UNLV notebook: Vitale takes shots at Rebels selection

Steve Addy

Monday, March 13, 2000 | 10:48 a.m.

None of Dick Vitale's preemptive strikes could keep UNLV from receiving an NCAA Tournament bid Sunday, but ESPN's college basketball motormouth didn't go quietly.

Only minutes after the Rebels were announced as the South Regional's 10th seed, having earned a first-round game against seventh-seeded Tulsa, Vitale was expressing his outrage to anybody who would listen. Which happened to be a large portion of the sporting public on Selection Sunday.

Vitale criticized UNLV's record against top 25 opponents and essentially impugned the integrity of Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, who chaired the selection committee, intimating that he exerted undue influence.

Like past chairpersons, Thompson was prohibited from discussing or voting upon teams in his own conference. Utah joined UNLV as Mountain West qualifiers, sent to the Midwest as a No. 8 seed.

All weekend long, Vitale had been saying the Rebels didn't belong in the tournament. He did not change his views after UNLV's victory Saturday in the Mountain West tournament, then sounded shocked after the Rebels got into the 64-team field.

"UNLV has to feel they're on cloud nine," Vitale said. "I asked Craig Thompson, 'Show me one quality win UNLV had out of conference.' Well, he couldn't do it. They beat Princeton, but that isn't a top 25 win."

The Rebels (23-7) compiled a 1-4 record against top 25 teams, splitting with Utah and losing to Cincinnati (by 40), Oklahoma State (14) and North Carolina (24). On the other hand, the Rebels' seven losses all came to teams that won at least 18 games. Vitale wasn't buying that.

"If UNLV had played the schedule of (NCAA non-qualifiers) Virginia, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, do you think they would've had the kind of quality wins (that those teams have)?" Vitale said.

"I have no problem with teams who win their tournament and (get in) with an automatic bid. But I've got a problem when Craig Thompson says he's the committee chairman, but he doesn't vote on (Mountain West teams). I have to believe that as (MWC) commissioner, that played a role in the selection of UNLV."

Thompson denied Vitale's assertions on ESPN, and Rebels coach Bill Bayno felt Vitale placed too much emphasis on the margin of defeat in UNLV's worst losses, such as a 44-point loss at Utah.

"(Vitale) pointed out negatives, none of the positives," Bayno said. "The committee has said in the past that the margin of defeat doesn't matter. The Utah game was just a bad night. Every team has those. But we didn't have any bad losses in terms of which teams we lost to."

* GREAT EXPOSURE: With such a dominant win over BYU in Saturday's MWC tournament final (79-56), the Rebels hope it raises the national profile of their program.

It doesn't hurt to have fans rushing the court at the end of a big TV win, then having ESPN and CBS doing live shots from your party on Selection Sunday.

"That definitely helps the overall perception of the program," Mark Dickel said.

"Now we've got to parlay this into some (recruits)," Bayno said. "When our season's over, we will be on the road getting that done."

Point guard prospect Kevin Bradley from Compton (Calif.) JC attended UNLV's games on Friday and Saturday, and said he was impressed. He averaged 17 points and nine assists this season and has visited Saint Louis. He said he hopes to visit Arizona State this week, then make his decision.

* PROBE ENDING? UNLV associate athletic director Jerry Koloskie says the school has not received word that the NCAA has concluded its yearlong investigation into possible recruiting violations by the Rebels.

"We haven't been given any notification," Koloskie said. "The one-year deadline for the investigation is March 22, so we could hear something anytime between now and then. We don't anticipate (the investigation) going beyond that, so obviously the deadline is closing in. But until we hear from the NCAA, we can't comment about the investigation."