Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

The UNLV basketball team has been ranked as one of the nation’s best programs in game shoes. Seriously.

Nice Kicks, a website that sells shoes, released its top 10 teams of the first semester. No, this had nothing to do with the No. 20-ranked Rebels’ performance on the court. It’s all about those Nike shoes.

The site gives UNLV an "A" grade for the semester and ranks it No. 2. And, how about this irony? UNLV’s Mountain West Conference rival San Diego State is ranked No. 1 and received an "A+" grade. Duke received a "B" grade and is ranked No. 5.

Here’s a sample of what caught the eye of Nice Kicks: “Air Jordan's seem to be the team’s favorite shoe. Anthony Bennett has even rocked two different Jordan's in the same game when he wore the Air Jordan 3 'Stealth' and Air Jordan 12 'Flu Game' a few weeks ago. He holds down the kicks inside, and guard Justin Hawkins has the perimeter sneakers on lock. Hawkins has worn the Air Jordan 9 'Johnny Kilroy' and Nike Zoom Rookie 'Matte Red.' His shining moment, and the best kicks worn this season, came when he broke out the Air Jordan 9 'Doernbecher' the day they dropped in a November 30 game against University of Hawaii.”

Here is the rest of the article.

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Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.