FanHouse in the Stands: UNLV Wins and a Thumbs Up from Norm Clarke

You never really need a lot of reasons to make plans on a Saturday morning to head to Las Vegas -- a scant four hours away from where I'm at. But when you add in an all-world matchup between UNLV and Utah, let's just say the incentives just get a little bit sweeter.

But really, will anybody take you seriously when you say that you went to Las Vegas to see a college basketball game? Consider most of your friends dubious. Or maybe jealous. Or perhaps, a little of column A and a little of column B.

There, however, wasn't much time to waste. Only some time to get the wife in the car and get on the road, because we had a game to catch. UNLV was coming off a huge win at BYU on Wednesday and Utah was looking to forge its own monumental road win.

Pregame
There wasn't going to be much time for pregame festivities with a 1PM tipoff. But one of the biggest must-stop locations along the way to Las Vegas, is the Iron Hog Saloon in Oro Grande. Unfortunately, the old girl is closed for the time being, while the new owner is applying for a liquor license.

Not that it matters, because this is UNLV and well, they actually treat you like an adult. Now, most of you likely attend basketball games where you can't even purchase a beer, lest you corrupt young minds and such. You don't have that problem at UNLV. Here is one of the actual concession stands at the Thomas & Mack Center.


Not only can you enjoy the rights of other adults since prohibition, you can even purchase a cocktail. The Thomas & Mack also has actual bars that rival that of any big-time arena out there.




I assure you the young ladies in the picture are lovely, but the afternoon sun did kind of wash out the photo a bit. But this a college game, mind you. And all of the fans acted with proper decorum and there were no signs of trouble. Instead, it was just a great atmosphere for college basketball. I mean, it's not like we want to go blotto during a matinee basketball game, but it's nice to enjoy an adult beverage while watching a game. Maybe others should follow suit.

The Game
There are two things that stuck out to me during the Rebels' 75-65 victory. First, Luke Nevill is a good player, but he has a ways to go to ever be considered a good NBA prospect. A lot more was expected out of him considering that UNLV doesn't have much of a post presence, but all he managed was 14 points and seven rebounds. I'm not saying that he can't develop into a nice NBA player, but I was not impressed with him. Disappointed might be a better word. Nevill was dominant in the first half, seemingly blocking every shot before UNLV made an adjustment.

Which leads to Lon Kruger, who is such an advantage compared to the other coaches in the Mountain West. That's no knock on those coaches, but Kruger is far and away the best coach in the Mountain West. He made the adjustments at BYU last week, and he again led UNLV to a rally over Utah.

In fact, it looked like the Utes were going to run away with the game early in the first half. But the Rebels switched to a four-guard offense in the second half and simply smoked the Utes. UNLV was down five with just under 14 minutes left in the second half when he went with the small lineup. In fact, he took out Darris Santee and Brice Massamba, leaving them with 6-foot-7 Joe Darger as "the big man."

Kruger made that adjustment and the Rebels flourished. Utah, however, never countered. The Utes kept trying to force the ball to Nevill and Jim Boylen did his best Phil Jackson impersonation while the Rebels were running away with the game and the crowd was going nuts -- must have been the booze. Utah was shooting pretty good from 3-point range, but they never tried to keep up that way. This was Kruger turning the screws.

Of course, it helps to have guys such as Mo Rutledge, Tre'Von Willis and Wink Adams, too.

Two rallies for UNLV in a week, winning at BYU and taking out Utah. The Rebels (16-4, 4-2) need to keep the momentum going at Air Force this week.

The Aftermath
One of my favorite scenes in college basketball: Exiting the Thomas & Mack Center, overlooking the strip and heading for the taxi line. I'm not sure how many other college hoops fans take taxis to and from games, but this has long tickled me.



One tradition you might want to consider when coming to a UNLV game is a trip to the Double Down Saloon. A classic punk-rock bar. But not intimidating to anybody wearing Rebels gear because there were a number of fans mixed in with the crowd. (The early tip probably helped, too.)

And possibly the highlight of the evening came when taking a trip to Planet Hollywood after the game. Famed Las Vegas columnist Norm Clarke was heading up the escalator while our party was heading down to the taxi line. Needless to say, we all became fan boys like we had just seen the Beatles. Clarke gave a thumbs up and said, "Good luck," which is easy to do when you are heading away from us.

But a UNLV game and a sighting of Norm Clarke? That's a tough weekend to beat.