UNLV coach Lon Kruger tried downplaying his team’s home-court advantage in the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

The tournament is played at the Thomas and Mack Center every year regardless of UNLV’s regular-season record, a situation that is very rare in college basketball. Kruger, whose Rebels will play Air Force on Thursday night on the same court it plays all its home games, admitted he’d rather play the games in Las Vegas, but he said it isn’t like a normal home game.

“Teams travel well and fans travel well, so it’s not like a home crowd,” Kruger said.

Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds chuckled when he was told of that statement.

“No, I disagree with that. Totally,” Reynolds said. “I think seven other coaches other than myself would agree it’s a partisan crowd.”

That said, Mountain West coaches have learned to live with it. UNLV has an advantage, but the conference tried holding the tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver with little success. The tournament draws pretty well in Las Vegas.

“I don’t know where else we would take it that would draw and get the fan flavor we get,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said he isn’t worried about outside factors for Thursday’s game such as the late 9:30 p.m. Mountain time tipoff or the venue (“I’d love for it to be in Clune, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Reynolds quipped), although playing on UNLV’s home court presents a challenge for the Falcons.

“Any time you have a chance to dress in your own locker room and play on your home floor, it’s an advantage,” Reynolds said.

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