Tremendous crowd gave us big boost against Cal

We certainly hope all Runnin' Rebel fans had a great holiday season. Our players were able to get away for a few days. Most of them were able to spend time with family, and those who were not able to leave town spent time with friends. We came back and had a spirited practice on the night after Christmas, and the guys are focused and ready to build upon what has been started.

Going back to our 85-68 win over California on Friday, we had excellent practices leading up to the game. As a coaching staff, we knew at our game-day shootaround we were going to play well. Our guys were focused and really locked into the game plan. We have a lot of respect for Cal. Their players are tough and extremely hard to guard, but we had great focus on the defensive end, and we were able to convert many stops.

We are grateful to the many Rebels fans who attended the Cal game. It was an amazing crowd, especially considering the game was at 2 p.m., two days before Christmas. Our players felt the energy in the building, and our terrific fans deserve an assist for how well our guys played. I received many texts and emails from people who had watched the game, and the first thing those people all said was what a great environment we had.

Moving forward, this is a good time for us to be able to concentrate on basketball. It's good to have some more nonconference games before we start Mountain West Conference play Jan. 14.

After the Cal game, I told the players they should be proud of the improvement we have made from the Washburn exhibition game in early November, but we are not satisfied. If we can make the same improvement we have made from Washburn to Cal, from now to the end of the season, we have a chance to have a special year.

We next play at Hawaii on New Year's Eve, and going to Hawaii is always challenging. The travel is tough, and Hawaii is playing well. The Warriors are a balanced team, they have good inside players and excellent outside shooters. Upon our return, we'll have several practice days before making our last nonconference trip to Cal State Bakersfield.

One of our goals every year is to compete and challenge for a regular-season conference title. We understand the importance of the NCAA Tournament, but as I have said many times, one of the real marks of a program is consistency. There is no more significant achievement than the consistency it takes to win a regular-season conference championship. That will always be a goal of ours. If we can win one this year, that would be great. If not, that will always be a goal of ours in years to come.

We wish everyone a happy new year and appreciate the support of all of our fans.

UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice writes a weekly column for Rebels Report.