Badgers spice Rebels’ basketball schedule

With a veteran team returning next season, UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger wanted to line up a schedule that would test it appropriately. His final version has fewer soft spots and a few tough road games.

Most of the Rebels' 14 nonconference opponents for 2010-11 already were reported, but UNLV formally announced all opponents and dates Thursday. The most significant late addition was Wisconsin, a perennial Big Ten contender.

Kruger was seeking a high-profile home game, and he got it from the Badgers, who will visit the Thomas & Mack Center on Nov. 20.

"It's a real tough schedule, especially the road portion," said Kruger, who welcomes back seven of his top eight scorers from a team that reached the NCAA Tournament and finished 25-9. "We have a veteran team, so it will challenge this group to go on the road and really grow up even more quickly."

Senior guard Tre'Von Willis, last season's leading scorer, leads the Rebels into a season of higher expectations. UNLV is ranked No. 17 in the Rivals.com updated preseason Top 25, the highest ranking of any Mountain West Conference team.

After exhibition games against Grand Canyon on Nov. 2 and Washburn (Kan.) on Nov. 9, the Rebels host UC Riverside in the regular-season opener Nov. 12.

Southeastern Louisiana visits Nov. 17, followed three days later by Wisconsin. The teams will meet for the first time since March 2007, when the Rebels upset the Badgers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Chicago. The teams will play again in Madison, Wis., in 2011.

UNLV plays three games in the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., from Nov. 25 to 28. First-round games are still to be announced, but the other teams in the field are Oklahoma State, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Cal State Northridge, DePaul, Murray State and Tulsa.

The Rebels open December with road games against Illinois State (Dec. 1) and UNR (Dec. 4) before playing Boise State on Dec. 8 at the Orleans Arena.

Louisville hosts UNLV on Dec. 11 in a matchup the Rebels won the past two years.

After returning home to face UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 15) and Southern Utah (Dec. 18), UNLV's toughest test should come against Kansas State on Dec. 21 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

The Rebels, guaranteed to face at least four nonconference teams that appeared in last season's NCAA Tournament, also host Central Michigan on Dec. 30.

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