BATON ROUGE, La. (UNLVRebels.com) — This is the biggest game of the year.

That's the mantra UNLV Head Coach Lindy La Rocque has infused in the Lady Rebels as they enter their NCAA First Round matchup on a 22-game winning streak.

"It obviously couldn't be more true now," La Rocque said Thursday as the official media conferences and final tune-ups took place. "We haven't just said it, but we've lived it and prepared for it, then played like it. I think that's really why we're here, have a streak going, and have won a lot of games."

So many wins that even the patrons at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, home to the LSU Tigers, were taken aback when they glanced at all the Ws on UNLV's side of the scorecards. UNLV is 31-2 and has broken the programs single-season wins record by three. Only top-ranked South Carolina, undefeated at 32-0, has a higher winning percentage this season.

But Thursday, the Lady Rebels were quick to pass on detailing their accolades and pointed towards what matters most—the next game.

UNLV, the No. 11 seed in the Greenville Region 2, faces 6-seeded Michigan Friday (12 p.m. PT on ESPNU). It will be UNLV's first time being the underdog since their last loss, an 87-62 defeat at Oklahoma State on Dec. 18.

"We don't just want to be excited to be here, we want to get past that first game," senior point guard Essence Booker said. "Really, it gets kind of easy for us to flip to a new chapter. We had the non-conference season, conference season we went undefeated. Then we flipped to a new chapter in the conference tournament, went 3-0. We want to go 1-0 tomorrow."

To do so, the Lady Rebels will have to end a heftier streak: 14 consecutive losses against AP Top 25 teams. UNLV last win against a ranked team came in November 2007, a one-point win over No. 16 George Washington.

A tall order, sure, but not far-fetched. La Rocque's squad has accomplished feats unseen at UNLV in decades. Consider the winning streak (UNLV's longest since the program's infancy), its first undefeated home season since 1979, first AP Top 25 ranking since 1994, first sellout in the Cox Pavilion and first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since going to three straight from 1989 to 1991.

"I think the biggest thing is this team knows how to win," La Rocque said. "We have a great belief and trust in each other. When the game is close and tight, they don't panic. They are really composed and poised…then they go out there and execute."

The season was not as trouble-free as the win-loss record might allege. UNLV replaced it's starting power forward Nneka Obiazor after a knee injury sidelined her in December. Obiazor's replacement, Alyssa Brown, had to bury two pressure free throws to send UNLV's home game versus Colorado State into overtime. Alyssa Durazo-Frescas shook an off-shooting performance with a last-second 3-pointer to capture a one-point win over Fresno State. The team rallied from 10-point deficits in its final two regular-season games despite having already claimed the conference title.

"They all gave us something different to improve upon," La Rocque said. "You have to have an experienced team to be able to win and still practice the next day like you lost, to improve on those things.

"It didn't feel good all the time for them. They didn't love me for that most of the time, but they did it."

Even the opponent has noticed UNLV's resolve.

"They're an incredible team," Michigan Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "Any team that can win over 30 basketball games in a season is special. It doesn't matter what conference you are in, if you can go undefeated in your conference and then go to the conference tournament and win the conference tournament, holy cow, that's pretty special."

Friday, the biggest game of the year awaits. The task will be the same as it has been all season.

Win.