OMAHA, Neb. — Appropriately, it was Frank Robinson — a basketball player with a famous baseball name — who got carried away.

Given Cal State Fullerton's baseball history in this town — 15 College World Series berths, and titles in 1979, 1984, 1995 and 2004 — Robinson, a senior guard, knew someone would ask the 14th-seeded Titans about it Wednesday on the eve of their first NCAA men's basketball tournament game in 30 years. Cal State Fullerton will square off against the No. 3-seeded University of Wisconsin Thursday in a Midwest Regional first-round game at the Qwest Center.

"I think it's a sign of good luck, us coming down here," Robinson said. "They (the baseball team) come down here and they win a lot. I think if we can pull out a couple of wins, it will show that we own Omaha."

Robinson was laughing as he said that, but his coach, Bob Burton, wasn't when told of Robinson's one-liner. The last thing Burton wanted was bulletin board fodder for the Badgers.

"If we can get a couple of wins,"' Burton said in disbelief. "Frank better not be thinking about 'a couple games.' Frank better be thinking about the first half (against Wisconsin)."

Vegas' recipe for UW

UNLV coach Lon Kruger and his eighth-seeded Runnin' Rebels have more pressing concerns — namely, beating ninth-seeded Kent State today, followed by a potential second-round date with top-seeded Kansas — but they also did Cal State Fullerton and UW's possible second-round opponents, USC and Kansas State, a favor by providing something of a blueprint last year of how to beat UW.

The Runnin' Rebels' 74-68 second-round victory over the second-seeded Badgers at the United Center in Chicago last March gave UNLV its first Sweet 16 since reaching the 1991 Final Four.

In that game, UNLV shot 46.2 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from 3-point range (10 of 20) and committed only nine turnovers.

"Wisconsin is great at doing the little things very well," said Kruger, whose Runnin' Rebels are back in the NCAA tournament despite losing five seniors, including four starters, from last year's team. "They get good shots every time down the floor. They're very sound defensively. You just have to battle like crazy, because you know Wisconsin is going to. And you just can't give away possessions. You have to be very efficient on your end (offensively).

"They're just hard to beat."

'Good luck' vs. Titans

When USC coach Tim Floyd bumped into UW coach Bo Ryan in the hallway Wednesday afternoon, he had a warning for Ryan regarding UW's first-round matchup with Cal State Fullerton.

"I had never met Bo Ryan, I just met him, and I said, 'Good luck,' " said Floyd, whose Trojans had a closed preseason scrimmage against the Titans. "I said, 'They beat us (by) 22 in a scrimmage early in the year. So they're a good team. A good team.' And Bo knows that."