Kentucky next test for UNLV

When he took a shot at predicting UNLV's immediate future, senior guard Wink Adams hit 50 percent.

"I get to play some more games in the Thomas & Mack Center, so that's a good thing," Adams said Sunday before the National Invitation Tournament pairings were announced.

Adams added: "I think there will be a lot of big-name teams in the NIT."

Surprisingly, the Rebels were sent on the road for their first-round NIT matchup. But the opponent definitely has one of the biggest names in college basketball.

UNLV (21-10) will open against Kentucky (20-13) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Lexington, Ky., in a game to be televised by ESPN.

The Rebels are a No. 5 seed in the 32-team tournament. The fourth-seeded Wildcats had their streak of 17 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances snapped.

The game will be played at 9,000-seat Memorial Coliseum because of a scheduling conflict with Rupp Arena. But the details mean little to Adams, who promises to be up for the NIT after a season of emotional letdowns for UNLV.

"It doesn't matter who we play. I just want to play," Adams said. "We've just got to have fun and try to win some games. The NIT is where you make your point that you should have been in the NCAA Tournament."

The Rebels squandered several chances to prove that point, and they were bounced so far off the NCAA Tournament bubble that they landed in the bottom half of the NIT bracket.

"I would have liked to get a higher seed so we could play a home game," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "I'd be surprised if this team didn't come back and play with enthusiasm, although at times this year we've been up and down in that area. It's a quick turnaround for us."

San Diego State, awarded a No. 1 seed and a first-round home game in the NIT, beat the Rebels 71-57 on Thursday in the Mountain West Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

UNLV had high expectations for a veteran-led team but missed the NCAA Tournament for first time in three years.

"You do get what you deserve," Kruger said. "There are excuses perhaps available, but they don't mean much. There is rationalization available, but it doesn't mean very much. It will make us go back to the drawing board and work a little harder."

Kruger is hoping the Rebels' second trip to the state of Kentucky this season goes as well as their first.

Adams was injured and did not play in UNLV's 56-55 upset victory over Louisville, the Big East Conference champion and top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, on New Year's Eve.

"It's a good story to tell," Kruger said. "It doesn't mean much more than that."

The Wildcats, who tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference's East Division with an 8-8 record, lost six of their past eight games.

Junior guard Jodie Meeks is Kentucky's leading scorer at 24.2 points per game, and 6-foot-9-inch sophomore forward Patrick Patterson averages 18.2 points and 9.4 rebounds.

Meeks scored a school-record 54 points in a 90-72 win over Tennessee in January. Patterson will pose a matchup problem for a small Rebels team.

"We just watched some game tapes on them, and they've really got some players," Kruger said. "Patterson is a big-time low post player, and Meeks is one of the leading scorers in the country."