LAS VEGAS -- None of the Utah Utes needed to watch UNLV storm back to stomp Brigham Young the other night to know that they will face just as big a challenge as ever when they meet the Rebels today at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"They have such a good swagger when they play at home," forward Shaun Green said. "They're a tough team."

History has taught them that much.

While the 12-6 Utes have enjoyed the unexpected pleasure of occupying first place in the Mountain West Conference ahead of the 15-4 Rebels, they have not beaten the two-time defending league tournament champions on their home floor in nearly four years. It's a span that includes five straight losses in the regular season as well as the tournament - one bad, some painfully close - and whose end might be required for the Utes to remain atop the league standings.

"We've played well down there, but we haven't won," coach Jim Boylen said. "And we're going down there to win and to play team basketball."

The Utes were reasonably close in both of their meetings with the Rebels last season, their first under Boylen. But each time, they were undone by allowing big three-point shots and crucial offensive rebounds - creating an obvious focus for the latest visit.

"We have to rebound," forward Carlon Brown said. "That's what they beat us on last year. . . . and we have to run. I don't think we did a good job last year running. If we can run and make that pressure defense fold in the beginning, I think it's going to be good for the rest of the game, so we can get it to Luke [Nevill] and we should be fine."

The Rebels remain something of a mystery.

Led by league player of the year candidate Wink Adams, they were widely expected to challenge again for the league title, yet stunned the rest of the league by losing to TCU and Colorado State in back-to-back games. Both games were on the road, however, and the Rebs made just as many headlines with their stunning comeback win at BYU that snapped its 25-game league winning streak at home.

"They're the team that beat BYU, definitely," Green said, "especially when they're playing at home."

The Rebels are 47-5 at home in the regular season since the 2005-06 season, and Boylen believes that "any win on the road in this league is huge."

In fact, he figures winning on the road will be so difficult that "you're going to see a road win mean maybe double what it has" in past seasons, especially against tough teams like the Rebels.

"What we have to do is make them earn everything they get," he said.