Rebels expect a hostile BYU crowd tonight

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PROVO, Utah — A hostile atmosphere awaits UNLV, and senior guard Wink Adams expects more than a few insults tossed his way.

The Rebels’ rivalry with Brigham Young has turned bitter — especially between the fans — in recent years, so Adams is bracing for a rude reception.

Of all the arenas he visits in the Mountain West Conference, Adams said the 22,700-seat Marriott Center is "definitely" the toughest place to play. The Cougars are 55-1 in their past 56 home games.

"It’s a pretty vicious crowd," he said. "You try to kind of sound out the crowd, which is hard to do.

"But this is a game we always look forward to, like the Louisville or Arizona games. It’s a big rivalry game, and we want to go in and pick up a tough road win."

Adams is 0-3 in Provo, an ugly streak he hopes to stop when UNLV (14-4, 2-2 MWC) plays BYU (14-3, 2-1) at 7 p.m. today.

The Rebels were pummeled in their past two trips to the Marriott Center, losing 74-48 last year and 90-63 in 2007.

"That’s happened the last few years. We’ve really got to come out hard and us seniors have to set that tone," UNLV’s Rene Rougeau said. "We can’t have any mishaps or turnovers. Every possession has to matter to every one of us.

"It’s sold out every time we come to town. We’re definitely not liked up there. We’re definitely going to be getting booed a lot, so that’s why it’s even more of a challenge."

The Rebels are 0-2 on the road in the MWC, losing at Colorado State and Texas Christian, feeding a one-sided trend. Seven teams in the nine-team Mountain West are a combined 11-0 at home.

"There’s some really good teams in this league," Cougars coach Dave Rose said. "I don’t ever remember going to the third week in a league where the top seven teams haven’t lost a home game yet.

"These breakthroughs are going to be tough to get, and you have to play well at home."

BYU is looking to bounce back from an 81-62 loss at New Mexico on Saturday, when Cougars star guard Lee Cummard shot 1-for-7 and was held to seven points.

Adams and Cummard shared preseason Player of the Year honors in the conference, but Adams has been set back by an injury and a shooting slump.

UNLV was picked as the preseason favorite to win the league, yet Rebels coach Lon Kruger said BYU has emerged as the team to beat.

Three Cougars — Cummard, junior forward Jonathan Tavernari and sophomore guard Jimmer Fredette — average more than Adams’ UNLV-leading 13.3 points per game.

Cummard averages 17.5 and Tavernari, a quick-triggered 3-point shooter from Bishop Gorman High School, averages 17.2. BYU is scoring 80.1 points per game and shooting 50 percent from the field.

Kruger said the Rebels must play with more composure on the offensive end and limit the Cougars’ scoring opportunities in transition.

"Midway through the first half (last year), we had things in decent shape, and then a couple weak plays offensively translated into 3s in transition for them, and it was downhill from there," Kruger said.

"When you go on the road and play BYU, you’ve got to do all those things better than even normal."

Adams scored 23 points in UNLV’s 76-61 victory over BYU in the MWC tournament championship in Las Vegas last year. But that was one month after he scored nine points on 2-for-14 shooting in a lopsided loss in Provo.

The performance of Adams, struggling with his 3-point shooting accuracy (21-for-89, 23.6 percent), could tell the Rebels’ tale. If he’s not hot, he’ll be hearing more of the fans’ taunts.

"I’ve got to be aggressive getting to the basket, and not settle for the 3-point shot a lot," Adams said. "If I can penetrate, drive and kick to my teammates and get them some open shots, I’m more effective."

• NOTES — Senior forward Joe Darger (stiff back) practiced Tuesday after missing Monday’s session and will play today. … Former Rebels star Greg Anthony will be the game analyst for CBS College Sports.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.