Tulsa isn’t coming to Las Vegas for a vacation

Tuesday, March 4, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

His team knows the week ahead is no vacation, he said.

"They will know they came out there for one thing: To win as many games as they can," Robinson said Monday.

As No. 2 seed, Tulsa (22-8, 12-4 WAC) earned a first-round bye and will learn when the team touches down in Las Vegas this afternoon whether it will play Rice or UNLV in the second round.

Robinson said he doesn't have a preference. Either the Golden Hurricane plays UNLV (19-8, 11-5) on its home court or faces the Owls (12-14, 6-10), which beat Tulsa 75-58 in their last meeting.

"Whoever wins the game, we'll try to make sure we're prepared to play them," he said.

The WAC's new Mountain Division coach of the year, however, does have an opinion about playing on UNLV's home court.

"I like our chances. I think our chances are just as good as anyone in the tournament," he said, but added, "I'm hoping the tournament committee will look at it and decide ... having it in someone's home arena is not the best way to run a tournament.

"Why not try to find a place that's a neutral site?"

Tulsa enters the tournament ranked top in WAC games in scoring defense, having held opponents to an average 62 points and 37 percent shooting. In Tulsa's first meeting against Rice, the Golden Hurricane kept the Owls to just 33 points, in a 65-33 victory.