1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team
The 1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1990–91 season. The Runnin' Rebels, coached by Jerry Tarkanian, entered the season as defending national champions and entered the 1991 NCAA tournament unbeaten, but lost in the national semifinal to eventual champions Duke when Anderson Hunt's desperation three in the final seconds bounced off the backboard and into the hands of a Duke player, Bobby Hurley, ending a 45-game winning streak that dated back to the previous season. They had been the last team to finish the regular season unbeaten before St. Joseph's did it in 2004. They were the last team to enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten until Wichita State did it in 2014 and Kentucky in 2015.
1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball | |
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Big West Tournament Champions Big West Regular Season Champions | |
Conference | Big West Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 1 |
1990–91 record | 34–1 (18–0 Big West) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | Thomas and Mack Center |
1990–91 Big West men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 UNLV | 18 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 34 | – | 1 | .971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 15 New Mexico State | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 23 | – | 6 | .793 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pacific | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 14 | – | 15 | .483 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UC Santa Barbara | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 14 | – | 15 | .483 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Utah State | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 11 | – | 17 | .393 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cal State Fullerton | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 14 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fresno State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 16 | .467 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Long Beach State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 11 | – | 17 | .393 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UC Irvine | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 11 | – | 19 | .367 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
San Jose State | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 7 | – | 20 | .259 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† 1991 Big West Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
The team played its home games in the Thomas & Mack Center, and was a member of the Big West Conference; it would join the Western Athletic Conference in 1996 and become a charter member of its current conference, the Mountain West Conference, in 1999.
The nickname "Runnin' Rebels" is unique to men's basketball at UNLV. The default nickname for men's sports teams at the school is simply "Rebels", while all women's teams are known as "Lady Rebels".
Roster
1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
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Regular Season | |||||||||||
Dec 1, 1990* |
No. 1 | vs. Alabama-Birmingham | W 109–68 | 1–0 |
26 – Johnson | – | – | Vancouver, BC | |||
Dec 7, 1990* |
No. 1 | at Nevada | W 131–81 | 2–0 |
– | – | – | Lawlor Events Center Reno, NV | |||
Dec 15, 1990* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 21 Michigan State | W 95–75 | 3–0 |
35 – Johnson | – | – | The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, MI | |||
Dec 19, 1990* |
No. 1 | No. 25 Princeton | W 69–35 | 4–0 |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Dec 22, 1990* |
No. 1 | Florida State | W 101–69 | 5–0 |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Dec 30, 1990 |
No. 1 | at Pacific | W 92–72 | 6–0 (1–0) |
– | – | – | Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, CA | |||
Jan 2, 1991* |
No. 1 | at James Madison | W 89–65 | 7–0 |
– | – | – | JMU Convocation Center Harrisonburg, VA | |||
Jan 4, 1991 |
No. 1 | Cal State Fullerton | W 98–67 | 8–0 (2–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Jan 7, 1991 |
No. 1 | San Jose State | W 95–63 | 9–0 (3–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Jan 9, 1991 |
No. 1 | Utah State | W 124–93 | 10–0 (4–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Jan 12, 1991 |
No. 1 | at Fresno State | W 117–91 | 11–0 (5–0) |
– | – | – | Selland Arena Fresno, CA | |||
Jan 17, 1991 |
No. 1 | at UC Irvine | W 117–76 | 12–0 (6–0) |
– | – | – | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | |||
Jan 19, 1991 |
No. 1 | Long Beach State | W 114–63 | 13–0 (7–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Jan 21, 1991 |
