Tarkanian to face his old team

      FRESNO, Calif. -- A couple of weeks ago, in the busy days following UNLV's wild comeback victory over Texas Christian, Rebel coach Bill Bayno received a note in the mail.
      It was written by Jerry Tarkanian.
      "He said he was impressed with how we came back against TCU and how hard we played," Bayno said Sunday night as UNLV prepared to face Tarkanian's new team, Fresno State, tonight for an ESPN "Big Monday" game (9 p.m.).
      "It was a nice gesture, really," Bayno said. "He didn't have to do it, and I appreciated it."
      Bayno and Tarkanian even embraced Sunday as Tarkanian was leaving Selland Arena after Fresno State's practice and Bayno arrived with the Rebels.
      "I have a lot of respect for Bill," Tarkanian said. "He's done a good job, and his guys play really hard."
      Whether Tarkanian's Bulldogs are as congenial tonight is in doubt, however. The UNLV-Fresno State matchup marks the first time Tarkanian will coach against the Rebels after spending 19 years at UNLV.
      "I wish I could have finished my career without coaching against UNLV," Tarkanian said. "But we've gotta play the game. It's important for us to play hard and play well."
      The Bulldogs enter as the only undefeated team in the Western Athletic Conference's Pacific Division with a 3-0 record. But the Bulldogs, 11-6 overall, have not been mowing down opponents with the relentless attacking style of Tarkanian's more famous UNLV teams.
      "These guys don't play hard," Tarkanian said. "They all look like they came from Sun City. They're ready to retire. Really. All of our guys have a home in Sun City already. They'll be there in about another two months."
      Tarkanian, of course, was joking about his players' real estate ventures in the Summerlin community. But he takes his team's work ethic seriously.
      "No one played harder than my UNLV teams," Tarkanian said. "It bothers me that this team hasn't played harder. The team I had last year played harder than this one."
      Countered senior point guard Dominick Young: "He said that last year, too. He's a great motivator, and he wants to motivate us to play hard."
      Fresno State was ranked No. 14 entering the season and won six of its first seven games. But the Bulldogs faded during a 10-game, 30-day road trip that took the team to Oregon, the University of Massachusetts, Las Vegas (for a neutral-site loss to Texas Tech in the Las Vegas Shootout), Moraga, Calif. (for a win over Saint Mary's), Louisiana State and Puerto Rico.
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