Rebels basketball fan Abraham Guerrero sings a chant as he and hundreds of other fans wait for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas basketball team to depart Wednesday from the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels flew to St. Louis, where they will play third-seeded Oregon Ducks on Friday in the Midwest Regional. Photos by John Locher. UNLV basketball fans react Wednesday to head coach Lon Kruger as he gets on a bus at Thomas & Mack Center to travel to St. Louis for the Midwest Regional against the third-seeded Oregon Ducks.

Dozie Oparaugo wasn't going to make his 1 p.m. architectural design class Wednesday, and he didn't care.

Wearing a red wig, he focused on basketball and not the inside of a classroom. Oparaugo, a 25-year-old senior at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was in the Thomas & Mack Center parking lot with about 250 others to cheer the Rebels as they boarded a waiting bus.

UNLV (30-6) was headed to the airport to fly to St. Louis, where the Rebels will play Oregon in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game Friday in the Midwest Regional. A victory would put them one step from the Final Four in Atlanta.

"Coming out here is who we are," Oparaugo said. "It's what we live for. The Runnin' Rebels basketball team has taken us to this point. This is the least we can do for them, come and cheer them on and see them off."

Fans broke out in applause and screams when the players appeared.

"It's amazing to have the support of everyone here showing their appreciation," said UNLV point guard Kevin Kruger, the coach's son. "It's an unbelievable feeling.

"For everyone out here's sake, hopefully we can come do it again next week and be on our way to Atlanta."

As coach Lon Kruger made his way toward the bus, he was stopped repeatedly to sign autographs, pose for pictures and receive pats on the back.

"That's the best part of it, seeing so many people sharing in it and enjoying it," he said. "It's been a good week. A lot of fun and lot of good things going on."

This team has created an electricity among its fan base not seen since the early 1990s, when the Rebels were annually one of the nation's best and most exciting teams. The last time UNLV advanced this far was in 1991, when the Rebels were upset by Duke in the national semifinals.

Fan support, which had tapered off significantly as the program went from outstanding to mediocre, came back strong at the end of this season.

That excitement has been evident since the Rebels returned from winning their first two tournament games in Chicago last weekend.

"You can't get any sleep," guard Wink Adams said. "Everybody has your phone (number) and wishing you congratulations. It's something I love right now, and I'm just enjoying this."

The fans who crowded near the bus enjoyed themselves, too, chanting "Let's Go Rebels" and "Beat the Ducks," Oregon's nickname.

Monica Ramos, a 27-year-old first-year graduate student, made five signs and distributed them to her friends. She carried one that read "HOW SWEET IT IS!" and featured cut-out pictures of the team.

"This is the best feeling, to be a part of a program like this where you can have something to support, especially when I love sports," Ramos said.

Bill Higgs, 66, carried a big sign with cut-out pictures of the team.

"I had to be here," Higgs said. "We're going to the Final Four."