UNLV players Wink Adams, left, and Kevin Kruger autograph basketballs while waiting for NCAA Tournament pairings to be announced on Sunday at the Cox Pavilion. Photos by Craig L. Moran. UNLV basketball players, cheerleaders and fans react Sunday at the Cox Pavilion after the Rebels were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

As he watched the announcement of the NCAA Tournament brackets Sunday afternoon, UNLV sophomore guard Wink Adams said he had a flashback to when he was growing up in Houston.

"I always watched the selection shows, and I always said, 'I hope one day the school I go to will be on there,'" Adams said. "So this was like a dream come true for me.

"I didn't really care what seed we were or who we're playing. I'm just happy to be on a team that's playing in the tournament."

About 500 fans joined the Rebels' players and coaches for a basketball banquet at Cox Pavilion, and the atmosphere was optimistic for the two hours leading up to the selection show on CBS.

UNLV was one of the network's featured teams, with national TV cameras in place to capture the reaction to the tournament draw.

When the Rebels were unveiled as a No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region, Adams was happy, but many fans in the room were left stunned.

Many projections by experts had UNLV as high as a No. 4 seed. But what the Rebels got was little respect and a tougher first-round opponent.

UNLV (28-6), making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years, will open against No. 10 seed Georgia Tech (20-11) at 9:25 a.m. Friday in Chicago.

The Rebels won the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Saturday, beating Brigham Young 78-70 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Even if the enthusiasm from UNLV's best season in 15 years was tempered by the perceived cold shoulder from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, coach Lon Kruger remained upbeat.

"There's nothing here to be upset about. We're not disappointed," Kruger said. "We're surprised at the seed. That doesn't mean that we're going to approach it any differently than if we were a 4 seed or anything else."

The fans seemed to take it the hardest. Kruger's outlook was shared by his players. "People say it's a disappointment. I feel like it's basically a challenge for us, and it's another challenge that we have to overcome," senior forward Wendell White said. "We're going to fight."

Senior point guard Kevin Kruger, the coach's son and the Most Valuable Player of the Mountain West tournament, said the No. 7 seed was not what he expected but not a big deal, either.

"We feel we're better than that," Kevin Kruger said. "It's really nothing new. We don't really view this as disrespect or anything. We were picked to finish sixth in the conference, so playing with something to prove really isn't anything new to this group."

BYU, a No. 8 seed in the South Region, was the only other Mountain West team to make the NCAA Tournament.

Nevada has two entrants in the tournament, as UNR is a No. 7 seed in the South.

The Rebels, ranked 25th last week in both national polls, appeared to have strong enough credentials to merit a better seed in the 65-team field.

In the Ratings Percentage Index, which the NCAA selection committee uses to help seed teams, UNLV is No. 10 in the nation.

The Rebels were in good shape in the key components the selection committee considers. They were 9-1 in their last 10 games, 4-3 versus the RPI top 50, 10-4 versus the RPI top 100 and 8-5 on the road.

"I think all the factors seemed to be lining up pretty well, but apparently there was something in there missing," Lon Kruger said. "I was hopeful. The committee, as I said many times, nobody researches it like they research it."

Kruger is the fifth coach in history to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament. He also accomplished the feat with Kansas State, Illinois and Florida, where he advanced to the Final Four in 1994.