UNLV now has a full week to digest lessons

Steve Addy

Monday, Nov. 27, 2000 | 1:30 a.m.

When the Rebels toughened their basketball schedule this season, they knew they might have to exchange a few worthless wins for revealing losses, whether the fans liked it or not.

So it isn't surprising that they emerged from opening week with a 3-2 record, having lost to Illinois and Louisville in the Maui Invitational.

"We'll get more out of those two games than if we had beaten Mississippi Valley State and Fairfield (like last year)," coach Bill Bayno said. "We learned a lot about ourselves."

Now we'll see if UNLV exploits the intangible benefits that supposedly come from scheduling quality opponents.

After playing five games in eight days, the Rebels will get a full week of practice before their next game, Saturday at Oklahoma State, to digest last week's lessons. They will have plenty of digestion time coming up, with only three games over the next 20 days.

"We've got a whole week, we'll get back to practice and work on some things," Bayno said. "We want to get better every day. That's our approach."

Though some positives came out of the losses, and wins over Northern Arizona, Division II Chaminade and Cal State Northridge, the most valuable revelations have a negative bent. Among the areas requiring immediate attention:

The Rebels have also learned, or confirmed, some good things: