SportsLine.com report
March 17, 2000

Round 1: Rebels bumped by hot Golden Hurricane

Tulsa made its first six shots and UNLV made six shots in the entire first half.

That's how it was for the Runnin' Rebels in their quick trip to Nashville, as they were handled easily by their former WAC brother, 89-62, in the South Regional.

The Rebels got caught by a Tulsa team that coach Bill Self said played about as well as it could for the first 30 minutes, never giving the Rebels a chance to make a run or even get close.

"We got down on ourselves," UNLV center Kaspars Kambala said. "They caught the momentum and went with it."

Kambala scored 19 points in the second half (he finished with 21), but the Golden Hurricane continued to pull away, leading by as many as 33 points. There was criticism of UNLV even being selected for the tournament and the lopsided loss amplified that.

Rebels coach Billy Bayno defended his Mountain West Conference team.

"We were, I think, a little bit caught up in the moment. But again, I think we took care of business. I do feel bad for the committee because we're a much better team than we played that first half," Bayno said.

How They Got There

UNLV was awarded an at-large bid after winning a share of the inaugural Mountain West Conference title (along with Utah), and capturing the league tournament championship, too.

Despite trailing the Utes by two games with just four games left following an embarrassing 44-point (96-52) loss to the Utes on Feb. 21, the Rebels won their final four games while Utah stumbled twice. They earned the top seed in the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas because they had the better head-to-head record with third place New Mexico … and went on to beat BYU in the final.

The invitation still qualifies as at-large since the MWC is a new league that doesn't own a guaranteed spot.

Starting Lineup

• PG Mark Dickel (6-2, 190, Sr.): The top assist man in the nation, Dickel is one of the best at pushing the ball up the floor and creating. Also a solid 3-point shooter (39.3 percent, 48-of-122) when he has his legs, which seemed to tire at the end of the season.
• SG Trevor Diggs (6-3, 185, Jr.): Selected to the all-MWC newcomer squad despite a disastrous start, which saw him shooting less than 30 percent from 3-point range. Got hot the second half of conference play and led UNLV down the stretch. Has very quick hands and is a good defender.
• C Kaspars Kambala (6-7, 255, Sr.): The team's leading scorer (18.6 ppg) and rebounder (9.1) overpowers smaller and less physical players in the post where he has improved his game dramatically after attending Pete Newell's Big Man Camp. However, he struggles to get his shot off against more athletic big men and can get lost on defense.
• SF Donovan Stewart (6-4, 210, Jr.): Solid role player who averaged just 4.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
• BF Dalron Johnson (6-9, 210, Fr.): Arguably the best freshman in the Mountain West Conference. Quick leaper who runs the floor well and can stick the 3.

Keys to Success

Mark Dickel's passing and floor leadership was the key to UNLV's season. Without him, the Rebels would likely be looking at a .500 season at best ... and Bayno would likely be looking for a new job.

The Coach

Oft-maligned Bill Bayno got the last laugh after earning co-coach of the year honors in the MWC. The former associate head coach to John Calipari at UMass, he has compiled an 88-59 record at UNLV since replacing Rollie Massimino five years ago. This is the fourth straight year he has led UNLV to a post-season berth and second trip to the NCAA Tourney.

The Bench

Scrappy 6-4 guard Danny Brotherson (7.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg) has been the unsung hero on the team. He hails from the small town of Bunkerville, Nev., and does a lot of key things that don't show up in the box score. Backup power forward Sylvester Dotson (4.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg) gives the team much-needed inside muscle when Kambala is out of the game.

Offense

They don't call them the "Runnin'" Rebels for nothing. UNLV likes to push the ball up the floor in an up-tempo style, with Dickel either taking it all the way to the basket or dishing off to Diggs or Johnson for a 3-pointer. If they get into a halfcourt game, they'll try to pound it inside to Kambala who will try to power it inside or dish off to a player cutting down the lane.

Defense

Mostly man-to-man although once in a while they'll switch to a zone if they are in foul trouble or don't match up well inside. Diggs is usually good for two or three steals a game and has quick hands. Kambala and Johnson have struggled inside against athletic big men.