No. 1 | at UC Santa Barbara | W 88–71 | 14–0 (8–0) |
– | – | – | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA | |||
Jan 26, 1991* |
No. 1 | at Louisville | W 97–85 | 15–0 |
– | – | – | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY | |||
Jan 28, 1991 |
No. 1 | at Utah State | W 126–83 | 16–0 (9–0) |
– | – | – | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, UT | |||
Jan 31, 1991 |
No. 1 | at San Jose State | W 88–64 | 17–0 (10–0) |
– | – | – | The Event Center San Jose, CA | |||
Feb 3, 1991* |
No. 1 | Rutgers | W 115–73 | 18–0 |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Feb 7, 1991 |
No. 1 | Fresno State | W 113–64 | 19–0 (11–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Feb 10, 1991* |
No. 1 | at No. 2 Arkansas | W 112–105[1] | 20–0 |
31 – Augmon | 14 – Johnson | 10 – Anthony | Barnhill Arena (9,640) Fayetteville, AR | |||
Feb 14, 1991 |
No. 1 | UC Santa Barbara | W 98–71 | 21–0 (12–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Feb 16, 1991 |
No. 1 | No. 12 New Mexico State | W 86–74 | 22–0 (13–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Feb 18, 1991 |
No. 1 | at Long Beach State | W 122–75 | 23–0 (14–0) |
– | – | – | The Gold Mine Long Beach, CA | |||
Feb 21, 1991 |
No. 1 | Pacific | W 80–59 | 24–0 (15–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Feb 23, 1991 |
No. 1 | UC Irvine | W 114–86 | 25–0 (16–0) |
– | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV | |||
Feb 25, 1991 |
No. 1 | at No. 15 New Mexico State | W 86–74[2] | 26–0 (17–0) |
24 – Augmon | – | – | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM | |||
Mar 2, 1991 |
No. 1 | at Cal State Fullerton | W 104–83 | 27–0 (18–0) |
– | – | – | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA | |||
Big West Tournament | |||||||||||
Mar 8, 1991* |
No. 1 | at Long Beach State Big West Tournament Quarterfinal |
W 49–29 | 28–0 |
– | – | – | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA | |||
Mar 9, 1991* |
No. 1 | vs. UC Santa Barbara Big West Tournament Semifinal |
W 95–66 | 29–0 |
– | – | – | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA | |||
Mar 10, 1991* |
No. 1 | vs. Fresno State Big West Tournament Championship |
W 98–74 | 30–0 |
– | – | – | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA | |||
NCAA Tournament | |||||||||||
Mar 15, 1991* |
(1 W) No. 1 | vs. (16 W) Montana First Round – West Regional |
W 99–65 | 31–0 |
23 – Johnson | 9 – Johnson | 9 – Anthony | McKale Center Tucson, AZ | |||
Mar 17, 1991* |
(1 W) No. 1 | vs. Georgetown Second Round – West Regional |
W 62–54[3] | 32–0 |
20 – Johnson | 10 – Tied | 4 – Anthony | McKale Center Tucson, AZ | |||
March 21, 1991* CBS |
(1 W) No. 1 | vs. No. 10 Utah Sweet Sixteen – West Regional Semifinal |
W 83–66 | 33–0 |
23 – Johnson | 13 – Johnson | 10 – Anthony | Kingdome Seattle, WA | |||
March 23, 1991* CBS |
(1 W) No. 1 | vs. No. 13 Seton Hall Elite Eight – West Regional Final |
W 77–65[4] | 34–0 |
30 – Johnson | 6 – Johnson | 11 – Anthony | Kingdome Seattle, WA | |||
March 30, 1991* CBS |
(1 W) No. 1 | vs. No. 6 Duke Final Four – National Semifinal |
L 77–79[5] | 34–1 |
29 – Hunt | 13 – Johnson | 6 – Anthony | RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN | |||
Rankings
Week | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final | ||||
AP | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Coaches | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Awards and honors
Team players drafted into the NBA
Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
1991 | 1 | 1 | Larry Johnson | Charlotte Hornets |
1991 | 1 | 9 | Stacey Augmon | Atlanta Hawks |
1991 | 1 | 12 | Greg Anthony | New York Knicks |
1991 | 2 | 29 | George Ackles | Miami Heat |
1992 | 1 | 25 | Elmore Spencer | Los Angeles Clippers |
References
- "U.N.L.V. Perks Up To Pass a Big Test". The New York Times. February 11, 1991. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- "Streak Reaches 37 as UNLV Cruises By New Mexico State". Deseret News. February 26, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- "UNLV takes slow road past Hoyas Runnin' Rebels win, 62-54, but fast break is missing". The Baltimore Sun. March 18, 1991. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- "Rebels Run By Seton Hall to Final Four". Los Angeles Times. March 24, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- "Duke Exacts Revenge on UNLV, 79-77". The Washington Post. March 31, 1991. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
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- ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 987–988. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- "1990-91 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2009-04-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "1991 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-07-04.