Schedule turns in Rebels’ favor beginning Saturday

Steve Addy

Friday, Feb. 8, 2002 | 10:39 a.m.

WHAT: BYU (14-6, 4-3) at UNLV (11-8, 3-4)

WHEN: Saturday, 7:35 p.m.

WHERE: Thomas & Mack Center

TV: Las Vegas ONE (Ch. 1 and 39)

RADIO: KBAD 920-AM

After three months of bemoaning an unkind schedule, that excuse is no longer at the Rebels' disposal. The schedule has finally swung back in their favor and now they must try to exploit it.

Starting Saturday against BYU, six of UNLV's final eight regular-season games are at the Thomas & Mack Center. That includes five of seven Mountain West games and next week's non-leaguer against Florida International.

This is when the Rebels supposedly get payback for the hardships created by their December and January schedules. In mid-December, with National Finals Rodeo using the arena for two weeks, the Rebels had two games in a 17-day period, both on the road. Then in January, with Disney on Ice at the Mack, they played one game at home over a 28-day span.

Coach Charlie Spoonhour stopped alluding to the tough schedule long ago, but that does not change the fact his club has spent an inordinate amount of time away from home. En route to their 11-8 record, the Rebels are 8-2 at home and 3-6 on the road.

With a month left in the regular season, the Rebels have only one more trip to make, a two-game swing to Wyoming (Feb. 16) and Colorado State (Feb. 18). UNLV is the only team in the league that closes with three straight home games.

That will lead the Rebels into the Mountain West tournament -- also on their own court. So they have an opportunity to make their home floor an overwhelming advantage down the stretch.

"We've been on the road so much and now everyone has to come here and play us," senior forward Chris Richardson said. "We get another shot at BYU and Utah and everyone who beat us on the road. Plus, it's nice to sleep in your own bed and focus on the game without distractions."

But Spoonhour has cautioned his team that playing at home guarantees nothing.

"We've all looked forward to being at home for some conference games, because we've been nomads for a while," he said. "But I've seen this happen before, where teams think being at home takes care of stuff. But our league is too balanced for that. There are no easy games.

"Hopefully we'll win some of these games. We'll see if we can handle a little bit of pressure. But being home doesn't eliminate any of your problems. If you're having trouble guarding the dribbler or rebounding on the road, you'll probably have the same trouble at home."

Rebounding was a major problem in the Rebels' 84-81 overtime loss at New Mexico on Tuesday. They were outboarded 26-11 after halftime and 52-38 overall.

"That's one area where we simply have to work harder and get better," Spoonhour said.

UNLV will be hosting a BYU club that has fallen on hard times after a fine nonconference season. The Cougars were 10-3 before MWC play, with a victory over Stanford at the Mack, but they're 4-3 in the conference with consecutive road losses at New Mexico, Air Force and Utah.

They've recovered ground in the last week with home wins over Wyoming and Colorado State, but remain 1-6 away from Provo.

"It would be nice to get a breakthrough win on the road somewhere down the line to keep us in contention," said coach Steve Cleveland, whose team beat the Rebels 60-47 on Jan. 15. "UNLV is playing with more confidence now. They are a different team than the one we played."

Fans are reminded that Saturday's game starts at 7:35 p.m., not 12:35 p.m. as printed on some tickets. The time was changed when ABC dropped the game from its regional schedule to air the Pro Bowl.01