Story lines abound in LV

Steve Addy

Wednesday, March 6, 2002 | 10:24 a.m.

Conference games only

SCORING

REBOUNDING

ASSISTS

The Mountain West has been around only three seasons, but it will be just like old times this weekend when the conference basketball tournament reconvenes at the Thomas & Mack Center.

So far, it's a flashback to 2000: The Rebels are participating, the field is back to eight teams, the other coaches are complaining about UNLV's homecourt edge and several teams are throwing come-hither stares at the NCAA Tournament committee, primping for a last-minute invitation.

All that's needed now for a true 2000 replica is for the Rebels (18-9) to win the event and return to the NCAA Tournament. They have a different coach, and most of their players weren't here two years ago, but their late-season surge -- 10 wins in 12 games -- makes them a serious threat.

But there is at least one major difference from previous years. Real parity has come to the Mountain West, and six teams can claim a legitimate chance to win the tournament. That doesn't even include eighth-seeded Air Force, which took top-seeded Wyoming to four OTs in January, then lost to the Cowboys by three last month.

Their third meeting of the season will tip off at noon Thursday, the first of four quarterfinals that could be highly entertaining. Third-seeded UNLV hosts No. 6 New Mexico at 9 p.m. on ESPN, preceded by No. 4 BYU vs. No. 5 San Diego State (2:30 p.m.) and No. 2 Utah vs. No. 7 Colorado State (6 p.m.).

"Everybody has a chance to win this thing," UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "Anyone who takes a team lightly now is insane. Everybody has the same motivation -- to catch lightning in a bottle for three days. All you need is three good games, and every team in our league is capable of doing that."

"The parity in our conference has been quite obvious, if not by the records, then by the scores of the games," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. "Every coach can make a case that they have a chance to win. It's up for grabs."

Wyoming will enter as the so-called favorite, fresh off beating runner-up Utah on Saturday for the regular-season title. But the Cowboys (20-7, 11-3 MWC) must win this weekend to guarantee an NCAA berth. If they stumble, their shaky RPI ranking (56) leaves them on the bubble.

Mountain West teams go through this uncertainty every year. BYU won the MWC's first automatic bid last March, but no other conference team got in. The year before, UNLV and Utah both went as at-large teams.

Utah might have a high enough RPI (24) to make the NCAA field with two wins this weekend, but everyone else has to take the decision out of the committee's hands.

"We're going in with the intention of winning. That is the only way to take the risk out of it," Wyoming coach Steve McClain said. "If you look at the overall RPI of our league, we deserve to get in and I think Utah should get in. Hopefully other people are seeing it that way."

But the whole plan could be thrown off if UNLV sweeps the three-day event, as it did in 2000 by defeating San Diego State, Wyoming and BYU. The Rebels were absent last year because of NCAA sanctions, making it a seven-team tournament and giving the coaches a respite from ripping UNLV's usual homecourt edge.

Now that the Rebels are back (and have won eight in a row at home), the coaches are complaining anew. The tournament will return here next year, then move to Denver for three years, but that won't placate anybody this weekend.

"It's a huge advantage for UNLV," SDSU coach Steve Fisher said. "Look at games around the country and see who wins. It's usually the home team."

"I think UNLV is playing well enough to win the tournament," BYU's Cleveland said. "But to ignore the fact that they have an advantage isn't right. There are no guarantees, but I certainly like Las Vegas' chances."

The complaints are old hat to MWC commissioner Craig Thompson, who said, "UNLV has to win three games. We're not going to just hand them the trophy."

That's the attitude Spoonhour is putting out. "The worst thing you can do is figure that since you're at home, you can relax," he said. "You still have to concentrate and play. The first time this team doesn't do that, we're going to get beat. The opponents are too good and the stakes are too high."