Thursday, March 12, 1998 | 12:22 p.m.
HARTFORD, Conn. -- They say they're ready. In a few hours, everyone will find out if they were.
UNLV's seven-year hiatus from the NCAA Tournament ends today at the Hartford Civic Center as the Rebels, well-rested and anxious to resume their amazing turnaround season, square off against No. 8 Princeton.
The jet lag from the trip east apears to be gone. The team held a spirited closed-door workout at Trinity College Wednesday, then went through an hour shoot-around at the Civic Center in the evening.
The team appeared to be fresh, both mentally and physically.
"I feel great," senior forward Tyrone Nesby said. "It's time to play again, so let's get it on."
Guard Mark Dickel said: "We feel a lot better. Physically, we have no excuses."
His backcourt mate, Brian Keefe, believes the team is ready to pick up where it left off in winning last Saturday's WAC tournament championship.
"We've ben mentally focused the last 3-4 weeks," Keefe said. "We had a really good workout today and I think we're prepared to give our best effort."
Given what UNLV has accomplished during its six-game winning streak to improve to 20-12, it should feel good about its chances today against a 26-1 Princeton team that has won 19 straight itself.
For starters, Nesby and Keefe are making shots. In the WAC tournament, Nesby averaged 17.3 points and Keefe 13.3 for four games. Keefe shot nearly 40 percent from the 3-point arc.
Then there's Dickel, who has played exceptional basketball at the point guard spot in recent weeks. He racked up a tournament record 31 assists during the WAC tourney and is coming off perhaps his best game in his two years at UNLV with his 12-assist, one-turnover performance in the title game win over New Mexico.
His assists-to-turnovers ratio during the WAC tournament was nearly 4-to-1, and that was playing an average of 37 minutes a game in a four-games-in-five-nights span.
"The further the (WAC) tournament went, the better I felt," Dickel said.
"This has been my dream, to play in this (the NCAAs). There's no way I'm going to be tired for this game. Right now, I feel great."
Even coach Bill Bayno noticed the tempo pickup Wednesday. immensely.
"We needed to get our legs back and I think getting a good night's rest Tuesday did that," he said. "I think they can feel the excitement that comes with being here and it has energized them. I know I'm excited."
But for all the good things the Rebels are doing offensively, it's the two things that Bayno never stops preaching about -- defense and rebounding -- which has given UNLV the momentum it needed coming into today's opening round of the NCAAs.
Over the six-game winning streak, UNLV has allowed just 63 points a game. During the WAC tournament, the number was even lower, just 57 points per contest. UNLV has also outrebounded its opponents 246-215 during the six-game streak.
"Defense is so much about who's around you," Dickel said. "Right now, we're doing it together. Guys are helping and talking to each other. It makes it a lot easier to defend."
The rebounding has also been a team effort. Kevin Simmons is doing his share on the boards. So is Nesby. And Issiah Epps has helped off the bench. He had eight big boards in the New Mexico win.
"Our chemistry has become really good," Keefe said.
UNLV's only real question mark today is backup freshman guard Greedy Daniels. He is still being hampered by a pulled right hamstring although he appeared to be moving better Wednesday.
Bayno wasn't sure how much Daniels will play or if he'll play at all. If he needs to sub in the backcourt, he probably will go to Donovan Stewart first, though Stewart may play up front if and when Bayno decides to play his small lineup. That would mean 6-foot-9 center Kaspars Kambala would be on the bench.
"A lot will depend on how things go," Bayno said. "We'll start Kas and hope he can get us going inside. Greedy? We'll just have to see how the game goes and how he's feeling."
Bayno believes the team is prepared to play today, even though it has been a short work week with the travel and the fact it has only had two true practices in Connecticut.
"I think we did all we can do," he said. "We've watched a lot of film and we've gone through their sets and what they're going to do.
"You can't change anything at this point. Otherwise you're in trouble."
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