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I'm not sure how this works for Nevada.
Apparently, you can win 15 consecutive games like the Wolf Pack have; you can be like Nevada and dominate the Western Athletic Conference; you can have one surefire NBA player on your roster and at least one other prospect; and you can look like the best, most athletic and most explosive team that the WAC has produced in years — then, you can be ignored.
No writers or talking heads singing your praises, no bloggers going crazy over the potential, and no mention of what is shaping up to be a great team on ESPN.com's initial bubble watch. No Top 25 ranking.
But the Wolf Pack (18-3, 7-0 WAC) are real. I'm here to pass that message along to any friendly potential BCS school with the misfortune of matching up with David Carter's crew in March, assuming Nevada gets there, of course.
This is a team with a future professional point guard in Deonte Burton. A top-notch big man in Dario Hunt, a shooter in Malik Story and a versatile low-post threat in Olek Czyz. This is a team with length, size and the athletes to match up with anyone.
And it's a team that's been ignored for over a month.
"We've been in this same position before and it doesn't seem right," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "They've had a very good schedule and when you've won 15 straight, people should be aware of it at this point. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of negatives with the way they're playing. It's too bad. It's too bad that more people aren't aware of them."
This isn't the case of a team feasting on a poor schedule. Nevada has beaten Washington. The Wolf Pack have beaten Arizona State on the road, although the Sun Devils have been horrid this season. Being smacked around by BYU has hurt their profile nationally and regionally, but this team has been dominant recently.
And unlike Utah State of the last few seasons (sorry, Aggie fans), this team is equipped to make a run in the postseason. Burton may be one of the best point guards the nation hasn't heard about, but he's been flying up NBA draft boards. He's a pure scorer, a shooter who can also get to the basket.
"He's having a great year," Morrill said. "He's the best player in the conference."
The criteria for a run through the NCAA Tournament have always seemed clear: Get one star, a shooter and a big body who can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. Nevada has all three.
If there's a potential downfall for the Wolf Pack, it's the fact that they don't have much quality depth and they don't have a suitable backup for Burton, which could hurt if he ever got into foul trouble.
But if Nevada stays healthy, and wins the depth battle, this is a team with the talent to win every game in the WAC, and then make a run in the NCAA Tournament.