League goal on Rebels’ radar

When his senior year comes to an end, Wink Adams wants to reflect on how UNLV won the Mountain West Conference.

He's not just talking about another conference tournament, either, though that goal is high on his wish list. The regular-season championship is what has eluded the Rebels during Adams' career.

"It's real important," he said. "We never did it."

In fact, this is the 10th season for the Mountain West, and UNLV has not won the regular-season title since it was co-champion with Utah in 2000.

The Rebels finished second to Brigham Young the past two years before beating the Cougars in the tournament championship.

UNLV, 16-0 at home in regular-season conference games the past two seasons, opens Mountain West play against New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. today at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"All the seniors on the team, that's all we talk about is trying to win the tournament and win the conference outright," Adams said. "We're always one game behind, and it's always a game that we should have won."

Adams, UNLV's leading scorer with 14.1 points per game, won't start today but is expected to play, three days after a lower abdominal strain forced him to sit out the Rebels' 56-55 victory at 18th-ranked Louisville.

Coach Lon Kruger said he was optimistic after Adams was able to practice Friday.

"I think (Kruger) is going to throw me in and see how I feel. I'm not 100 percent right now. It still hurts when I do certain things," Adams said. "I just plan on coming in and playing a couple possessions, and not really trying to go full speed or re-injure myself.

"I went as hard as I could (Friday), probably 70 or 80 percent. I was able to shoot, dribble, drive full speed and do some things. It's not sore right now, and that surprises me."

Kruger said fatigue will be a factor with Adams, who has not played in a game since Dec. 23.

Another factor Kruger is hoping to sidestep is an emotional letdown that could follow the Rebels' upset of Louisville. "There's always concern for that," he said.

The Lobos (9-5) have won six of their past seven games.

UNLV (12-2) has won seven in a row since losing back-to-back home games to California and Cincinnati in late November.

In October, the Rebels were picked in a media poll to win the Mountain West, and Kruger said his players did not handle the high expectations.

"I think that first month was something we needed to go through," he said. "It's really the first time that these guys in college have had high expectations going into a season. As a team, we didn't have quite that same spark.

"We learned a lot from that month, and as a result, the last four or five games we played much better. We played much more like we think we are supposed to play."

Sophomore Tre'Von Willis, who will start at shooting guard in place of Adams, said UNLV won't be flat after the Louisville win.

"Coach is a little bit worried about that because of how high we were off the Louisville win. But we want to keep focused," said Willis, who scored 16 points against the Cardinals.

"We're playing good right now. I would like to help this team win a regular-season conference title. I think that would be exciting."

Rebels senior Rene Rougeau said protecting the home court is most crucial to winning the league title.

"We know what it takes to win now, so we're definitely hungry for that," he said. "We've never won it before, so there's always a first time for everything, and we're looking forward to that challenge.

"We definitely want to send a message and really pound these guys."

• NOTES -- Adams scored 24 points as UNLV beat New Mexico 79-60 last February at the Thomas & Mack. ... Kruger said he was not bothered that Louisville coach Rick Pitino did not shake his hand after Wednesday's game. Pitino was complaining to the officials and rushed off the Freedom Hall court. "It's not a big deal at all," Kruger said. ... Willis said he had 39 text messages and nine missed calls on his phone after the game. He did not get a handshake from Pitino, either. "It kind of felt good that he was that mad that he didn't want to shake our hands," Willis said.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.