Rebels-Aztecs basketball rivalry still simmering

Only 28.5 seconds remained, and San Diego State had just gone up 81-71.

UNLV coach Lon Kruger tried to keep his players from getting down, but he didn't truly believe his Rebels had a shot.

Even after Odartey Blankson made a shot off a rebound, the Rebels trailed by eight points with 17.8 seconds remaining. Hope was seemingly lost.

But then the Aztecs threw away the inbounds pass, and Blankson was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. Suddenly, it was a five-point game.

Most Rebels basketball fans know what happened next, UNLV coming all the way back to force overtime on Curtis Terry's off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer. Then the Rebels went on to win 93-91 in the 2005 game in San Diego.

"That for us was really the game that got things going," Terry said. "From there on out, it seemed the next few years I was here, it was always a battle every time we saw San Diego State. Guys really looked forward to that because at the time we were the top two or three teams in the league, and it was a competitive nature every time out."

The best rivalries develop organically, the circumstances creating an intense atmosphere between teams that can't be fabricated or forced.

That's what makes the basketball series between UNLV and San Diego State so special.

Something is often on the line when the teams meet, and their games have produced some classic moments.

They meet again at 5 p.m. today at the Thomas & Mack Center, and San Diego State (15-6, 8-0 Mountain West) has had the upper hand, winning the past six games over UNLV (13-8, 4-4) and 12 of the past 15.

The Rebels, however, are 3½-point favorites in the game, which will be televised by CBS Sports Network.

When Steve Fisher got to San Diego State in 1999, which was the same year the Mountain West went into business, there was no rivalry with UNLV to speak of.

Fisher couldn't worry about such matters anyway. He had enough on his hands in trying to turn around San Diego State, and in his first season, the Aztecs went 5-23 and lost all 14 conference games.

"We were bottom feeders then," Fisher said. "Ourselves and Air Force were the ones that everybody wanted to play three times, and we were just worried about getting ourselves better."

Two seasons later, however, the Aztecs went 21-12 and beat UNLV 78-75 in the conference tournament championship game. That earned San Diego State its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1985.

"We have turned it into a rivalry," Fisher said. "The first couple of years, they beat us up. All of the sudden, we beat them in our Year Three, upset them in a Mountain West conference tournament championship game. I think that probably is when it truly started, and we've had some great games over the years, some crazy games, and most of them very close."

From UNLV's perspective, the rivalry began to take hold in the manic comeback from the 10-point deficit on Feb. 12, 2005.

"From a basketball standpoint, San Diego State should never lose that game or any team in that position," Terry said. "Ten points in 18 seconds shouldn't happen. For us, it was almost like it was meant to be because everything fell into place perfectly."

Kruger, now the coach of an Oklahoma team that is ranked first by The Associated Press and second by the coaches, can't remember ever being part of such a game.

"It was an unusual game given that basically the game was over," Kruger said. "It was kind of a blur during that time. I've never been a part of … I don't think anyone has, 10 points with 20 seconds to go."

One game, though, doesn't make a rivalry, and it helps if both programs are fighting for the conference title on a regular basis. It isn't coincidence that the height of the series took place between Fisher and Kruger.

San Diego State has won at least 20 games each season since 2006 and played in the postseason each of those years, including the past six seasons in the NCAA Tournament.

Under Kruger, UNLV won more than 20 games five consecutive times and earned trips to the NCAA Tournament four of those seasons.

They traded victories as ranked opponents in 2012.

San Diego State has continued its high level of play, and the Rebels are trying to find their way, though they have found recent success in going 4-1 under interim coach Todd Simon.

No matter what, both teams will be fired up to face each other tonight, and the fans will be hyped.

It will have the makings of what a rivalry should feel like. Unforced. Genuine.

"It takes time," Kruger said. "It takes close ballgames. It takes the crowds to get into it. And that evolved. What Steve Fisher has done at San Diego State is remarkable.

"They're tough to beat, and it made for really good contests."

— Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65