John Locher/Associated Press

University of New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens (left) scrambles for a loose ball with UNLV's Marcus Lawrence during their Mountain West Conference game. The Lobos dropped their second straight game, losing 79-60 to the Rebels on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

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Is it too soon to crown the UNLV Rebels the champions of the Mountain West Conference tournament and give them the NCAA automatic bid?

Is it too soon to write the University of New Mexico Lobos men out of the NCAA tourney and hope they can somehow scratch their way into the National Invitation Tournament?

Is it too soon to howl that the MWC tourney should not be played on the Rebels' home court?

One thing that might not be premature to say is that if UNLV does lose in the MWC tournament March 12-15 in the Thomas & Mack Center, it won't be the Lobos who burst the Rebels' bubble.

The 79-60 hurt the Rebels inflicted upon the Lobos on Saturday in Las Vegas was a statement game.

It said there is no way in heck the Lobos can beat the Rebels in the Thomas & Mack.

The Rebels are too quick, too strong, too nasty for the boyish Lobos.

The Rebels toyed with UNM. They took the ball away from the Lobos almost at will in the first half and cruised to a 40-20 halftime lead.

The Rebels beat the Lobos by 19 points and didn't really shoot that well during the beating and looked almost bored at the game's end.

The Rebels are like this at home — well, most of the time.

The Lobos can brush a little egg off their face by remembering the Brigham Young team that toyed with UNM in Provo lost by 29 points in the Thomas & Mack.

If BYU and UNLV are the class of the league, as Lobos coach Steve Alford says they are, then maybe there is no team that can beat the Rebels on their home floor.

The Rebels' ripping of Lobos and Cougars reveal the edge UNLV has in Vegas. UNLV lost at Air Force and scrambled to win by three points at San Diego State. They beat UNM and BYU by a combined 48 points in Vegas.

Scary.

At home, the Rebels do not look like a team that lost four starters and the bulk of their inside game. They play well together. They are teamlike. They even show a little discipline on offense. Their defense is a mean, mother bear.

Junior guard Wink Adams scored 24 against UNM on Saturday. A few of the moves he put on the UNM defenders should have sent Lobos back onto the court at the game's end looking for lost undergarments.

The loss pushed 16-6 UNM into the fourth slot in the MWC standings at 3-4, tied with Utah and TCU. The MWC is one game away from the halfway mark.

Alford is right. UNLV and BYU appear to be the class of the league and sit atop the standings at 6-1. San Diego State is 5-2 and probably has the athletes to compete with UNLV and BYU.

The rest of the league is anywhere from average to very bad and very bad comes knocking on The Pit door Tuesday.

Colorado State is 0-7 in league and has lost 14 straight road games. The Rams have lost 12 of their past 13 games.

The Lobos should be eyeing the Rams the way Alford eyes an Italian suit marked down 50 percent.

This is almost a guaranteed win night for a Lobos team that has lost its past two games by an average of 18 points.

UNM seems to be approaching CSU with the right attitude.

"They are a great team," said UNM's Roman Martinez, obviously well tutored in the fine art of not providing bulletin-board material for the enemy. "We respect them.

"They almost beat UNLV (in Fort Collins, 65-62). No team in this conference is an easy game."

Maybe. But don't tell that to UNLV. And if the Lobos ever needed an easy game and a sure win, Tuesday is the time.

Said Lobo J.R. Giddens: ". . . whether it's by 20 points or two points, as long as it's a `W', we'll take it. We really need a `W.' "