UNLV finalizes hoops slate for 1998-‘99

Steve Carp

Friday, Aug. 21, 1998 | 10:50 a.m.

It's not quite as tough as last year's slate. But coach Bill Bayno said the 1998-99 UNLV basketball schedule is pretty rugged in its own right.

Though it hasn't been officially released, the Rebels have cleared the final hurdle on this year's slate by putting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo back on the schedule while postponing Georgetown until next year.

"We've got several top-25 teams and a few in the top 40," Bayno said of the schedule, which tips off Nov. 14 at the Thomas & Mack Center against Bayno's alma mater, Division II Sacred Heart.

"Last year may have been a little tougher, but not by much," he said. "Anytime you've got Kansas, UCLA, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State and Arizona State on your schedule, that's a tough schedule."

The schedule was completed Thursday when UNLV and Cal Poly agreed to reschedule their Dec. 5 game, which had been dropped so the Rebels could play Arizona State. The new date is Jan. 2 at Mott Gym in San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly finished 14-14 last season with 11 of those wins coming at home.

As for Georgetown, the two schools will attempt to resume the series in 1999-2000. The plan was for the Hoyas to come to Las Vegas this year with UNLV returning the favor in Washington, D.C. next season.

But the teams couldn't agree on a date. Georgetown wanted to play in late November, UNLV preferred early January.

"We just couldn't work things out," Bayno said. "But I'm not crazy about playing Cal Poly. People think it's an easy game and it's not. They're an up-and-coming team that's well-coached and plays everyone tough at home. It's going to be a huge game for them and their place will be packed."

Mustangs coach Jeff Schneider said he was glad to have the game back on.

"We understood they had an opportunity to play on national TV," he said. "But when they called us, we were very interested. You'd hate to lose a game of that magnitude. And the (January) date might work out well for us."

Now that all the negotiating is out of the way, there are a couple of key stretches fans should note.

The Rebels will have a tough stretch in late November through mid-December when they have Kansas, Nevada-Reno, Arizona State and UCLA, all on the road, during a 16-day span.

The other rugged stretch comes the following week when UNLV hosts Cincinnati and Oklahoma State Dec. 19 and Dec. 22, respectively. The Bearcats finished last season ranked No. 14 while the Cowboys were No. 25 in the final Associated Press poll.

As for the Rebels' final year in the WAC, the opponents include Texas Christian, which was ranked as high as 13th last year; Tulsa, which is traditionally strong; and Southern Methodist, which has played UNLV only once, in 1984 in the Rebel Roundup at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV is in the Mountain Division along with TCU, SMU, Tulsa, Rice, Air Force, Wyoming and Colorado State.

In all, there are 15 home games, including a four-game stretch in November that includes Sacred Heart (Nov. 14), Troy State (Nov. 16), Southern Cal (Nov. 20) and Weber State (Nov. 24). There's another four-game homestand in December with Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Columbia (Dec. 27) and Southern Utah (Dec. 28). The WAC opener is Jan. 9 at home against Air Force.