Columnist Dean Juipe: Nice stretch of good luck aids Rebels

Dean Juipe

Monday, Feb. 25, 2002 | 9:22 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

The old saying that it's better to be lucky than good has its merits even if it's not entirely accurate.

Pushed to choose between the two, most of us would take our chances with being skillful at a given venture and hope that luck surfaces in no more than a peripheral role.

But this is Las Vegas and we're very much aware of luck as a factor in an outcome. How many times have you fed a slot machine to no avail, only to see some sap come in behind you and hit it big within a reel or two?

So there's no denying that luck does come into play, in all facets of life for that matter. "Right place, right time" and all of that.

Setting aside the possibility of good or bad luck reflecting the way you live your life, it can be said that luck is simply dispersed at random.

And none amongst us has been more randomly blessed of late than the UNLV men's basketball team.

"Luckiest team in America," the headlines could say today, given not only the Rebels' latest victory but the series of presents they have received in recent weeks. They're riding high and a good part of the lift has come at the expense of opponents who seem compelled if not driven to give games away.

Saturday's 83-76 overtime win over San Diego State makes it two straight that have been gift wrapped and handed to the Rebels as if this were an extended Christmas. Add in a few other fortunate bounces and this has been as lucky of a season as any UNLV fan is apt to remember.

In fact, if not for the season-long loss of swingman Jermaine Lewis to injury, the Rebels have been surprisingly lucky since Charlie Spoonhour called his first practice. Bigger teams aren't making them pay for their lack of height, and a number of games that have gone to the wire have found their way into the win column after wavering along the way.

As a result, UNLV has won eight of its last 10 games and is 16-9 overall. It is a good bet to win the Mountain West Conference tournament -- which, as luck would have it, will be played in Las Vegas -- and it will go to the secondary NIT in the event it stumbles or sees its luck run out before securing the conference's automatic NCAA bid.

The Rebels are 3-1 in overtime games and 6-2 in games decided by five or fewer points, which speaks well for their character as well as their ability to stay on the good side of such intangible factors as the referees.

Better yet, opponents are wilting when confronted with protecting a lead late in a game that involves UNLV, as San Diego State has now done twice this year and as Colorado State proved in a shocking loss to the Rebels last Monday.

SDSU was an appalling 11 of 24 from the free-throw line in Saturday's game and, in an act of deja vu, a miss by Al Faux at the end of regulation prevented the Aztecs from gaining a win that was well within their grasp. Earlier in the week, a CSU freshman fouled Lou Kelly on a desperation shot from midcourt at the buzzer and UNLV graciously won that game as well.

Yes, it took talent to capitalize on these opportunities and for that the Rebels can proud. Give 'em an opening and they're resourceful enough to take advantage.

But they're also luckier than heck right now, which is fun whether you're rolling dice or watching a scoreboard.