1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
Big West tournament champions
Big West regular season co-champions
ConferenceBig West Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record35–5 (16–2 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThomas & Mack Center
Seasons
1989–90 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 UNLV† 16 – 2   .889 35 – 5   .875
No. 24 New Mexico State 16 – 2   .889 26 – 5   .839
UC Santa Barbara 13 – 5   .722 21 – 9   .700
Long Beach State 12 – 6   .667 23 – 9   .719
Utah State 8 – 10   .444 14 – 16   .467
Pacific 7 – 11   .389 15 – 14   .517
Cal State Fullerton 6 – 12   .333 13 – 16   .448
San Jose State 5 – 13   .278 8 – 20   .286
Fresno State 4 – 14   .222 10 – 19   .345
UC Irvine 3 – 15   .167 5 – 23   .179
† 1990 Big West tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in the 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by 17th-year head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The team played its home games in the Thomas & Mack Center as a member of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 35–5, 16–2 in Big West play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Cal State Fullerton, Pacific, and Long Beach State to win the Big West tournament championship. As a result, the received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West region. They defeated Arkansas–Little Rock, Ohio State, Ball State, and Loyola Marymount to advance to the school's second Final Four in 4 years. In the Final Four, they defeated Georgia Tech to advance to the championship game where they defeated Duke for the school's only national championship.

Previous season

The Rebels finished the 1988–89 season 25–8, 16–2 in Big West play to win the regular season championship. They defeated UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, and New Mexico State to win the Big West tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the West region. They defeated Idaho, DePaul, and No. 1-seeded Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to Seton Hall.

Season summary

NCAA tournament

UNLV won three of its tournament games by 30 points, but got a scare from Ball State in the regional semifinal, winning by just two points.

In the 1990 Tournament -

  • UNLV at the time had the largest accumulated victory margin (112 points), over the entire tournament by a championship team that played 6 games. To date it is the sixth-largest.
  • UNLV's 103–73 win over Duke marked the first, (and to date, only), time in the history of the tournament that at least 100 points were scored in the championship game.[1]
  • UNLV's 571 points over six games set the record for most points scored by a single team in any one year of the tournament.[2]
  • UNLV is the only team in tournament history to average more than 95 points per game, over six games. In six tournament games, they won three by exactly 30 points, while scoring more than 100 points in each 30-point victory.[3]
  • UNLV and UCLA in 1965 are the only teams in tournament history to win three games all while scoring at least 100 points in each win. (Loyola Marymount also scored at least 100 points in three games in the 1990 tournament, but lost their last game, where they scored 101 points, to UNLV, by 30 points. UNLV also scored at least 100 points in three victories in the 1977 tournament, but their last one was in the Final Four consolation game.)[4]
  • UNLV's 30-point margin of victory in the championship game is also a tournament record.[5] ESPN called it the 36th "worst blowout in sports history".[6]
  • To date, UNLV remains the last team from a non-power conference (AAC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC) to win the national championship, since Louisville in 1986.[1] (Louisville was in The Metro Conference in 1986, which was considered a major basketball conference throughout its history, 1975 - 1995.)
  • The championship game was UNLV's eleventh-consecutive win. They would eventually run the win streak to an astounding 45 games. That is the fourth-longest win streak in NCAA Division 1 basketball history, and the longest win streak since the longest one ever (by UCLA) ended in 1974.[7]

(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

1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
C 00 David Butler 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Washington, D.C.
F 4 Larry Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Dallas, Texas
G 5 Stacey Cvijanovich 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Oxnard, California
G 12 Anderson Hunt 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 176 lb (80 kg) So Detroit, Michigan
G 13 Travis Bice 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 152 lb (69 kg) So Simi Valley, California
G 15 Bryan Emerzian 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Waukegan, Illinois
G 30 Dave Rice 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Claremont, California
F 32 Stacey Augmon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Jr Pasadena, California
F 33 Barry Young 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Jr Ellicott City, Maryland
C 34 James Jones 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Cincinnati, Ohio
F 35 Moses Scurry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Brooklyn, New York
F/C 44 George Ackles Injured 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
G 50 Greg Anthony 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Las Vegas, Nevada
F 53 Chris Jeter 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Jr San Diego, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

