So now you start thinking about the D word. Not actually saying it. Not actually making it part of your water-cooler chat sessions. Not actually mentioning it to Lon Kruger, who would probably faint on the spot or do something even more unexpected, like turn a colorful phrase.

Destiny.

You can think it. You can secretly attach it to your thoughts when considering this UNLV basketball team. If the Rebels aren't destined to win a Mountain West Conference championship, they're certainly meant to attend the party until someone demonstrates the ability to shove them out the door after last call.

Tuesday night was one of those times when what is suggested on paper proves as valuable as a rusty nail. Pregame projections might have implied UNLV had as much business beating San Diego State as Prince does singing at halftime of the Super Bowl, but you should know by now there is nothing conventional about Kruger's team.

You should know that when the Rebels dismiss a preseason conference favorite 68-61 despite playing without their best (Wendell White) and most important (Kevin Kruger) players, it's not due to some unexplained phenomena.

You should know when they shoot 22 percent in the first half, go 0-for-11 on 3-pointers and watch their second-leading scorer (Wink Adams) miss all eight of his shots, it's not by some divine intervention that they make 8 of 11 3s after intermission and Adams scores 20 points the final 20 minutes.

You should know what they know.

"They just believe they're going to win every game," Lon Kruger said. "Confidence is the most important ingredient in sports."

It's a wonderful advantage when you have as much swagger as UNLV does today. San Diego State had it last season when it won both the league's regular-season and tournament titles. Air Force and Brigham Young always have it at home. It's as mysterious as it is legitimate, this sensation that allows players to disregard key injuries, horrible shooting streaks and inexperience at critical positions to keep winning.

It's as improbable as oddsmakers forecasting an injured UNLV team as a 7 1/2-point favorite against the Aztecs and as real as the final score closing on the final margin of seven. The Rebels are in that special place right now, meaning they're playing out of their collective minds.

"Our confidence couldn't be any higher," freshman point guard Marcus Lawrence said. "It's all about trusting whoever is out there."

Well, it's about more than that. It's about continuing to play good defense when the shooting becomes so bad that an uncontested layup seems an implausible chore. UNLV did just that, staying within 25-23 at halftime while holding San Diego State to 38.7 percent shooting.

It's about continuing to protect the ball while the opponent doesn't (UNLV had 10 turnovers to 17 for the Aztecs). It's about good fortune dropping into your lap before tipoff -- such as San Diego State senior forward Mohamed Abukar, one of the league's best players, being scratched because of injury.

It's also about a head coach doing one of his best jobs in 21 years at the college level, which says something when he has led a team to the Final Four.

But for all the teasing this space tosses at Kruger for his predictable comments -- his streak of beginning post-victory interviews with, "Obviously, a really good win," hit 216 Tuesday, again prompting me to wonder when he last had a bad one -- there is no refuting his performance building and teaching and guiding this team.

Look, there isn't a college player alive who doesn't think he's Michael Jordan, but it takes a proficient coach to mold that self-assurance in a positive way, all the while scheming to individual strengths and hiding weaknesses. Your finest computer programmer hasn't pushed buttons with better skill than Kruger this season.

UNLV can win this conference; succeeding without White and Kruger has told us that much. There is no elite team, and that includes the ranked one from Colorado Springs, which already has lost at Utah and was fortunate to win three other conference games. If Kevin Kruger's deep thigh bruise ever heals and White's left ankle quickly returns to normal size, the opportunity exists, because no team is flirting with the D word more than the Rebels at the moment.

Just don't say it out loud. We wouldn't want Lon Kruger to go all crazy on us and show up after his next win wearing a red nose and floppy shoes.

Ed Graney's column is published Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. He can be reached at 383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.