Friday, March 14th, 11:59 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Thomas & Mack Center (18,500) -- Las Vegas, Nevada. Television: CSTV. Home Record: Utah 17-13, UNLV 17-2. Away Record: Utah 4-8, UNLV 6-5. Neutral Record: Utah 2-1, UNLV 1-0. Conference Record: Utah 7-9, UNLV 12-4. Series Record: Series is tied, 19-19.

GAME NOTES: A couple of teams coming off exciting wins on Thursday meet at the Thomas & Mack Center tonight, as the Utah Runnin' Utes and UNLV Runnin' Rebels clash in the semifinals of the Ninth Annual Mountain West Conference Tournament in Las Vegas. The sixth-seeded Utes, who limped into the postseason with five losses in six games, had to go to overtime against New Mexico and ended up coming out with the 82-80 victory, avenging two losses to the Lobos during the regular season, one that went to overtime and another decided by just a single point. As for the second-seeded Rebels, they too played a close game against TCU, but managed to pull it out in the end with a thrilling 89-88 decision on their home floor. Both games against the Horned Frogs during the regular season were decided by double digits. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, a 70-63 win in the regular- season finale for the Rebels over Utah tied the relationship at 19-19. The winner of this game goes on to the title tilt on Saturday versus the winner of the San Diego State/BYU affair. UNLV is the defending tournament champion, having beaten BYU a season ago by a score of 78-70 for its second crown in tournament history, while Utah defeated the Rebels in the 2004 title game for its only trophy.

Utah scored 10 points in the overtime period against the Lobos on Thursday, with six of those coming from Luke Nevill as he paced four players in double figures with his 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting off the bench. Nevill also accounted for a team-best eight rebounds, while fellow backup Johnnie Bryant tallied 11 points, but shot only 3-of-10 from the floor. Lawrence Borha and Shaun Green chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Coming off the bench the last few games seems to have added a spark to Nevill's game, now averaging 15.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Bryant has been in the reserve role the entire season and it hasn't hurt him at all, averaging 14.1 ppg while shooting 44.6 percent from three-point range. As a team, the Utes are making just over 40 percent of their shots out on the perimeter, but more importantly the group is putting up a tough defense by allowing opponents just 63.5 ppg.

A three-point play by Wink Adams in the final seconds saved the day for the Rebels as they slipped by an inspired TCU squad by a single point on Thursday. Adams was nearly unstoppable for UNLV as he shot 10-of-15 from the floor to finish with a team-best 29 points. The Rebels made good on 58.5 percent from the field, yet still had to make a big play down the stretch for the win. Rene Rougeau contributed 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor, adding a team-best nine rebounds and four steals, Curtis Terry accounted for 15 points, and Matt Shaw and Joe Darger posted 11 points apiece. The offensive outburst by TCU was rather unusual, considering the UNLV defense has been giving up an average of just 62.3 ppg this season. Adams remains the top performer in the scoring department with his 16.3 ppg, followed by Darger and Terry with 11.5 and 10.6 ppg, respectively. Although, Rougeau (9.0 ppg) has brought inspiring efforts of late and is now the top rebounder with almost six boards per tilt.

Unwilling to let another team come into the Thomas & Mack Center and push them around, expect to see a tighter group of Rebels tonight as they bounce back from a weak defensive effort.

Predicted Outcome

UNLV 74, Utah 68