Conference opener pits ranked Rebels, Lobos

It was New Year's Eve when New Mexico last played a basketball game, and coach Steve Alford is tired of the vacation time.

"We're anxious to get back," he said.

Alford returns to work Wednesday, when freshman phenom Anthony Bennett and UNLV arrive to greet him for the opening of Mountain West play. Forget about easing into the conference season, because the grind begins right away for a pair of ranked, 13-2 teams.

The Lobos, 25th in The Associated Press poll, are at the end of an eight-day layoff following a 60-46 loss at Saint Louis. During that time, Alford said he watched a lot of tape of the No. 24 Rebels.

To no surprise, Bennett stood out. The 6-foot-8-inch forward is UNLV's leading scorer (19.9 points per game) and rebounder (9.1), and with each game he seemingly moves up a spot on the NBA Draft board.

New Mexico's schedule ranks 11th in the nation in the Ratings Percentage Index, so Alford is certain his team has been sufficiently tested.

"This easily has been our toughest nonconference schedule," said Alford, in his sixth season with the Lobos. "This is the best team we've played to date, and Bennett is the best player we've faced to date."

While plotting ways to defend Bennett, Alford can plan on facing another Rebels star, junior forward Mike Moser. An official decision won't be announced until today, but Moser appears ready to return from a dislocated right elbow.

Moser has missed six of seven games, including UNLV's past two victories over Chicago State and Cal State Bakersfield, since suffering the injury Dec. 9. All signs point to him playing at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

"I'm not trying to be evasive. There's no tricks here," coach Dave Rice said. "It will be a transparent decision. Mike has responded well. He hasn't missed any days of practice."

Moser was the Rebels' leading scorer and rebounder last season. But New Mexico held him to eight points in February, when UNLV was blown out 65-45 in The Pit, where the floor sits 37 feet below ground level. It's one of the most difficult places to play in college basketball.

"It's going to be a crazy crowd there," UNLV senior guard Justin Hawkins said. "There are a lot of unique aspects to every place you go to in the Mountain West. But I know we're going to fight. You've definitely got to be tougher than your opponents.

"Coach Alford always has his guys ready to play, and they're always ready to play against UNLV. I don't know what they do for their preseason conditioning or how he coaches them in practice, but they're definitely a tough-minded group."

The Lobos, led by junior guard Kendall Williams at 14.9 points per game, gained a marquee road win by beating then-No. 8 Cincinnati 55-54 on Dec. 27.

The conference road was hard on the Rebels last season, when they went 2-5 with overtime victories against Air Force and Boise State in January.

"Trying to get road wins is going to be extremely difficult," Alford said. "You're going to have tough travel to tough venues. It's a long haul."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.