Tuesday, March 20, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.
He said it when he first showed up on the UNLV campus in the summertime, and Rebels point guard Kevin Kruger reaffirmed his and his team's ambitious plans three weeks ago.
The team had won its 23rd game, the first time the program had accumulated that many victories in 15 seasons. Pretty big deal, right Kevin?
"Um, you know, we're not done," he said. "If this were our banquet, I think it would be something to stand up and clap about. But we're not done. We still see six, seven more wins coming.
"That's what our goal is and what we're going to do."
UNLV won its final two regular-season games, beat three consecutive Mountain West Conference foes to win its league tournament and then upended Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA tournament here Friday in the United Center.
Forget the program's first 23-victory season since Jerry Tarkanian. The Rebels had won a game in the NCAAs for the first time since 1991.
Sunday afternoon Kruger and the seventh-seeded Rebels delivered in a much bigger way with a 74-68 victory against second-seeded Wisconsin in the second round of the tournament.
At 30-6, this is the fifth UNLV team to win at least 30 games in a season.
Consider Kevin Kruger a fortune teller.
At a Thursday press conference at the United Center, Rebels athletic director Mike Hamrick, standing about 30 feet in front of coach Lon Kruger, was asked if the season could be considered an unqualified success regardless of Friday's outcome.
"Absolutely!" Hamrick said, almost with disdain, before rattling off UNLV's victories, home record, RPI and an official's whistle at Wyoming away from winning the MWC regular season.
"A lot of teams would like to be where we're at today."
Which is preparing for a Midwest Regional semifinal game Friday against Oregon in St. Louis.
Scouting the Rebels
Kevin Kruger said UNLV's under-the-radar status might be enhanced because other teams might have had a challenge to find their games on television during the season.
"We've seen Wisconsin and Georgia Tech on television," he said. "And they've probably never watched us once on TV."
Although Wendell White, who has scored 41 points in the first two rounds, has become a focal point, Kruger also said the Rebels are difficult to scout because points can come from a variety of sources.
"There's no head to the monster," he said, referring to a cliche in the sport about how stopping one particular player often leads to beating his team. "You can't cut the head off this monster."
Umeh's full return
UNLV guard Michael Umeh executed a powerful breakaway dunk against Utah in the first round of the Mountain West tournament that confirmed the completion of his return from double-knee surgery.
"It was just a way to send a message, in a lot of ways," he said. "I felt it. The knees felt good, and the legs have always felt good. It was just a play you wanted to make to get the crowd excited."
Umeh rescued the Rebels when they fell behind BYU early in the league title game, and he tied White with a game-high 19 points Friday against Georgia Tech.
With Wink Adams down and out after falling hard on his lower back Sunday, Umeh, who scored seven points, switched over to play tight defense on Wisconsin point guard Kammron Taylor.
Umeh said he believes the college hoops world is "pretty shocked" that UNLV has scratched its way into the Sweet 16.
"Wisconsin, they get a lot of media attention. They're a great team and (coach) Bo Ryan does a great job," Umeh said. "But, you know, we're hungry. From the coaching staff all the way to the last manager.
"We have a lot of guys who have a hungry attitude to get the job done."
Scouting the Ducks
Umeh offered an advance scouting report on the Oregon Ducks, who improved to 28-7 on Sunday by beating Winthrop in the second round in Spokane, Wash.
"I know about Oregon," he said, having seen them a few times during the season and having grown up with Oregon's Chamberlain Oguchi in Houston.
Like UNLV, Oregon starts four guards and a forward. Aaron Brooks (game-best 22 points against Winthrop), Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor, each of whom has scored more than 1,000 points in their careers, make the Ducks go.
"I think it'll be a fast-paced game," Umeh said. "We'll want to run, they'll want to run. The guys who show the most composure and make the better plays will win. I think it'll be another challenge for us, and we'll be ready."
Lon Kruger only watched Oregon a few times, in passing, this season.
"I know they're very quick and have a small kind of lineup, like we do," he said. "It should be interesting."
Cameroon connection
After it was revealed Sunday that UNLV would play Georgia Tech, Rebels senior center Gaston Essengue heard from UCLA sophomore post men Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya.
All three hail from Yaounde, Cameroon, and they speak often. Essengue is closest to Aboya, a childhood teammate he calls "Freddie." The two Bruins congratulated the Rebel on getting to play in the NCAAs and gave tips on the tournament.
It's fun, they said. Very competitive, and demands every ounce of mental and physical attention. The Bruins should know since they advanced to the NCAA Championship Game last season, losing to Florida.
"They said you have to do everything to win one game," Essengue said. "You lose, that's it. So you don't want to have any regrets."
Essengue rang his two friends after UNLV defeated Georgia Tech, and he planned to call them as soon as he left the United Center locker room Sunday afternoon.
The trio has been talking about the possibility of UCLA and UNLV meeting in the NCAAs. That can only happen in a national semifinal game at the Final Four in Atlanta.
UCLA defeated Weber State and Indiana to reach the Sweet 16, and the Bruins will play Pittsburgh in a West Regional semifinal Thursday in San Jose.
Setting the defense
Essengue said the one factor that has kept the team humble and hungry is Lon Kruger, who set the defensive tone in practice at the start of the season.
"He told us from the beginning that he sees us as an NCAA tournament team," Essengue said. "We started working hard at the beginning of the season, being tough on defense, and transferred it from practice to games."
Both Georgia Tech and Wisconsin shot 41 percent from the field against UNLV. Twelve consecutive foes have failed to make more than half of their shot attempts against the Rebels, who are 11-1 in those games.
"We started seeing that defense could be our identity," Essengue said. "If offense doesn't go well, we do everything to play as hard on defense as we can."
UNLV's 30-victory seasons
Season Record Outcome
1986-87 37-2 Lost national semifinal to Indiana
1989-90 35-5 Won national championship against Duke
1990-91 34-1 Lost national semifinal to Duke
1985-86 33-5 Lost West Regional semifinal to Auburn
2006-07 30-6 In Sweet 16, plays Oregon on Friday
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