Thursday, March 8, 2007 | 7:17 a.m.
The Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament opens its first full day of play today with the Rebels entering as one of the favorites to win.
Coach Lon Kruger has done a great job putting UNLV back on the basketball map. This week the team was ranked 25th in the Associated Press poll. The last time the team was ranked in that poll came at the end of the 1992-93 season.
The tournament is at the Thomas & Mack Center and boasts a strong field. BYU, the regular-season champion, is ranked 22nd in the nation. The Rebels finished second, and behind them are San Diego State and Air Force, which both have solid teams. Air Force spent much of the season ranked in the top 25.
The Mountain West Conference could see a few teams win a trip to the NCAA Tournament, given the strength of the competition. The easiest way to get there is to win the conference tournament, but a strong finish could be enough to put the Rebels back into March Madness for the first time since 2000.
It is refreshing to once again see so many people in the Las Vegas Valley supporting the home team. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but it is great to see a resurgence of the UNLV program. During the tournament, UNLV will be playing on its home court, which should help considerably. The Rebels have only lost once at home this year. Let's hope it stays that way.
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