Columnist Ron Kantowski: Rebels were lucky to survive

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 | 9:56 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

When I first saw the betting odds on Wednesday's UNLV-UNR basketball game in Reno -- Wolf Pack minus 1 1/2 -- my first thought was that it might have been the worst line since the guy with gold medallions and his shirt unzipped to the navel sneaked past security at Rum Jungle and asked the leggy blonde if she came there often.

My second thought was that local oddsmakers had done a Rip Van Winkle and were under the mistaken impression that Bill Bayno was still Rebels coach. After all, his UNLV teams were the only ones I can ever remember struggling to win at Lawlor Events Center.

But that's exactly what Charlie Spoonhour's Rebels did on Wednesday night.

Struggle? That's an understatement. Salmon swimming upstream have a much easier time than the Rebels did with the Wolf Pack.

It was a good thing Marcus Banks, UNLV's gravity defying point guard, was spawning all over the place, or the Rebels' early season skein of victories would have ended one game before I expected it to.

One thing is for certain: If the Rebels don't play with any more consistency than they showed at UNR, Banks won't have to worry about beating any buzzers at Wisconsin Saturday.

Most coaches say there's no such thing as a bad road win. But the Rebels' 82-80 escape at UNR came pretty darn close to qualifying.

Other observations from a game that gave Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell" an entire new meaning: