Monday, Dec. 6, 1999 | 10:53 a.m.
The UNLV men's basketball team wanted to play the best team in the four-team Food Lion MVP Classic over the weekend.
It got its wish. On Saturday night in the championship game, UNLV met second-ranked North Carolina.
"The feeling before the game, we had a lot of energy," UNLV guard Trevor Diggs said. "We were hyped to play.
"If you're not ready to play against North Carolina, something's wrong with you."
Somewhere between the opening tip and the final buzzer, something went terribly wrong for the Rebels.
Although UNLV kept the game interesting at times, the Tar Heels cruised to a 102-78 victory before 12,289 fans dressed predominantly in Carolina blue and white at the Charlotte Coliseum.
The coaching staff and the players will have nine days to regroup before hosting Austin Peay on Dec. 15.
"Our attitude every day is let's get better," UNLV head coach Bill Bayno said after the game. "This was good for us.
"It was a hostile crowd and we played against a great team. Our focus will be the same. We're going to watch tape, figure out what adjustments we have to make offensively and defensively and go from there."
The loss to North Carolina went beyond X's and O's.
Hard work can't always beat talent, no matter how many upsets there have been.
In the days leading up to the Rebels' first game against Princeton on Friday, UNLV practiced hard.
"I feel like a track star or something," said Rebel Kenny Dye of all the running the team did to get in better condition.
Losing to North Carolina wasn't due to a lack of preparation.
In Charlotte, several of the dozen or so NBA scouts in town for the tournament said the Tar Heels had three potential NBA players, including player-of-the-year candidate Ed Cota, the point guard who dished out 17 assists.
You can make that four, if freshman Joseph Forte continues to improve on his already solid game.
As a team, the Rebels shot just 38.9 percent from the field and did not have the firepower to match the Tar Heels.
"I just don't think we played well enough as a team to beat a great team like that," UNLV's Mark Dickel said. "None of us.
"I don't think any one of us had a very good game. You're not going to beat a No. 2-ranked team playing like that."
It's true that Bayno and his coaching staff seem to have assembled a group of guys who have abandoned the "me, me, me" attitude for the "we, we, we" approach.
Unfortunately, chemistry can't always overcome continuity and experience.
The Tar Heels have four players back in their starting lineup from a team that was 24-10 and made it to the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
In contrast, the Rebels have only two returning starters, Dickel and Kaspars Kambala.
Since the start of practice, Bayno has had to mold his five returning players together with five junior college transfer players and one true freshman.
Except for the loss to North Carolina, the Rebels have been a good team.
The Tar Heels should thank Princeton for helping make UNLV look like a JV squad at times.
While the Tar Heels crushed an undermanned College of Charleston bunch on Friday night, UNLV scrambled to beat the methodical Tigers in a 10-point victory.
The Rebels might have been a little spent against the Tar Heels because of their previous battle against Princeton.
The final factor in Saturday's loss might have been something as simple as the arena and the crowd.
Some of the Rebels said they were a little nervous playing in the Coliseum in front of the rabid North Carolina fans. Considering the five Rebel juco transfers are used to playing in tiny gyms, it's no wonder.
"In the beginning, we all were trying too hard to make plays," Diggs said. "Every play that we didn't make, the crowd got into it.
"It was like we wanted to take the crowd out of it, but our turnovers had to be cut down. You gotta be patient against North Carolina. Against a great team, you can't force issues."
Even with the loss, the Rebels are still off to their best start under Bayno. But as Bayno has said more than once this season, the team has a long way to go.
"We came out here looking for two wins," UNLV's Danny Brotherson said. "To say that the trip was a total waste is wrong.
"We beat a good Princeton team. We came out and played with North Carolina for a little while, but we didn't make our shots. The game was closer than 24 points.
"It was a big game obviously with a chance for us to get a lot of recognition if we won. We didn't, so we have to keep our heads up and start working again."
* INJURY UPDATE: Dye bruised his right shoulder against Princeton on Saturday night and missed the game against the Tar Heels. Although X-rays taken in Charlotte were negative, he will be re-examined today. Brotherson has been hampered all season by a sore arch in his left foot. He may receive a cortisone shot today to help relieve the pain. REBEL BASKETBALL
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