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Nevada-Las Vegas to tangle with Georgia Tech

Mar 16, 2007 - 1:49 PM Georgia Tech (20-11) at UNLV (28-6) 12:25 pm EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Nevada-Las Vegas is hoping seven remains a lucky number.

The seventh-seeded Rebels bring a seven-game winning streak into their NCAA Tournament opener. UNLV will take on 10th-seeded Georgia Tech on Friday in a Midwest Region first-round matchup.

The Mountain West Conference tournament champion, UNLV (28-6) is making its first NCAA appearance since 2000, when it won its first MWC tourney title. Seeded 10th that spring, the Runnin' Rebels lost in the first round to seventh-seeded Tulsa, 89-62.

It is the highest seed for a Runnin' Rebel squad since the 1990-91 team was a No. 1 before eventually losing in the Final Four.

Coach Lon Kruger is the fifth man in college basketball history to take four different schools to the NCAAs. Kruger is making his 10th career trip to the Big Dance and holds an all-time record of 11-9 with Kansas State, Florida and Illinois.

The Rebels are led by the guard trio of sophomore Jo'Van "Wink" Adams, senior Wendell White and senior Kevin Kruger, each of whom averages better than 13 points. Kruger was also named conference tournament Most Valuable Player while senior center Joel Anthony was named MWC Defensive Player of the Year.

Georgia Tech (20-11) earned an at-large bid to the Tournament despite its seventh-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference. It has won seven of 10 games since the beginning of February.

The Yellow Jackets are in the NCAAs for the fourth time in seven seasons under coach Paul Hewitt and the 14th time since 1985. A national finalist in 2004, Georgia Tech has won at least one game in 10 of its 14 NCAA appearances.

The freshman duo of guard Javaris Crittenton and forward Thaddeus Young lead the Yellow Jackets in scoring at 14.6 points per game apiece.

The winner will likely play second-seeded Wisconsin in Sunday's second round.