March Madness: UNLV is in the NCAA Tournament

Conference: Mountain West (24-8)
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Famous Alum: Suge Knight
They’re Back! Last year the Rebels lost in the first round to surprise Sweet-16 team Northern Iowa. Before that? You might remember they had a few decent squads back in the 90’s. Now there’s a documentary about them. They spawned Grandmama and Plastic Man. More recently, they’ve consistently been one of the best teams in the MWC.
School’s Leading Scorer: Eddie Owens (2221 points)
Resume: A 24-win team out of the Mountain West. UNLV beat two ranked teams this season in Wisconsin (25) and Kansas State (11). Of their eight loses, 6 came to teams that will finish the season in the top 25.
Experience Matters: It’s all about Tre’von Willis. The senior guard talks a lot (he’s taken shots at Jimmer Fredette multiple times this season alone) and has dealt with injuries this season. A healthy Willis is a dangerous man on the court and gives UNLV a chance in any game. Chase Stanback was solid (13 and 6) in his second season at UNLV since transferring from UCLA.
All-Important Rankings: 24 (RPI), 22 (Pomeroy), 20 (Sagarin)
Projected Seed: Bracketologist Jason Lisk has them in the 6-7 range.
Twitter: @SteveCofield of Yahoo! and ESPN’s Vegas radio station.

Others with their dance ticket in hand:

Indiana State
Belmont
Morehead State
UNC Asheville
Old Dominion
St. Peter’s
Wofford
Oakland
Gonzaga
Butler
Bucknell
Pittsburgh
Northern Colorado

[photo via Getty]