In or out?

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Feb. 21, 2003 | 10:15 a.m.

NEXT UP

What: New Mexico at UNLV

When: Saturday, Noon

Where: Thomas & Mack Center

TV: KFBT, Ch. 6

Radio: KBAD 920-AM

UNLV senior guard Jermaine Lewis says he doesn't pay much attention to Internet sites that put up mock NCAA Tournament brackets.

"I don't get involved in that," Lewis said before practice on Thursday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center. "I think if we just take care of business and win games, we should have a chance of getting in. We can't worry about those things right now."

Lewis has a valid point.

Depending on the website and the basketball expert picking the field, the Rebels (15-8, 4-5) are either:

It's all a guessing game, of course. The only folks that really count are on the NCAA selection committee, who will be meeting the weekend of March 14-16.

But considering how closely some of these sites have mirrored past NCAA Tournament brackets, one thing is fairly certain: UNLV needs to finish Mountain West Conference action strongly to even get a sniff when NCAA Tourney bids are handed out March 16.

That means no more embarrassing home losses (see USC and Wyoming). Or losses to lower echelon MWC squads (see Air Force).

With five MWC conference games remaining starting with Saturday afternoon's home game against New Mexico (9-13, 3-6), the Rebels likely need to win at least four and make an impressive showing in the MWC Tournament to garner one of the 34 at-large bids.

"(UNLV) better win at least four of those last five games to be even in consideration and then get to the (MWC) tournament final," Frank Burleson, the respected national college basketball writer at Foxsports.com, said. "They definitely need to finish over .500 in conference play. That's something the NCAA has said it will look very hard at this year."

Three of UNLV's final five games are at home against lower tier MWC squads: New Mexico, Air Force (11-11, 2-7) on Monday night and San Diego State (12-10, 3-6) on March 8. The Rebels also have road games at slumping Colorado State (14-10, 3-6) and Wyoming (18-6, 6-3), a team that Burleson believes is an even bigger long shot to make the NCAA Tourney unless it can pick up impressive road wins at BYU and Utah two weeks from now.

"Their most impressive win right now is Texas Tech, which is going to the NIT," Burleson said.

UNLV has a win over BYU, considered a lock for March Madness along with Utah, and a victory over a DePaul team that is in a similar scenario as the Rebels as a bubble team.

Burleson believes a close conference road loss at Air Force hasn't hurt UNLV's chances as much as its 34-turnover debacle against USC two weeks ago.

"Absolutely that hurt them more," he said. "They lost by (25) points at home to a team that is probably going to finish seventh or eighth in the Pac-10 and then got beat by 30 themselves a few days later at Arizona State."

Lewis, who figures to have his hands full Saturday against New Mexico's Ruben Douglas, the nation's top scorer at 28.2 points per game, says he and his teammates realize that there is little room for error.

"It's good to know that some of these people have us in or at least a chance of being in the tournament," Lewis said. "But we realize the main thing is that we have to win games and finish strong to make sure we get in."

Of course, the surest path to the NCAA Tournament is by garnering the Mountain West's automatic NCAA bid by winning the MWC Tourney at the Thomas & Mack Center.