Rebels seeking home on Front Range

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Feb. 28, 2003 | 10:01 a.m.

NEXT UP

What: UNLV at Colorado State

When: Saturday, 2 p.m.

Where: Moby Arena

TV: KLAS, Ch. 8

Radio: KBAD 920-AM

BYU has done it. So has Utah.

Now the question facing the UNLV Rebels in their quest for an NCAA tournament bid is can they pull off a rare sweep on their Front Range trip to Colorado State (14-11, 3-7) and defending Mountain West champion Wyoming (19-6, 7-3) this weekend?

If they can, the Rebels (17-8, 6-5) would put themselves in good position to earn an NCAA at-large berth heading into next Saturday's regular season finale against San Diego State (14-10, 5-6) at the Thomas & Mack Center.

That's a mighty big "if," despite the Utes and Cougars having pulled off the tough road double last month.

"We can't worry about what they did," UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour said following a spirited two-hour practice on Thursday afternoon at the Cox Pavilion. "We've got to take care of our own affairs. It's no different than going any other place. It's hard. I haven't seen an easy game yet and I'm not expecting any of these to be."

UNLV has never swept the Front Range trip and has won just twice in 10 outings in the 7,200-foot altitude of Laramie. Add to that the fact that the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable at the Arena-Auditorium under Steve McClain (57-8) and the Rebels definitely have a big challenge.

"We're going to just have to go up there and catch a second wind," senior forward Dalron Johnson said. "We know it's going to be tough. We've got a couple of new guys, but they know how it feels to be short of breath. It's still playing the same game. It's still playing basketball. You just have to put it in the hole."

But first UNLV can ill afford to slip up Saturday afternoon against a Colorado State team it thrashed, 90-57, Feb. 3 at the Thomas & Mack.

"There's no chance (of a letdown)," Spoonhour said. "Our guys know that every game is important. We don't have any cushion. We have to win as many games as we can. Obviously, that's the first of three for us."

"We're too hungry to have a letdown at this time," Johnson said.

Colorado State has had a week to prepare for Saturday's rematch since dropping a tough 62-60 decision to Border War rival Wyoming in Laramie.

The Rams, led by 7-foot sophomore center Matt Nelson (15.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and 6-foot-8 senior forward Brian Greene (12.8 ppg), have dropped six in a row including three at Moby Arena.

CSU struggled badly against UNLV's quickness in the first meeting, turning the ball over 28 times as Rebels point guard Marcus Banks tied his school record with eight steals en route to 31 points.

The senior leadership of Banks, Johnson and guard Jermaine Lewis could be key this weekend. Spoonhour believes one of the reasons Utah and BYU swept the Front Range trip was their experience.

"BYU and Utah, those are pretty experienced teams which helps when you go on the road," Spoonhour said. "There have been a few more road wins in conference play this year than I thought there would be."

Going into this weekend's games, visiting teams are 15-27 in conference road games. However, if you drop New Mexico (0-6) and Air Force (0-7) from the equation, the visitor is 15-14 in road games.