Ugly or not, Rebels’ win against Kansas State will be beneficial in March

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 | 1:32 p.m.

Here's why the UNLV basketball team's win against No. 11 Kansas State Tuesday was important: it came against a ranked opponent from a major conference and was on national television.

With a limited number of quality non-Mountain West Conference games, grabbing a victory against a respected foe on a neutral court will be beneficial later in the season when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee gathers.

After all, it's never too early to talk bracketology, and in one projection the Rebels are seeded No. 4 in the Southeast Region in this year's field.

UNLV is 11-2 overall, but more importantly, 2-1 in those marquee games that will matter at the end of the year. They have victories against ranked opponents Kansas State and Wisconsin, with a loss to Louisville — a quality program that wasn't ranked at the time.

It doesn't matter that Kansas State was without Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelley, two of its top two players, who were suspended prior to the game for allegedly receiving improper benefits during a clothing-store purchase.

For UNLV, call it a Christmas gift four days before jolly old St. Nick comes down the chimney.

Some will say the Rebels' victory will have an asterisk next to it because Kansas State wasn't at full strength. So, would there have been two asterisks if they had lost?

The Rebels won't be too occupied with how the win is viewed by others. Rather, they should be thrilled to have emerged on top when they were out-rebounded 43-26, made just 2 of 13 of their 3-point attempts and again got no production from the post players.

Still, the bottom line is UNLV's win is a nice victory in constructing a résumé for the end of the season. However, moving forward, it would look sexier next to victories at San Diego State and BYU in league play, or winning the league's regular-season title.

Here's what others are saying about the win, thanks to the comment section under Tuesday night's game story. Like most of the fans that post on our site, their observations are well thought-out and stir excellent debate.

— "Bigs are a joke. They hack away, can't box out, and have no offensive capabilities. Where are all the Q Thomas supporters? Told you guys he is AWFUL. And Massamba is just a slob. They should have been able to beat that team by 20, instead they were lucky to eke it out. Face it, when this team shoots well, they will win. When they throw up bricks, they can lose to anybody. 4th place is looking about right." — rose1414

• "This is a team that hasn't yet figured out its identity. Their play will improve as Kruger figures out the right combinations for certain situations, an identity emerges and the team become more cohesive.

The play can be frustrating to watch at times, while the process works itself out, but that's a very nice byproduct of being 12 deep with serious talent and an excellent technical coaching staff.

Quite wisely, Kruger is coaching for March not December."" — MWCRob

• "The caption from ESPN is ridiculous. "UNLV pulls stunner". Not much of a stunner even if Pullen and Kelly are suspended." — unlvrunninrebels