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It's not much consolation, but at least after a 56-50 loss on Wednesday night, UNLV gets to join a sizable club.
It includes Tennessee, Northern Iowa, Alabama and many more — the teams that have fallen on the road to Wichita State.
The Shockers boast a 35-game winning streak between their two courts at Charles Koch Arena on campus and the Intrust Bank Arena downtown, where the Runnin' Utes (7-1) will meet them Saturday afternoon.
Expect a roaring sea of black and yellow, signs and big-head cutouts to try to make the game as difficult as possible for the Utes. Huntsman Center fans did it for Wichita State last year, in a 69-68 overtime win that established Utah as a serious program — so the Shockers wouldn't mind paying them back.
"That's why Fred [VanVleet] and I came back, definitely for moments like these," senior guard Ron Baker told The Tribune in an interview. "We have some big-time teams coming through here, and these are the games Fred and I wanted to play to make this year special."
Wichita's streak is third-best in the nation. The Shockers haven't lost in Wichita since 2013, in a conference game against Evansville.
It's been accomplished chiefly through suffocating defense. Most of the games haven't been terribly close. The last team to even score 70 points or more was Davidson on Dec. 29, 2013.
To hear the Shockers tell it, the home-court streak doesn't add any pressure: When they get in front of their fans, they simple surge.
"I think the success that we've enjoyed at home has given us confidence," coach Gregg Marshall said. "There's no way you can play in Charles Koch Arena, in front of our fans, and not have a boost in adrenaline."
The Utes can appreciate a good dose of home-court advantage: They're enjoying it themselves with 25 straight home wins over nonconference opponents. Utah has beaten San Diego State and BYU at the Huntsman Center this season. The only game the Utes lost at home last year was to ranked Arizona.
But the flip side is Utah has been less consistent on the road, dating back several seasons. Last year, the Utes were 7-6 in road games. Utah hasn't played a true road game this year, but its three neutral-court games in Puerto Rico rank as the three least efficient offensive performances of the season, by points per possession.
"It's going to be a huge goal for us this weekend to go out in a real hostile environment, have a road mentality, and know you have to be tougher in a lot of areas," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "If you are really dependent on your home crowd and your home environment, you might be a good team but you're never going to be a really good team."
Utah might not have won last year without a little home-court help: In the overtime matchup, Utah missed a lot of free throws that otherwise might've sealed the game, but so did VanVleet, WSU's oft steady-handed leader. Utah's triumph cut short another heralded Shocker streak: They had won 35 straight regular-season games headed into the matchup.
Baker, WSU's leading scorer, thinks with VanVleet back from an injury and the fans at the team's back, this year's match could end a little differently.
"We really enjoy playing here," he said. "It's just more of a comfort level for us."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
No. 25 Utah at Wichita State
P Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MST
TV • ESPN2