Ed Graney is a sports columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, covering a variety of topics and the Las Vegas sports scene.
egraney@reviewjournal.com … @edgraney on Twitter. 702-383-4618
HOUSTON — The dog is the ironic part in all this. Blue 2. That slobbery, lovable canine with the thick folds of skin and 5,000 followers on Twitter, an English bulldog with wide shoulders and matching head and, as typical for its breed, suspect intelligence.
The open practice was about to end, and Virginia Commonwealth basketball coach Shaka Smart jumped into his team’s final drill.
The first part everyone needs to get over is the denial, the pledges to remain in Las Vegas, to finish his coaching career at UNLV.
The easy thing would be to overreact because, well, that was one good ol’ fashioned butt whipping. UNLV’s basketball team got what it deserved in an NCAA Tournament game here Friday evening, thoroughly out-classed by Illinois at every spot and in every way.
There is a section of UNLV’s postseason basketball media guide titled “The Men in the Middle.”
UNLV basketball fans can take solace today: Should the Rebels meet San Diego State a fourth time this season, it would be no sooner than the Final Four.
College basketball teams always have something to prove in March.
