having cleared my calendar for the next week for a certain trip to Buffalo, NY, I decided to break down and pick up a few duckets to attend the MWC quarterfinal session last night with my beautiful baby. New Mexico vs San Diego State, and BYU vs UNLV. Quite the lineup of games, teams, and story lines from this season.

As you can see, we bought our tickets at the last second, which resulted in us sitting right behind the San Diego State student section in the upper deck level of the Thomas & Mack. This student section is fucking classic though. Their chants are dead on and organized, they crowd surfed some kid in a giant gecko outfit, and then suggested to the New Mexico contingent (which was at least 10,000 strong arena-wide) to sell their tickets once it was apparent the game was over. It was a fun game to watch, example 1 on why March basketball is the greatest shit ever. 1 seeded New Mexico falls to 4 seed San Diego State 69-72. Game was won behind hot shooting from behind the arc for SDSU (to the tune of 10-16), and Billy White’s 11-14 from the field, 5-5 from the line, 28 point domination of the New Mexico defense.

Game two was an entirely different set of circumstances.

Thanks in part to San Diego State’s knocking off of New Mexico, we were able to grift a new set of seats in the lower bowl, in the middle of New Mexico-ville, for the BYU vs UNLV game. New Mexico fans hate BYU as much as any other normal person in this country should hate them. BYU hadn’t won at UNLV vs UNLV in it’s five previous games. BYU was fresh off a victory over TCU, with brother Fredette racking up the shittiest stat line that ever represented 45 points.

• 45 points. 10-23 from the field (including 2-10 from 3), and 23-24 from the FT line. Yes, that is not a joke. This really happened.

Needless to say, I was a bit worried. Fredette was coming into the UNLV game believing he was the prophet Joseph Smith himself.

Now I’m not a bigot or a hater or anything. I know plenty of people who practice the Mormon faith and are perfectly nice normal people. The fast majority are well represented by the parity you’ve probably seen on South Park a few years back. Super nice. Super perfect. Blonde haired, blue eyed giver outters. They all have really cool jackets and want to go home and make brownies or help you build a bookshelf.

I’ll build my own.

BYU and UNLV came out shooting hot, to the tune of each squad trading 3 pointers. After it was 9-9, this dogfight settled out into the dogfight it was meant to be. UNLV’s press after made baskets gave BYU fits in the first half, leading to a few run outs. BYU’s patented fast break offense was a blur off of missed UNLV shots, and the game stayed sort of close, the Rebels up by 7 at the half behind a sweet looking jumper from Chase Stanback.

The second half saw the prophet casting a light on Jimmer Fredette, and him contorting his gangliy body into the bodies of his foes, and getting to the line with the righteous accomplishment only a BYU fan could be proud of. He also hit some sick deep jumpers. What’s ironic about this guy is that when a questionable call goes the other way, he freaks out, cries, pouts, and stomps all over the floor. He was also called for traveling twice in the second half, which almost made his head explode. Tre’Von Willis gutted out a twisted ankle in the final minutes, made a crazy glasser shot, and the FT’s a leader is expected to make to seal up the victory, regardless of what super natural forces may have been conspiring against the sinners of Southern Nevada. BYU 66, UNLV 70.

—–

So here I am. I’m going to bail on headed to the MWC title game this afternoon in favor of watching several other games from across the country. I’ve attended 25 college basketball games thus far, with the best yet to come.

5. Western won a game in its conference tournament, and should have probably faced Eastern after that. Thanks to #pixelvision, I was able to watch both teams, including Carlos Medlock’s spirited effort against Akron. EMU fell short, as did WMU against Akron yesterday. WMU will not be dancing this year, and the David Kool era is over in Kalamazoo.

6. Michigan State lost yesterday to Tubbs. Sam called this 100%. Not sure how I feel about Sparty headed into the Tourney. In Izzo I trust though. I don’t know what era is about to end for MSU over the next couple of weeks though. This team / season has been so confusing. I have this feeling that the team is being held together by a thread.

The only way to find out is to play the games.

Good news on the ticket front this week as well. Some randoms from Buffalo, NY sent over a few tickets for us to attend some hoops games, the same ones we’ve been talking about. So that’s good news:

I also managed to track down my set of Final Four tickets:

So now we can get into these places we’ve spoken about so much. The Final Four tickets were pretty hard to track down. The wonderful people at the NCAA ticket office did not change my mailing address, even though I sent the proper information to them, and even received conformation back that it was. It’s all good though, as it worked out in the end.