1989-90 UNLV Roster and StatsRebel-Net.com - Best of the 64 Era: The 1990 Runnin' Rebels [8]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
November 15, 1989*
 No. 1 Loyola Marymount
Preseason NIT 		W 102–91[9]  1–0
  26 – Hunt   16 – Johnson   12 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (13,430)
Las Vegas, NV
November 16, 1989*
 No. 1 California
Preseason NIT 		W 101–81[10]  2–0
  25 – Johnson   10 – Johnson   11 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (11,777)
Las Vegas, NV
November 22, 1989*
 No. 1 vs. Kansas
Preseason NIT Semifinal 		L 77–91  2–1
  21 – Hunt   9 – Tied   9 – Anthony  Madison Square Garden (10,546)
New York, NY
November 24, 1989*
 No. 1 vs. DePaul
Preseason NIT Consolation 		W 88–53[11]  3–1
  32 – Johnson   9 – Augmon   7 – Augmon  Madison Square Garden (15,116)
New York, NY
December 9, 1989*
 No. 5 at No. 12 Oklahoma L 81–89[12]  3–2
  29 – Johnson   14 – Johnson   4 – Tied  Lloyd Noble Center (11,700)
Norman, OK
December 16, 1989
 No. 14 at Pacific W 79–65  4–2
(1–0) 		 21 – Johnson   10 – Johnson   9 – Anthony  Alex G. Spanos Center (6,000)
Stockton, CA
December 23, 1989*
 No. 13 No. 16 Iowa W 97–80  5–2
  19 – Tied   8 – Johnson   7 – Hunt  Thomas & Mack Center (19,000)
Las Vegas, NV
December 26, 1989
 No. 12 Long Beach State W 78–58  6–2
(2–0) 		 17 – Johnson   14 – Johnson   8 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (18,600)
Las Vegas, NV
January 1, 1990*
 No. 12 No. 11 Arkansas W 101–93  7–2
  28 – Hunt   13 – Butler   11 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (18,853)
Las Vegas, NV
January 3, 1990
 No. 10 Cal State Fullerton W 94–66  8–2
(3–0) 		 28 – Hunt   10 – Tied   9 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (19,010)
Las Vegas, NV
January 6, 1990
 No. 10 at San Jose State W 100–80  9–2
(4–0) 		 19 – Butler   15 – Johnson   5 – Anthony  Event Center Arena (4,595)
San Jose, CA
January 8, 1990
 No. 10 at New Mexico State L 82–83  9–3
(4–1) 		 24 – Butler   11 – Butler   9 – Anthony  Pan American Center (12,719)
Las Cruces, NM
January 13, 1990*
 No. 7 at Temple W 82–76[13][14]  10–3
  26 – Johnson   12 – Johnson   7 – Augmon  The Spectrum (13,206)
Philadelphia, PA
January 15, 1990
 No. 7 at Fresno State W 84–75  11–3
(5–1) 		 28 – Johnson   13 – Butler   6 – Butler  Selland Arena (10,159)
Fresno, CA
January 18, 1990
 No. 9 UC Irvine W 103–67  12–3
(6–1) 		 20 – Johnson   9 – Johnson   8 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (18,632)
Las Vegas, NV
January 22, 1990
 No. 9 at Long Beach State W 86–77  13–3
(7–1) 		 30 – Johnson   12 – Johnson   5 – Tied  Long Beach Arena (7,438)
Long Beach, CA
January 25, 1990
 No. 5 UC Santa Barbara W 69–67  14–3
(8–1) 		 28 – Johnson   14 – Johnson   4 – Tied  Thomas & Mack Center (19,061)
Las Vegas, NV
January 28, 1990*
 No. 5 at No. 16 LSU L 105–107[15]  14–4
  31 – Hunt   9 – Tied   8 – Anthony  Maravich Assembly Center (14,072)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 1, 1990
 No. 12 Utah State W 124–90  15–4
(9–1) 		 34 – Augmon   16 – Johnson   9 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (18,000)
Las Vegas, NV
February 3, 1990*
 No. 12 NC State W 88–82[16][17]  16–4
  24 – Johnson   16 – Johnson   7 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (18,295)
Las Vegas, NV
February 5, 1990*
 No. 12 San Jose State W 105–69  17–4
(10–1) 		 18 – Johnson   16 – Johnson   9 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (17,666)
Las Vegas, NV
February 8, 1990
 No. 9 Pacific W 116–76  18–4
(11–1) 		 20 – Young   8 – Butler   7 – Cvijanovich  Thomas & Mack Center (17,685)
Las Vegas, NV
February 10, 1990*
 No. 9 Oklahoma State W 100–84  19–4
  23 – Scurry   15 – Johnson   10 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (18,780)
Las Vegas, NV
February 12, 1990
 No. 9 Fresno State W 69–64  20–4
(12–1) 		 23 – Johnson   14 – Johnson   6 – Hunt  Thomas & Mack Center (17,885)
