June 7, 2006

LAS VEGAS - Five straight home games to open the season, the Duel in the Desert three-day event in December and the start of a four-year agreement to play Arizona are some of the highlights of the 2006-07 non-conference UNLV men's basketball schedule, which the athletics department released Wednesday.

The Runnin' Rebels, who are led by third-year head coach Lon Kruger, are slated to face five non-conference teams that played in the postseason last year, including two NCAA Tournament squads. In addition, UNLV will face two defending conference champions and teams from the Big Ten Conference, Pac-10, Big East and Big 12.

"Our schedule this year will be very challenging and we are extremely excited about it," Kruger said. "We have an earlier start to the regular season and more home games early this year. Combined with a real exciting venture of playing a game in St. George, Utah, along with our three-game, three-day set of double-headers and some tough road contests, it is a schedule that will provide us with great preparation for the start of the conference season."

The regular season will begin a week earlier than in the past and UNLV will play one exhibition game scheduled for Tuesday, November 7 against Dixie State College at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Runnin' Rebels will open the regular season with five straight home games beginning on Friday, Nov. 10 against Hawaii. The game is part of an in-season home-and-home series with the Rainbow Warriors that began last season with each team winning on its respective home floor. Last season Hawaii finished 17-11 playing in the Western Athletic Conference.

UNLV will then host Eastern Washington out of the Big Sky Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The Eagles feature last year's national freshman of the year in Rodney Stuckey. Next will be a Friday, Nov. 17 game against UC Santa Barbara from the Big West Conference. Division II Washburn, which UNLV hosted last year in an exhibition game, will visit on Tuesday, Nov. 21 and a game on Saturday, Nov. 25 against San Francisco from the West Coast Conference closes the homestand.

As the Thomas & Mack Center hosts the National Finals Rodeo, the Runnin' Rebels will play their first road game of the season at Arizona on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The game will mark the first of a four-year series with the Wildcats playing at UNLV in 2007 and 2008 before returning to Tucson in 2009. Last year, Arizona, from the Pac-10, finished the season 20-13 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where it lost to Villanova.

UNLV will then face Northern Arizona in a neutral-site game played on the campus of Dixie State in St. George, Utah, on Saturday, Dec. 2. The Lumberjacks won the Big Sky regular season title last year, finished with a 21-11 record and played in the National Invitation Tournament.

UNLV will then travel to Hawaii for a game on Tuesday, Dec. 5 to close out the in-season home-and-home and will close out the road swing on Saturday, Dec. 9 with a game at Nevada, Reno. The Wolf Pack won the Western Athletic Conference last season with a 27-6 overall record and played in the NCAA tournament.

UNLV will return home Sunday-Tuesday, Dec. 17-19 as it hosts the Duel in the Desert, a four-team, three-day set of double-headers that will feature games against South Florida from the Big East Conference, Norfolk State from the MEAC and independent Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Just prior to Christmas, UNLV will host Minnesota on Friday, Dec. 22. The Golden Gophers advanced to the second round of the NIT last season.

UNLV will close out the remainder of its non-conference schedule with games at Texas Tech on Thursday, Dec. 28 and at Houston on Saturday, Dec. 30. UNLV defeated both teams at the Thomas & Mack Center last season. Houston advanced to the second round of the NIT last year and finished the season with a 21-10 mark.

The 2006-07 Mountain West Conference men's basketball schedule has not yet been released. When the conference schedule is released, UNLV men's basketball ticket information will be available.

UNLV returns a wealth of experience from last year's team that had a record of 17-13. The squad returns four starters and a total of nine lettermen from last season and welcomes back 78.8 percent of its scoring from last year and 63.6 percent of its rebounding. This year's team will have eight upperclassmen, including five seniors.

UNLV Men's Basketball 2006-07 Non-Conference Schedule

Date     Opponent                LocationTues., Nov. 7   Dixie State College (exhibition)    Las VegasFri., Nov. 10   Hawaii              Las VegasTues., Nov. 14  Eastern Washington          Las VegasFri., Nov. 17   UC Santa Barbara            Las VegasTues., Nov. 21  Washburn                Las VegasSat., Nov. 25   San Francisco           Las VegasTues., Nov. 28  at Arizona          Tucson, Ariz.Sat., Dec. 2    vs. Northern Arizona        St. George, UtahTues., Dec. 5   at Hawaii               Honolulu, HawaiiSat., Dec. 9    at Nevada, Reno         Reno, Nev.Sun., Dec. 17*  Norfolk State vs. South Florida Las Vegas        Texas A&M-Corpus Christi        Las VegasMon., Dec. 18*  Texas A&M-CC vs. USF        Las Vegas        Norfolk State           Las VegasTues., Dec. 19* Norfolk State vs. Texas A&M-CC  Las Vegas        South Florida           Las VegasFri., Dec. 22   Minnesota               Las VegasThurs., Dec. 28 at Texas Tech           Lubbock, TexasSat., Dec. 30   at Houston          Houston, Texas

* Duel in the Desert