Rebels beef up schedule

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Aug. 15, 2003 | 9:53 a.m.

Charlie Spoonhour was getting ready to leave on a short vacation to Cancun when UNLV released the Rebels' 2003-04 schedule on Thursday afternoon.

And judging by the difficulty of the non-conference games, Spoonhour may want to take his time before returning.

Simply put, UNLV's schedule is no walk on the beach.

The Rebels have road games at potential Top 10 teams Stanford and Missouri as well as USC (remember them?) and a well-coached Loyola Marymount squad that presented them problems a year ago. Among the teams visiting the Thomas & Mack are Auburn, an NCAA tournament team that returns three starters including 6-foot-10 shot blocking whiz Kyle Davis, Cal and WAC preseason favorite and in-state rival Nevada-Reno.

"I think the schedule is pretty challenging to be sure," Spoonhour said. "I know Missouri is in some people's top five teams in the country. You know Stanford is going to be good. Cal is coming off a great recruiting year. Obviously, we have healthy respect for SC after what they did to us here last year."

The Rebels, who open their season on Nov. 21 at home against Delaware State, will appear on ESPN's Big Monday three times: Jan. 12 vs. Utah, Feb. 2 vs. Air Force and Feb. 23 vs. Wyoming.

All of those games will be played at the Thomas & Mack.

UNLV's Dec. 20 contest against Auburn in the Las Vegas Showdown will also be televised by ESPN.

"Those are always fun for the players," Spoonhour said. "But it does put a strain on attendance because a lot of people stay home and watch it on TV instead."

Two games will be televised by ABC --- a Feb. 15 game at Missouri and a March 6 game at home against Mountain West Conference preseason favorite BYU.

The game against Quin Snyder's Tigers concludes a brutal three-game mid-season road trip that begins with games at BYU and Utah.

"I think the league is going to be very strong," Spoonhour said. "I think BYU and Utah will probably be picked 1-2 by most people. I think Colorado State will be really good with (7-foot center) Matt Nelson. And I think a team some people might overlook but shouldn't is Wyoming. They've got a really good point guard (in Jason Straight)."

The Runnin' Rebels first contest will be the annual Scarlet & Gray Game is Saturday, Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV also released the schedule for Regina Miller's Lady Rebels on Thursday. The highlights include a Nov. 23 contest at UCLA and a Dec. 28 matchup against SEC heavyweight Mississippi State at the Cox Pavilion.