MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT – QUARTERFINAL
UNLV to face Air Force Wednesday at 12 p.m. at Thomas & Mack Center
The UNLV men’s basketball team (23-8, 10-6 MW) had won five straight games and six of its last seven before suffering a 61-52 home loss to Fresno State on Saturday in its regular-season finale. The Runnin’ Rebels will now play in the 2013 Reese’s Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship on Wednesday, March 13, at 12 p.m., in the first quarterfinal game of the day, against Air Force (17-12, 8-8).
UNLV finished in third place in the league standings, three games out of first and one game back of second, and is the No. 3 seed for this week’s conference tournament.
Wednesday’s game will be will be televised by CBS Sports Network with Rich Cellini, Steve Lappas, Doug Gottlieb and Lauren Gardner (sidelines) calling the action. Jon Sandler and Robert Smith will handle the UNLV radio call, which may be heard live in Las Vegas on ESPN Radio 1100 AM/98.9 FM and online at UNLVRebels.com through the subscription-based All-Access feature.
The Runnin’ Rebels, who will be going for their 99th win in the past four seasons on Wednesday, are 1-0 vs. the Falcons in MW Tournament play, winning a 2011 quarterfinal meeting. UNLV holds a league-best 21-9 all-time record in the MW Tournament, while Air Force is 2-13. The Runnin’ Rebels split this season’s series with the Falcons and lead the overall series by a 29-9 margin.
UNLV is 11-1 all-time in the quarterfinals of the MW Tournament, with its only loss coming in 2009 to San Diego State. The MW Tournament has been held in Las Vegas 10 times (2000-03, 2007-12) and UNLV has won the title on three occasions (2000, 2007, 2008). The Runnin’ Rebels have advanced to seven MW Tournament championship games (six in Las Vegas and one in Denver).
UNLV was 16-2 at the Thomas & Mack Center this season and had a 14-game winning streak in the building snapped in its loss to Fresno State on Saturday. The Runnin’ Rebels are 33-3 in the TMC over the last two seasons and had won 16 straight regular-season home games against Mountain West foes before Saturday’s loss.
MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT – QUARTERFINAL
AIR FORCE (17-12, 8-8 Mountain West, No. 6 Seed)
at
UNLV (23-8, 10-6 Mountain West, No. 3 Seed)
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 2013
TIME: 12:00 p.m. PDT
SITE: Thomas & Mack Center (18,500), Las Vegas
TV: CBS Sports Network (Rich Cellini, Steve Lappas, Doug Gottlieb, Lauren Gardner)
RADIO: ESPN Radio 1100 AM/98.9 FM (Jon Sandler, Robert Smith)
ONLINE: Radio broadcast and Gametracker at UNLVRebels.com (All-Access subscription required for audio at
UNLVRebels.com)