Wyoming @ UNLV for the last Rebel game of the year is next Saturday. I will also be at the WCC tournament at the Rhett’s Basketball viewing arena, AKA, the Orleans Arena. That starts on Friday.

Currently watching Richmond @ Xavier (dynasty). Looking forward to some USA hockey, and MSU @ Purdue. Things are rounding into shape nicely. They should be, tomorrow is March, and it is MY month.

Headed into the last week of February, if you are thinking of making the tournament, and advancing in the tournament, you had better be rounding into top form.

UNLV coming off a 3 game losing streak against New Mexico, San Diego State, and Utah, found their hoop game against Colorado State yesterday afternoon, and used it to gain a 70-39 win at home against the Rams. Colorado State is a decent squad, with some good pieces and will look to be a player in the league next year. UNLV started the game out on a 10-2 run, had balanced scoring, including 12 points from Anthony Marshall and Chace Stanback, and 11 points from Kendall Wallace and Tre’Von Willis. The Thomas and Mack was a bit empty, but that did not prevent the Rebels from having some great defensive pressure for almost the entire 1st half. The Rams only managed 16 points by halftime. The second half was mostly coasting, with a small Colorado State run squashed by UNLV.

This is called taking care of business. This is a game UNLV should have won, and had to have when you consider the three previous losses. They have TCU and Wyoming at home and Air Force on the road to finish out the season, and should win all 3 games rather easily. They’ll need to to ensure a favorable match up in the 1st round of the conference tournament. Losing the first game in the conference tournament on your home floor is not a good idea.

Michigan State is sitting in another boat. After losing three games, they won two easy road games against Penn State and Indiana. This left them headed into two game, at home vs Ohio State, and on the road at Purdue. Ohio State handled Sparty this afternoon, which is disapointing. Now, the road game at Purdue seems rather important, as the Spartans haven’t proven they can beat good squads lately, and may need the confidence boost a Purdue win would bring, in order to get their minds right for March.

I’m hoping the Rebels will win out in convincing fashion to eliminate any doubt that they should be in the field of 65. I’m also hoping Michigan State starts to hit their stride, knocks off Purdont, and starts off March on the right foot.

It’s disappointing because UNLV was ranked again, gained a lot of national attention after the win over the weekend against stupid BYU. UNLV had a chance to solidify their spot in bracket projections, and put themselves on top of the MWC. It did not happen that way though.

For those who were not at the game, and had to endure through a 4OT women’s basketball game, you missed New Mexico hitting their first 5 three-pointers. You missed New Mexico setting the tone on both ends of the floor, denying the lane to Tre’Von Willis and Oscar Bellfield.

UNLV missed Derrick Jasper, and his ability to switch on the wings. Kendall Wallace may be an amazing 3 point specialist, but he cannot guard a soul to save his own life, and Steve Alford exploited this repeatedly in the 1st half. If Jasper had been playing (UNLV’s best defender), those open 3’s would not have existed, and this game would have had a drastically different start.

You can’t get out rebounded 2-1, give up 20 second chance points, and let a team shoot 50% from 3 point land, and expect to win a game. Yet, somehow, UNLV managed to get this to within two points at the under 4 time out. I can’t even explain it really. Just doesn’t make sense, but I watched it happen. That tells me this team has grit. They didn’t fold up in a ball and die, or shrug it off like it just was not their night.

It’s bad to lose, but its not horrible to lose to a good team. New Mexico had a plan tonight, they executed it, and won the game. UNLV coming off the emotional high of winning against BYU on Saturday, couldn’t possibly replicate that energy two times in a row. The large crowd (over 18,000 again), tried to will them on, and it almost happened.

I may comment more on this later. Just wanted to get these thoughts out there. It’s not the end of the world. Just time to hit the road on Saturday vs San Diego State and put those clowns out early. Then on to Utah, and do the same thing. No doubt about the fact that UNLV should be better than both teams.

Good Talk.

Tre'Von rollin dolo's. (Photo by Louie Traub/RebelNation.Net)

I last attended a college basketball game on January 17th when UNLV lost to Utah at home. It was a bad loss.

Since then, UNLV has won a few road contests, and a home game vs Air Force I could not attend. To say I was looking forward to today’s game is an understatement. I have deprived myself of Big Monday’s and Super Tuesday’s. I’m doing what I have to do, but I am missing my favorite sports season, and I’m bummed about it sometimes.

That being said, UNLV playing host to BYU was game #19 for me. It was quite the game.

