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
Big West Tournament Champions
Big West Regular Season Champions
ConferenceBig West Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
1990–91 record34–1 (18–0 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThomas and Mack Center
1990–91 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 1 UNLV18–0 1.000  34–1  .971
No. 15 New Mexico State15–3 .833  23–6  .793
Pacific9–9 .500  14–15  .483
UC Santa Barbara8–10 .444  14–15  .483
Utah State8–10 .444  11–17  .393
Cal State Fullerton7–11 .389  14–14  .500
Fresno State7–11 .389  14–16  .467
Long Beach State7–11 .389  11–17  .393
UC Irvine6–12 .333  11–19  .367
San Jose State5–13 .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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
F 4 Larry Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)250 lb (113 kg) Sr Dallas, TX
G 12 Anderson Hunt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) Jr Detroit, MI
G 13 Travis Bice 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)155 lb (70 kg) Jr Simi Valley, CA
G 15 Bryan Emerzian 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)160 lb (73 kg) Jr Waukegan, IL
C 24 Elmore Spencer 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)265 lb (120 kg) Jr Atlanta, GA
G 30 Dave Rice 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) Sr Claremont, CA
F 32 Stacey Augmon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) Sr Pasadena, CA
G/F 33 Barry Young 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) Sr Ellicott City, MD
F/C 44 George Ackles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Pittsburgh, PA
G 50 Greg Anthony 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg) Sr Las Vegas, NV
F 53 Chris Jeter 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)215 lb (98 kg) Sr San Diego, CA
G Sean Watkins
—
—
 So  
F Byron Wesley
—
—
 Sr  
G Dan Bisek
—
—
 Sr  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Schedule and results
    Date
    time, TV    		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
    city, state
    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
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

    Sources

    Rankings
    Main article: 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
    NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
    Week
    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

    [6][7]

    Awards and honors

    Team players drafted into the NBA
    YearRoundPickPlayerNBA Team
    199111Larry JohnsonCharlotte Hornets
    199119Stacey AugmonAtlanta Hawks
    1991112Greg AnthonyNew York Knicks
    1991229George AcklesMiami Heat
    1992125Elmore SpencerLos Angeles Clippers

    [11]

    References
    1. "U.N.L.V. Perks Up To Pass a Big Test". The New York Times. February 11, 1991. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
    2. "Streak Reaches 37 as UNLV Cruises By New Mexico State". Deseret News. February 26, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
    3. "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.
    4. "Rebels Run By Seton Hall to Final Four". Los Angeles Times. March 24, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
    5. "Duke Exacts Revenge on UNLV, 79-77". The Washington Post. March 31, 1991. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
      • ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 987–988. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
    7. "1990-91 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
    8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2009-04-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    11. "1991 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
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