If UNLV wins, Kansas always awaits

Dennis the Menace.

Lon Kruger.

Does the NCAA Tournament selection committee not realize who they’re dealing with here? Does it not know Kruger is one of those favored sons of Kansas, that his preferred meal is probably a bowl of grains and a side of bison, that he very well could sit around at nights listening to Charlie Parker and reading Laura Abbot, that the guy was an All-American at Kansas State in like 56 sports and drafted professionally in like 45?

Face it. It’s just silly now.

March is here, meaning people spend at least one day during the month wearing green and another turning the clocks forward and UNLV’s basketball team is placed on the 8-9 line of the NCAAs in a midwest town with an opportunity to meet Kansas in the round of 32.

Used to be, only the first two were certain.

Now, it seems the third has been guaranteed each year.

The Rebels are bound for Tulsa and an opening game against ninth-seeded Illinois on Friday, because if you’re going to again set up a possible second-round matchup against the team from Kruger’s home state and his biggest rival as a college player and later as a coach, you might as well have him first face a school he led to three NCAA Tournaments.

It is the third time in four years UNLV will try to advance off the 8-9 line and into a game against the mighty Jayhawks. Say this for the committee — it sure can be transparent in a devious sort of way.

"We hope to have the opportunity to play Kansas," Kruger said. "Certainly, Kansas is very tough. Very good … I’m biased, of course, but I would’ve thought we had (played their way off the 8-9 line) but it doesn’t mean anything what I think. Everybody’s got their opinion."

Here’s mine: I never bought the talk of UNLV receiving a 5 or 6 seed as bracketologists had floated, not because the resume didn’t warrant such consideration but because, well, Kansas was always going to be a 1 and it’s now a federal law the Rebels are nearest to them the opening weekend.

But there is no question UNLV had done enough to be seeded seventh somewhere, where a more manageable route to the Sweet 16 exists.

I long ago stopped trying to make sense of whatever criteria the committee uses when seeding its bracket, mostly because it seems to change annually so as to justify decisions. If it’s not RPI, it’s how a team performed its last 10 games. If it’s not road-neutral wins, it’s number of bad losses. If it’s not the entire body of work, it’s whatever switches can be made to leave Virginia Tech and coach Seth Greenberg out.

The Rebels today have an RPI of 26 and a schedule rating of 33, having finished third in the nation’s fourth- rated league. None of the four teams awarded seven seeds — UCLA, Texas A&M, Temple and Washington — have higher RPIs or schedule ratings than UNLV. Only two finished higher than the Rebels in their respective conferences, of which the Atlantic 10 and Pac-10 were rated lower than the Mountain West.

All four teams had more of what you would consider bad losses than UNLV.

The Rebels won seven of their final nine and lost eight games this season, seven to opponents in the NCAAs and five of those to Top 10 teams in San Diego State and Brigham Young. They beat three opponents (Kansas State, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin) that own wins against the then-No. 1 team.

Wisconsin is a 4 seed.

Kansas State is a 5.

Virginia Tech is in the NIT and Greenberg would gladly be stung by every honeybee in Kansas to be on an 8-9 line with a chance to face the Jayhawks.

"We had a strong finish and have been playing well of late with no real bad losses," Kruger said. "I don’t have time to worry about (being an 8 seed) too much. I expected to be higher. I really did. I wouldn’t have been surprised with a 7 and hopeful of a 6. I think that’s objective. At the same time, it doesn’t make any difference now. Illinois has great tradition and an outstanding team. We know how tough that’s going to be Friday."

Soon after, he was off, no doubt wondering how much fun it would be to float down the Kaw River this summer, chomping on a grouse sandwich and thinking about his team’s 2012 first-round NCAA game in Omaha as an 8 seed with Kansas as the 1.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday and Thursday on "Monsters of the Midday," Fox Sports Radio 920 AM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.