Rebels have no time to sulk with Utes up next

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Feb. 7, 2005 | 8:53 a.m.

Bruised, beaten and battered.

That probably best describes the UNLV men's basketball team (9-10, 2-5) as it limps into tonight's game against red-hot Utah (19-3, 7-0) at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Bruised might be the best adjective to describe the Rebels' mental makeup after blowing a seven-point lead in the final five minutes against struggling BYU (8-14, 2-5) en route to their third consecutive loss, 82-72, in overtime on Saturday afternoon.

"We got embarrassed," senior forward Odartey Blankson said after the loss. "We got embarrassed the game before this one (a 64-48 drubbing at Air Force). We got embarrassed the game before that (a 62-58 setback at New Mexico). We still have to stay positive and go out and play hard."

"They're down," UNLV coach Lon Kruger added. "They're very hurt. It was a tough loss."

Beaten? The preseason Mountain West Conference favorites find themselves tied with the rebuilding Cougars for sixth place at the halfway point of league play, just one game ahead of last-place Colorado State (9-11, 1-6).

"We didn't prove anything last year to (deserve being picked first)," senior point guard Jerel Blasasingame said. "That's behind us. We ain't got the targets on our backs anymore. It's Utah, Air Force and New Mexico now."

Battered?

Well, Blankson came to a postgame interview after the BYU loss lugging several bags of ice for assorted ailments. Forward Andy Hannan, replaced last week in the starting lineup by Michael Umeh, can be seen frequently grimacing during games and practices with a nagging groin injury. Blassingame has been limping with a badly bruised calf that took a knee in the Air Force loss.

If that wasn't enough, Kruger said Sunday he wasn't sure who would start tonight's game because "we have a couple of nicks and nacks."

The latest Rebel to be hobbled is starting guard Romel Beck, who is second on the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and shooting 38.3 percent from 3-point range.

Kruger said Beck has been bothered by a sore foot lately and will visit a doctor today to get the injury checked out. He was unsure if Beck would play tonight.

So it isn't exactly a UNLV team clicking all cylinders that will attempt to snap the 14-game winning streak of a Utah squad that was recently called "arguably the best team ever in the Mountain West Conference" by New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay.

Don't laugh. McKay may be the right. The Utes' average margin of victory in their first seven Mountain West games has been 17.6 points. The Lobos have come the closest, losing by 11 points, 69-58.

"The Mountain West has never had, maybe, a No. 1 (NBA draft) pick," said McKay, referring to Utah's 7-foot sophomore center Andrew Bogut, who leads the conference in scoring (19.7 ppg) and rebounding (12.0). "Because of the toughness of Marc Jackson, the athleticism of the other guys; coach (Ray) Giacoletti has them playing their roles. They're not a good team, they're a great team."

The Rebels found that out firsthand in their first meeting in Salt Lake City, a 70-52 loss.

UNLV focused on slowing down Bogut in the post with double-teams and did a solid job while limiting him to just 10 points. But the former star of the Australian Olympic team patiently passed the ball out to the perimeter where Jackson (23 points, 5 of 8 treys), guard Tim Drisdom and forward Bryant Markson picked up the slack.

"It (holding Bogut to 10 points) was a little deceiving," Kruger admitted. "Because of that, other guys had good looks. He's such a big factor in the game. He had 15 boards against us last time. He had a big impact."

San Diego State tried a similar strategy Saturday night and still wound up getting whipped, 61-41, at home.

"That's just how it is," Bogut told the Salt Lake Tribune of all the double- and triple-teaming. "We expect that. ... If they monster (double-team), they're going to lose by 20. If they don't monster, they're going to lose by 20. They just have to make a decision what they're going to do, you know?"

"He shows a great deal of maturity," Giacoletti said. "He's the biggest guy out there. ... Last week (against BYU) you saw him get kicked. When we were at Wyoming, they punched him in the groin. And he does a really good job of keeping his head and staying focused."

So what can UNLV do?

"You've got to vary it," Kruger said. "You've got to give him extra attention but you've got to do it in different ways at different times."

Despite the current losing streak, Blassingame remains confident the Rebels can turn things around.

"It's a funny conference," he said. "If you're playing well you can beat anybody in this conference. We know we can beat any of these teams if we play ball like we know we can."

That seems like a mighty big "if" these days around the Thomas & Mack.