UNLV focusing on Mountain West quarterfinal test

UNLV coach Kevin Kruger doesn’t want to look too far ahead.

“We definitely don’t want them tight, thinking about the future,” he said. “All we can control is we play Wyoming on Thursday.”

Ahead of its first game in the Mountain West Tournament, a quarterfinal clash against the No. 4-seeded Cowboys at 2:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center, No. 5-seeded UNLV’s task is straightforward.

Three wins means they get to keep playing. Four Mountain West teams are projected to make the NCAA Tournament by ESPN’s bracketology. UNLV isn’t one of them.

For the Rebels (18-13) to go dancing in March, they’ll have to be a bid-stealer.

“For some of us guys, especially seniors, this is our last opportunity to get at it,” fifth-year forward Royce Hamm Jr. said. “(We’re) just being intentional, putting all our marbles in one bucket.”

While UNLV is on the outside looking in, Wyoming’s hot start to the conference season has them as one of the last four teams in the tournament. But a loss to UNLV early in the Mountain West Tournament will essentially end their hopes for March Madness as well.

UNLV has already proven it can beat Wyoming. The teams met March 2 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels escaped with a 64-57 win, containing Cowboy forward and All-Mountain West first team selection Graham Ike along the way.

However, UNLV senior Bryce Hamilton doesn’t see the recent result as an advantage.

“They’re desperate. They need to win and so do we,” he said. “We know they’re going to come in hungry and want to get that revenge against us, so we’re going to be ready to play.”

The win against Wyoming in early March represented a high point for the season for UNLV, but the Rebels were humbled soon after.

In its next game, UNLV lost at New Mexico after a poor first half proved too much to overcome. Hamm said the loss bothered him, especially since it was his final regular-season game.

While Hamm and Hamilton acknowledged the added pressure that March and the conference tournament brings, junior Donovan Williams reiterated Kruger’s approach. He says the team has to focus on executing the game plan, trust the coaches and stay locked in on the details.

“If we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing on offense, doing what we’re supposed to be doing on defense, talking, communicating and really just playing hard, there’s not too many teams in the conference which have the firepower, one through 13, we do,” Williams said.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.