Oct. 17, 2008
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's basketball team has been ranked No. 24 in the nation by Sporting News college basketball columnist Mike DeCourcy, who is counting down his Top 40 on a daily basis in the Sporting News Today. UNLV appeared on Friday.
On Tuesday at Mountain West Conference Basketball Media Day, the Runnin' Rebels were picked to win the 2008-09 regular season title in the media poll. Senior Wink Adams was selected as the Preseason Co-Player of the Year and sophomore Tre'Von Willis was selected as Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
UNLV has also been ranked in the preseason Top 25 by CBSSports.com (22nd), Rivals.com (23rd), Athlon (24th) and ESPN's Andy Katz' poll (24th).
The Runnin' Rebels are set to host FirstLook 2008, presented by US Army Healthcare, tonight at 9 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center. The free event centers around the first official practice of the season.
All season tickets, in both donor and non-donor seating areas, are now available for purchase for the 2008-09 Runnin' Rebel season. Limited seating is available in the plaza level in both donor and non-donor areas. Balcony season tickets for 18 home games at the Thomas & Mack Center are available for $175 and $90.
For more information on purchasing season tickets, call 702-739-FANS (3267). Those interested in purchasing donor season tickets in the plaza level should call 702-895-1533 . Depending on continued demand and sales of season tickets, any remaining tickets are projected to go on sale on a single-game basis on Oct. 27 at the earliest.
UNLV finished the 2007-08 season with an overall record of 27-8 and lost to eventual national champion Kansas in the NCAA Tournament's second round. The appearance in the NCAA Tournament was the second straight for UNLV, which advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2007, and the first time that the Runnin' Rebels won games in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments since 1990 and 1991.
UNLV finished second in the Mountain West Conference last season with a 12-4 mark for the second consecutive year and won the MWC Tournament championship, also for the second straight time.
Kruger, who was named the 2007-08 MWC and USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year, is in his fifth season at UNLV in 2008-09 after compiling a four-year mark of 91-42 (.684), including a record of 57-15 (.792) over the last two seasons. UNLV's 57 wins over the past two years ranks ninth in the country among teams that have played in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments and is the second-most victories over the last two years among teams in the West, only behind UCLA.
UNLV has a 15-game home win streak, which is the 11th-longest active streak in the country, has compiled a record of 38-3 at home over the last two seasons and has won 24 straight games against MWC opponents at the Thomas & Mack Center.
UNLV loses only two players from last season's team and has four seniors on the 2008-09 roster in Wink Adams, Joe Darger, René Rougeau and Mareceo Rutledge. UNLV completed its summer foreign exhibition tour of Australia in July and compiled a 4-2 mark.