UNLV game out slanging nerve gas on BYU. I have never seen anything close to what I saw in person today. The Rebels were ready to play. It was evident after they started the game on a 11-2 run, with Tre’Von Willis getting whatever shot he wanted. BYU came out flat, seemed pouty for most of the game, and really never even competed. I have seen BYU play a ton of games (second only to UNLV) over the past hand-full of years. They recruit talent, seem to be well coached, and probably deserved their high rankings they’ve had this year. They can’t play against UNLV though. The Rebel’s choked away the game in Provo earlier this year. They were up at the under 4 time out, and just did not make plays they’ve made all year. BYU didn’t win that one, UNLV lost it. BYU rolls into town this afternoon (1pm local tip is  a good deal) and they get the covers blown off their golden bible. Tre’Von Willis put his stamp on his MWC POTY opinion, by throwing in 33 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. He also played some very nice near lockdown defense on this Jimmer kid, holding this supposed all world MWC guy to 21 points on 4 of 15 shooting. Oscar Bellfield also played a part in this. Both guys are fast, and did a great job in keeping Jimmer in front of them all afternoon.

The final was 88-74, but it wasn’t even that close. It was over at halftime, with UNLV being up 22 going into the break. UNLV was up by as much a 29 before halftime.

Another little tidbit – for everybody claiming Fredette is the clear cut MVP of the MWC, think again. Willis is scoring more per conference game than Fredette, and has owned him in both head to head meetings. Spare me that ‘oh, he was sick’ crap. Willis played well on the road in the heart of Provo. Fredette stunk it up today. The only open shot he could get was a NBA+ three. Who’s your prophet?

UNLV hosts New Mexico Wednesday night. They beat the airbrushers today to create a 3-way tie on top of the MWC. UNLV has the previously mentioned New Mexico game, then heads to SDSU and Utah. Then they play all the clowns at the bottom of the league.

Besides Tre’Von Willis (27 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), and Chace Stanback (14 points, 10 rebounds), nobody for the Rebels could be referred to as a reliable option last night. This really hamstrung UNLV down the stretch. For all the mentions about UNLV’s depth, Willis was forced into playing the whole game, as he was the only Rebel who could get his own shot and be relied upon to create offense.

Utah shot 50% from 3 point land (8 for 16), and also made a healthy percentage of their FT’s (23-29). In comparison, Vegas was only 1 of 12 from beyond the arch, and shot 65% from the FT line (22-34). At least 4 of those misses were front ends of 1-1’s as well.

So there you have it. It was a close game, UNLV had its shots to pull it out when things got tight at the end, and did not take advantage of the chances. Like I said, sometimes, you’re just going to lose a game. Utah 73, UNLV 69.

So UNLV is 14-4, and 2-2 in conference. Stumbles like these are what killed UNLV last year, and resulted in them not making the tournament. They pretty much have to take care of home court the rest of the way and win the road games they “should” win, including teams like Air Force, TCU, etc. You figure on two more tough home games against BYU and New Mexico. You want to be able to count on a split of both of those. In a league that figures to get more than one bid this year due to the non conference prowess of its teams, UNLV would do well to stay near the top of the standings as time goes by. New Mexico has stumbled as well, giving the Rebels a shot to right the ship, notch a few wins, and be there later on. Time will tell (cliche’s, hoary!).

Game #18 for myself, next game is Jan 26th, sheesh. Next weekend may be my “break out of Vegas random hoops road trip” weekend. We shall see.

1st Half (worst): UNLV plays timid horrible basketball. Aztecs drive the lane, score in the paint, draw fouls, out rebound on both ends and overall dominate the game. If it wasn’t for their crappy shooting from the free throw line in the first half, this game could have been different. Either way, Steve Fisher’s gangster program of the west slashes and dashes their way to a 39-33 lead at halftime, with it seeming like it should have been a ton more.

2nd Half (best): UNLV erases the six point hole before the first media time out with hustle on defense, and determination to drive the lane instead of lazily settling for jump shots near the three point line. Tre’Von Willis and Chace Stanback worked some 2-man game real nice for a stretch, and Anthony Marshall did a nice job on the defensive end (including rebound in a short stretch), off the bench. UNLV realized a modest lead half way through the second half, and made the free throws down the stretch to seal the deal. UNLV 76, SDSU 66.

Unsung Hero was undoubtedly Oscar Bellfield, who has staked his claim as perhaps the best pure point in the league. Another six assists tonight, giving him 22 on the conference season, with only four turnovers to go with them. Last year, big O was maybe pressured to get to the rim a bit more in order to score, since the Rebels lacked scoring overall. This year, with Jasper, Willis, and Chace on the wings, Bellfield does a great job getting into the lane and kicking for open looks, and setting up his scorers nicely off the pick and pop / roll. Nice game again tonight.

