UNLV prepares to face Princeton

Steve Carp

Monday, March 9, 1998 | 9:29 a.m.

When the names flashed on the screen, you would have thought there would have been one loud groan.

Instead, the UNLV-Princeton matchup in the NCAA Tournament elicited cheers throughout the Si Redd Room Sunday as the entire Rebel basketball family -- players, coaches, boosters and friends -- found out where the school's seven-year hiatus from The Big Dance ended.

And it ends in a shopping mall in Hartford, Conn.

When the Rebels return to the NCAAs for the first time since losing to Duke in the 1991 Final Four semifinals, it will be in an arena connected to a Foot Locker, the Gap and Hot Dog On A Stick.

But if Bill Bayno's team doesn't want to end its amazing turnaround season with an installment of "Scenes From a Mauling," the 20-12 Rebels better be prepared for 40 tough minutes come Thursday. The NCAA is expected to announce the game time later today.

"You have to be prepared to play out every possession," Bayno said. "You're not going to dictate tempo against Princeton."

Bayno has witnessed what the Tigers can do first-hand from his days as an assistant at Massachusetts. His players also know what dangers lurk out of Jadwin Gym thanks to today's technology and mass coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

They heard Billy Packer and Dick Vitale extoll the backdoor cuts, the precision passing, the tough defense that Hall of Famer Pete Carrill made famous during his long tenure in New Jersey which has continued under current coach Bill Carmody, a longtime Carrill assistant.

Even Mark Dickel has heard about Princeton going back to his days as a kid in New Zealand.

"We have to value every possession the way they do and play with great emotion," Dickel said. "Obviously, they pose problems for everyone they play with their style. But we have to try and pose some problems for them."

Junior Brian Keefe, who one day hopes to be a coach himself, can appreciate what it takes to get ready to play a team whose style is so different from anything UNLV sees in the WAC.

"We'll just have to prepare the best we can," he said. "But don't forget, they have to prepare for us. We're not the same team they may have seen earlier this season."

This is a different UNLV team. It is a team that has learned the meaning of patience, chemistry and continuity. It also is a team chock full of confidence and is riding a hot hand with six straight wins and 10 victories in its last 12.

"Everyone's unselfish and feeling happy for each other," Dickel said.

"Look at the way we're playing defense. Guys are talking and backing each other up. In the middle of the year, it felt like you were there by yourself. Now, there's help and you know there's someone looking out for you."

In UNLV's WAC title-clinching 56-51 win over New Mexico Saturday, the Rebels exhibited all of those positive traits.

Dickel played his best game in his two years at UNLV, dishing out a career-high 12 assists, committing just one turnover and hitting a huge 3-point basket as part of a seven-point effort that brought UNLV within one with just over two minutes to play. It set the stage for Tyrone Nesby's game-winning jumper with 1:18 to play.

"We've got good guys like Kevin (Simmons), Keefe and Dickel picking up their games, guys who are willing and determined to win," Nesby said. "It's fun to play basketball right now because everyone's looking out for each other."

The Rebels allowed just 57 points a game during their four-game run to the WAC title. That will be important against a Princeton team which shoots 50 percent from the floor, averages 23 3-point shots a game and hits 40 percent from downtown.

"You've got to contain their shooters," Bayno said. "We've done a good job contesting shots during this run. But you really have to be aware of where the ball is all the time."

In an attempt to get his team focused on the task at hand, Bayno and the team left this afternoon for the East Coast and will practice Tuesday and Wednesday in Connecticut.

"There's no need to stay here (in Las Vegas)," Bayno said. "We need to get out there early and get over the travel and concentrate on the game."

Bayno said he had a hunch UNLV would get moved out of the West Region for the first time after 12 straight appearances.

"I had heard some rumors we'd be back east as a sleeper team," he said. "Some guys I talked to had some inside information that we were being shipped."

But that's no problem for Bayno or his players. They're glad to be in the field of 64 and they're looking forward to playing 26-1 Princeton, the nation's eighth-ranked team.

Hoop du jour

* THIRD TIME AROUND: UNLV and Princeton have met twice before with UNLV winning both games. In 1984, the Rebels posted a 68-54 win in the NCAA West subregional in Salt Lake City. In 1990, UNLV hosted the Tigers at the Thomas & Mack Center with the Rebels cruising to a 69-35 win. Princeton is the only Ivy League team UNLV has ever faced.

* LOWEST WAC SEED: Four WAC teams, the most in conference history, were included in this year's NCAA field of 64. But even though UNLV won the conference tournament, the Rebels were shown the least respect. Despite a 20-12 record, UNLV was seeded 12th in the East, its lowest seed ever in 13 appearances. The other WAC seeds have Utah as a No. 3 in the West, New Mexico as the No. 4 in the South and Texas Christian as the No. 5 in the Midwest.