Thursday, March 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- You don't have to live in Las Vegas long to know that ultimately the house is going to win.
Wednesday night, the odds were pretty long against UNLV beating the house. And sure enough, the Rebels are leaving the Ozarks with empty pockets after falling to Arkansas 86-73 in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals. On this evening, Bud Walton Arena was basketball's equivalent of The Mirage -- gaudy, elegant and a little too big for the tourists to handle.
While the players are disappointed they won't get to New York, they'll get over it. Especially when they can reflect on all they accomplished this year.
A 22-10 record looks impressive, especially given where things were a year ago at this time. UNLV was licking its wounds from a 10-16 campaign and Bill Bayno and his staff were hitting the recruiting trail hard in trying to continue the building process.
There was the big jump from the Big West to the WAC. There were plenty of uncertainties from start to finish. Whether it was Mark Dickel getting eligible (he did), Issiah Epps being cleared to compete (he wasn't), or worrying how newcomers Tyrone Nesby, Keon Clark and Corky Ausborne would fit in, question marks abounded when the team gathered Oct. 15 to begin this marathon season.
The Rebels hit the wall hard a couple of times. In December, they lost to Nevada-Reno and Syracuse. In January, they stumbled at home against Hawaii, then lost to Oklahoma State and Fresno State. Last month, they lost another heartbreaker to Hawaii and earlier this month didn't get a break at Colorado State. Then they squandered a seven-point second-half lead in falling to Tulsa in the WAC tournament.
But each time, the Bayno Bunch battled back.
As Sunshine Smith said before the game, "No matter what happens, I've had a great time. This is what I was hoping it would be like all four years. But I'll always remember this as being really special. It was a lot of fun."
The program has turned the corner and is headed in the right direction. Through adversity comes strength, and this team has endured injuries, defections and some tough losses to piece together the best season Las Vegas has seen since 1992.
In less than three weeks, Bayno will put the final touches on what could be one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. Word is if Lamar Odom, the nation's best prep player, doesn't go pro, he's coming to UNLV. Rico Harris, one of the top JC shooting guards, is also leaning toward the Rebels.
They would join Greedy Daniels, one of the best prep point guards in the country, and Javares Anderson, one of the top JC rebounders, both having committed to UNLV. Throw in redshirts Kevin Simmons, Brian Keefe, Epps and Donovan Stewart, and you've got a strong cast coming in to join Clark, Nesby, Dickel and Ausborne.
Yes, the future is bright for the Rebels. You'd have to like their odds of making it to the Big Dance a year from now.
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