Game count notched at 17 after tonight. Utah and Tourney Trip favorite Jim Boylen visit Las Vegas on Saturday. Then it’s a week on the road for the Rebels.

Here is my original schedule. Somewhere in December, I fell off the wagon.

* UNLV Home Games: Season tickets, plus one game at the Orleans Arena vs Kansas State, which Sam will be in town for = 16
* Las Vegas Invitational – 11/27 and 11/28: Four games 1st round and four games 2nd round = 8
* Holiday Hoops Classic – 12/19 and 12/20: Two games 1st round and two games 2nd round = 4
* Las Vegas Classic – 12/22 and 12/23: Four games 1st round and four games 2nd round = 8
* MWC Tournament – 3/10-3/13: One game on Wednesday, Four on Thursday, Two on Friday, one on Saturday = 8
* WCC Tournament – 3/5-3/8: Two games on the 5th, 6th and 7th, title game on the 8th = 7
* NCAA Tournament 1st and 2nd Rounds, Buffalo NY – 3/19 and 3/21: Four games on Friday, 2 on sunday = 6
* NCAA Final Four, Indianapolis, IN – 4/3 and 4/5: Two games on Saturday, one on Sunday = 3

At this point in the game, I should be at 28 games. Instead, I am at 19. That is NINE off the pace. I missed the Holiday Hoops Classic due to family being in town, I wussed out on a few of the Las Vegas Classic due to an odd experience with a lanyard and Western Michigan being on TV a few times (thus, having me bail to watch them). I haven’t missed any UNLV games though. Here’s how I plan on finishing strong, getting to the half century mark, and keeping my word to whoever reads this. 16, +

8 – total remaining UNLV home games
8 – Mountain West Tournament. This is easy
7 – West Coast Conference Tournament. Probably my favorite thing, besides the NCAA’s of course.
6 – 1st and 2nd Rounds NCAA Tournament, Buffalo – THE TRIP!!!
3 – Rounds of 16 and 8 NCAA Tournament, Salt Lake City – This is now BOOKED.
3 – Final Four, Indianapolis, IN – You know it.

This equals 35. Plus the 16 I’ve already logged, I’ll be at 51. I have a much slimmer margin of error, and I’ll need even that, as UNLV has a home game on a Tuesday when I have class I may not be able to skip (vs Air Force). We’ll see. I have thought about adding in a road trip to LA for a weekend to nab two games in February to throw in a few buffer games.

That is a mountain of games, especially in March / April (27). Could be tough sledding with classes, work and such, but I’ll find a way to make it work.

I have to.

UNLV vs Kansas State at the Orleans Arena

UNLV is kicked out of the Thomas & Mack every fall due to the National Finals Rodeo being in town and taking over the hoops venue. The Rebels usually hit the road for a few days, which is fine, but they can’t stay out forever. They took up a pseudo-home game against Kansas State last weekend Saturday at the now Tourney Trip famous Orleans Arena, the meca of random basketball. It was pretty ugly for UNLV from start to finish. K-State rolls out two very talented, very smooth and very confident guards in Jacob Pullen and Dennis Clemente. They combined for 50 points, including Pullen’s 7 for 10 from 3 point land. Every-time UNLV would put two good things together, he’d come down and stick a cold blooded jumper in some-body’s face. The game was over at halftime when UNLV blew an easy Dunk (Santee) and the Wildcats came back down to the other end of the floor to stick a layup. 4 point swing in about 7 seconds turned what would have been a five point deficit into a nine point hole, and a horrible feeling in every UNLV fan’s stomach. The second half was more of the same, and really, it was worse than the 15 point loss it ended up being. The only good thing to come out of it was the fact that UNLV didn’t give up 100 points, which a Kruger Rebel team has never done. Kansas State 95, UNLV 80.

I want to give an official Tourney Trip thank you to fellow Tourney Trip member Sam and him coming through to watch some random hoops in Vegas. The company was much appreciated.

From there, UNLV played at Southern Utah, about a two hour drive north from Las Vegas in Cedar City, UT. Had it not been for a final in my English lit class, I would have made the trip. UNLV seems to have gotten their minds right and back on the winning track with a W here.

Last night, I welcomed myself back to the T&M for UNLV vs Weber St. I was surprised about how packed it was last night. Not near a sell-out, but a decent crowd nonetheless. Had a great time and so did UNLV. Seemed like their first complete 40 minute effort of the season. Matt Shaw was clicking from beyond the arc, Chace Stanback continues to show his improved confidence, scoring prowess (for the third game in a row) and silky smooth jumper. Weber St is a nice squad. Kyle Bullinger was 5-8 from 3 point land, seemingly hitting each of them when UNLV threatened to put this game out of reach. Fun game overall. UNLV 72, Weber State 63.

