UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice applauds as the Runnin’ Rebels take on the Sam Houston State at the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014.
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 | 3:20 p.m.
The Rebel Room
No Sleep til Brooklyn
Las Vegas Sun sports writers Ray Brewer and Taylor Bern go over UNLV's 2-0 start to the basketball season while looking forward to this week's New York trip, plus what's next for the woeful football team.
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Even if UNLV doesn’t meet Duke this weekend in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, the Rebels won’t have to wait much longer for their first meeting with the Blue Devils since the 1991 Final Four.
That’s because the two teams are working on a contract to meet on Dec. 16, 2016, for the first college basketball game at the new MGM Resorts arena, according to a source. The contract hasn’t been signed, but it’s expected to be finalized soon.
Right now, UNLV coach Dave Rice and his team are in Brooklyn preparing for Friday’s game against Stanford at the Barclays Center. The Rebels play at 4 p.m. Las Vegas time and will be followed by No. 4 Duke against Temple. UNLV would meet Duke if both teams win or both lose.
Rice has been putting together aggressive nonconference schedules, including this event and a Dec. 20 matchup against No. 25 Utah at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. That game is the first time UNLV will play a game on the Strip, and Duke would be the second.
“We’re Las Vegas’ team, so it’s exciting for us to play this year on the Strip,” Rice said. “And looking forward, when the new arena opens up, we’d very much like to be the first team to play a game there.”
The 20,000-seat arena has recently been in the news as the possible home for an NHL team. The $375 million facility is under construction and is scheduled to open in spring 2016.
Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.
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