The UNLV Runnin' Rebels Are "The Perfect Mountain West Team"

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team is by far the most perplexing team in the Mountain West Conference. They beat great teams, lose to bad teams, and it doesn't seem to matter when or where the games are.

UNLV had just suffered through a four-game losing streak, and now they are in the midst of a big three-game winning streak. They will be looking to extend their winning streak this week against the Colorado State Rams, followed by the Air Force Falcons.

With all the ups and downs the Rebels have seen this season, it has been tough to get a real handle on them and nearly impossible to rank them. However, that hasn't stopped Matt Hanifan of Mountain West Connection from releasing their weekly Mountain West power rankings. This is what they had to say about the Rebels and Colorado State, who they will play next on their schedule on Wednesday night.

Mountain West Connection On Their No. 6 Ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels

"As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes UNLV is the perfect Mountain West team because you never know what you’re quite getting each night. They conjured together a miraculous three-point overtime win over Boise this week, completing their season-sweep over the Broncos — both barn burners that ended beyond regulation. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who leads the MW in scoring, scored a career-high 36 points on 13-of-22 shooting and 6-of-12 from 3-point range in the overtime win."

Mountain West Conference On Their No. 8 Ranked Colorado State Rams

"Winners of three-straight, Colorado State moved to 6-8 in MW action with their 11-point win over Wyoming. Jase Butler scored a career-high 18 points, courtesy of getting to the free-throw line 12 times (11 makes), with six dimes and three steals in 30 minutes. CSU’s two wins over Air Force and Wyoming were two of its better offensive performances in MW play, shooting a combined 57.8 percent from the floor and 20-of-39 from beyond the arc."

This is where the Rebels have to be ranked. In the middle of the power rankings at No. 6. It's the same place where they sit in the standings. With just four games left in the regular season, they could still legitimately climb into the top three or four, or fall down to the double-digits near the bottom of the rankings. It's been a crazy year for the Rebels, and we are very interested to see how they finish this last stretch of the season heading into the Mountain West tournament.

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