From there, I have one more UNLV game this year, as they host USC-Upstate tomorrow night. I will try to take in a few games of the Holiday Hoops Classic (Southern Illinois, San Diego, San Fransisco, and Florida International), depending on the TV viewing schedule this weekend. After these couple games, it’s strictly business.

I received word today that I will have a media credential for the Las Vegas Classic, next Tuesday and Wednesday at, once again, the Orleans Arena. This is an awesome thing. I’ll probably be doing some blogging on site, I’ll fire up the twitter feed, and hopefully, sit back and enjoy some hoops. After that, I will be basketball-less until UNLV returns home for its first home conference game against SDSU on 1/13/09.

Butler vs Xavier tomorrow morning (11am tip for me!!), do I root for my namesake, or X which = dynasty?

I think I’ll just watch.

I’ll cut right to the chase. Illinois vs Utah. The Runnin’ Utes, coached by my pal Jim Boylen, were down 16 to top 25 ranked Illinois, and came back in the second half to win the game on a last second outlet pass and runner that was debated for about 5 mins court side by the refs. The Orleans Arena was packed with Illinois fans. They were out in full force, loud and proud. They were not happy about the outcome to say the least. I was almost worried of a riot after the ref came away from the monitor and threw his arms in the air. Utah had the ball with a tie game and 40+ seconds left. Drove the lane with about 16 seconds left and missed an off balance shot. Illinois rebounds the ball, back the other way, no time out (!). They too drive the lane, the shot is blocked and an outlet pass is put out to Shawn Greene, who is all alone with maybe a second left. He lets it fly from the FT line, it goes in, and bedlam ensues. The players ran over to Boylen and jumped around with him, the few Utah fans in the stands flipped out. The thousands of Illinois fans threw up in their mouths. Utah runs off the floor, Illinois sulks off the floor, and the refs take about 5 mins to review the play at the monitor. In the mean time, Illinois fans are throwing beer bottles, storming around in tight jean shorts swearing it up real good, etc. I even saw somebody bringing a chair over their head. Amazingly horrible manners from the Big Ten fans.

Utah fought hard to come back. What was not working for Utah in the 1st half (open shots, driving the lane), was most definitely working in the second half. I was fearful of this thing becoming a joke at the start of the second half, but Utah started playing gritty defense, and using outlet passes for a few easy baskets. Then they started hitting a couple 3’s, and things just opened up from there. Illinois stopped getting to the rim and started settling for jumpers that they were making (in addition to lane drives), but stopped in the second half. Utah was making the effort to get a hand in front of somebodies face, and it showed. Even after Utah’s best front court player, 6-11 Kim Tillie fouled out on a nickle dimer, Utah stuck with it, including two big 3’s by Luka Drca, and several nice put backs from fill in front courters Washburn and Read. Carlon Brown hit a few Ft’s down the stretch, and the final 5 mins we had a game. Utah advanced to the final in the last game of the night, which was sorely needed, as I was dragging my ass through this thing by the end of the night. Final Score – Utah 60, Illinois 58.

Oklahoma State played Bradley in a game that was hardly a game as time wore on. Bradley had the right idea, but couldn’t keep up with seemingly bigger and faster Oklahoma State players. Bradley brought out a crowd though, and they know their hoops. Classy fans to stay the least. No booing, and no getting upset over calls, etc. I hammed it up with a few randoms who flew in Wednesday. They love the idea of a tourney here in town, and so do I. Bradly was down big at the half, tried to make a game of it half way through the second half with a little 6-0 run, but it wasn’t in the cards for the Braves this time. They’ll face a likely pissed off Illinois team tomorrow in the 3rd place game. Is Oklahoma St good? I don’t really know, but Anderson James is a beast. Oklahoma St 68, Bradley 57.

I’ll recap the other two games a bit later, as I need a sandwich. It’s been a long day. Still buzzing about that last shot from Utah. A note should also be thrown out there for the PA guy that’s calling these games. He is horrible, interjecting at all times during play about who made a shot, how much time is left, if its a “game” or not, like he’s on TV, but he’s not. If you read this guy, stop it. It’s in poor taste and makes Las Vegas look showey.

I’m tired. UNLV vs Louisville, and the second half of the Las Vegas Invitational tomorrow. Good Night.