Utah expecting more from UNLV this time around

By Ryan Greene

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

After upsetting UNLV for the second time this season Feb. 17, Utah junior guard Carlon Brown wasn't shy in commenting on the energy — or lack of energy — the Rebels showed in what at the time was deemed a must-win game.

"I expected more from them, but I'm not going to say nothing," he said at the time. "I'm going to take the win."

The Rebels responded by winning four straight against the four teams at the bottom of the Mountain West standings to again give their NCAA tournament résumé a face-lift, getting off to inspired starts each time out to put overwhelmed opponents away early. And while several outside experts thing UNLV (23-7 overall, 11-5 MWC) is into the field of 65 no matter what happens Thursday.

Still, the Utes (14-16, 7-9) know that after sweeping the regular season series, the third time around will be the toughest test yet. The two meet in an 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal contest during the first full day of action in the Mountain West Conference tournament.

A win for UNLV only makes the overall body of work look that much better in the eyes of the NCAA tourney selection committee. It also probably saves the Rebels some sweat on the brow come Sunday afternoon's selection show.

"I'm expecting them to play us like they played Louisville earlier in the year, like they played BYU, like they played New Mexico at New Mexico," Brown said Tuesday, referencing some of UNLV's biggest wins this season. "I'm expecting every pig punch, every big (3-pointer) and the crowd to be in it."

In terms of UNLV's season overall, the 66-61 loss in Salt Lake City was all sorts of weird.

It was one of the few times this season during which the Rebels appeared emotionally lacking, and the icing on top was a sprained ankle suffered by junior forward Matt Shaw during pregame warm-ups.

Brown, who was relegated to being an outside shooter in the first meeting, was unstoppable. He scored 18 points on repeated drives to the bucket as the usually-stingy UNLV defense had no answer for him.

Tre'Von Willis scored 32 points, but could only do so much in the second half as the Rebels fell just short.

"The game up here, I thought we played well offensively and our defense was pretty good," Utah coach Jim Boylen said. "I thought our defense was helped by the fact that Shaw didn't play. He pulls our centers out with his ability to shoot the three.

"What I hope my guys can do is come in with confidence that we've prepared well, knowing that we've had success in the series, but that this is a different game."

Shaw will be playing this time around, while the injury questions are now involving Utah's big men.

Sophomore center David Foster, the league's Defensive Player of the Year, had a career night against UNLV in a 73-69 victory Jan. 16 at the Thomas & Mack Center with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks. He also missed the Utes' regular season finale against Colorado State with a sprained ankle.

Suffering a sprained ankle of his own a day before the loss to the Rams over the weekend was senior forward Kim Tillie, who is averaging 7.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season.

Both went through half of the Utes' Tuesday practice before shutting it down, and both are listed as game-time decisions for Thursday.

"They kind of warm up, do a few drills, then call it a day," Boylen said. "I can't tell you if they're going to play or not play. But I can't tell you they're not going to play."

No matter who plays or doesn't play, one thing the Utes seem to realize is that they're playing with nothing to lose.

Not only have they already won in front of a packed house full of UNLV fans at the Mack, but in a rebuilding year, they're playing with house money this week in Las Vegas.

"The season wasn't quite what everyone on this team expected nor wanted it to be," said Brown, who is averaging 12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists this season. "I think everybody loves their arena. Me, personally, it's my favorite venue to play at in the league. Something about it. I don't know how to pin-point it. It's always fun to play them, they always have a good team and they always bring it. They push you, make you play fast and uptempo and it's just a fun game."

After winning the Mountain West tourney last season behind a solid corps of seniors — including league Player of the Year Luke Nevill — the Utes' 2009-10 season has had plenty of peaks and valleys with nine new faces in the fold.

Winning the tournament again isn't looked at as an absolute must. Whatever positive results come from this weekend will be looked as something to use as a springboard towards what Boylen thinks is a bright future for his program.

"I've got a bunch of guys coming back and it's a huge game for us to build on, for our development, for our understanding," Boylen said. "Our guys are excited to play it."