Las Vegas, NV
February 15, 1990
 No. 7 No. 25 New Mexico State W 109–86[18]  21–4
(13–1) 		 31 – Hunt   13 – Johnson   6 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (18,790)
Las Vegas, NV
February 18, 1990*
 No. 7 No. 20 Arizona W 95–87[19]  22–4
  26 – Johnson   12 – Augmon   7 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (19,034)
Las Vegas, NV
February 22, 1990
 No. 4 at UC Irvine W 99–77  23–4
(14–1) 		 25 – Hunt   11 – Johnson   10 – Anthony  Bren Events Center (5,000)
Irvine, CA
February 24, 1990*
 No. 4 No. 16 Louisville W 91–81[20]  24–4
  22 – Johnson   15 – Johnson   9 – Anthony  Thomas & Mack Center (19,099)
Las Vegas, NV
February 26, 1990
 No. 4 at UC Santa Barbara L 70–78  24–5
(14–2) 		 18 – Anthony   9 – Butler   6 – Anthony  The Thunderdome (6,387)
Santa Barbara, CA
March 1, 1990
 No. 2 at Utah State W 84–82  25–5
(15–2) 		 31 – Johnson   12 – Butler   7 – Tied  Smith Spectrum (10,270)
Logan, UT
March 3, 1990
 No. 2 at Cal State Fullerton W 103–85  26–5
(16–2) 		 26 – Butler   12 – Johnson   10 – Hunt  Titan Gym (4,003)
Fullerton, CA
Big West tournament
March 8, 1990*
 (2) No. 3 (7) Cal State Fullerton
Quarterfinals 		W 115–93  27–5
  32 – Johnson   14 – Johnson   11 – Anthony  Long Beach Arena (9,025)
Long Beach, CA
March 9, 1990*
 (2) No. 3 (6) Pacific
Semifinals 		W 99–72  28–5
  20 – Johnson   9 – Augmon   10 – Anthony  Long Beach Arena (10,597)
Long Beach, CA
March 10, 1990*
 (2) No. 3 (5) Long Beach State
Championship 		W 92–74  29–5
  19 – Butler   15 – Johnson   7 – Anthony  Long Beach Arena (9,607)
Long Beach, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 15, 1990*
 CBS 		(1 W) No. 2 vs. (16 W) Arkansas–Little Rock
First Round 		W 102–72[21]  30–5
  16 – Augmon   12 – Johnson   5 – Tied  Jon M. Huntsman Center (11,809)
Salt Lake City, UT
March 17, 1990*
 CBS 		(1 W) No. 2 vs. (8 W) Ohio State
Second Round 		W 76–65[22]  31–5
  23 – Johnson   16 – Johnson   5 – Anthony  Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,896)
Salt Lake City, UT
March 23, 1990*
 CBS 		(1 W) No. 2 vs. (12 W) Ball State
Sweet Sixteen 		W 69–67[23][24]  32–5
  20 – Tied   13 – Johnson   9 – Anthony  Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena (14,262)
Oakland, CA
March 25, 1990*
 CBS 		(1 W) No. 2 vs. (11 W) No. 21 Loyola Marymount
Elite Eight 		W 131–101[25][26]  33–5
  33 – Augmon   18 – Johnson   13 – Hunt  Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena (14,298)
Oakland, CA
March 31, 1990*
 CBS 		(1 W) No. 2 vs. (4 SE) No. 9 Georgia Tech
Final Four 		W 90–81[27]  34–5
  22 – Augmon   10 – Butler   7 – Hunt  McNichols Sports Arena (17,675)
Denver, CO
April 2, 1990*
 CBS 		(1 W) No. 2 vs. (3 E) No. 9 Duke
National Championship 		W 103–73[28][29][30][31]  35–5
  29 – Hunt   11 – Johnson   7 – Augmon  McNichols Sports Arena (17,675)
Denver, CO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Sources Rebel-Net.com - Best of the 64 Era: The 1990 Runnin' Rebels1989-90 UNLV Schedule and Results[32] [33]

Rankings

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year Round Pick Player NBA Club
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

[35]

References

  1. ^ a b "Which is the only basketball team to have scored over 100 points in a NCAA championship game?". April 6, 2017.
  2. ^ "The Tournament" (PDF). NCAA. 2022. p. 93. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  3. ^ "The highest-scoring men's basketball games in NCAA March Madness history". Ncaa.com.
  4. ^ "The Tournament" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org. 2022.
  5. ^ "March Madness History". HISTORY.
  6. ^ "100 worst blowouts in history: Nos. 50-26". ESPN. September 15, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  7. ^ Wilco, Daniel (January 19, 2020). "The longest winning streaks in college basketball history". NCAA. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "1990 NCAA Final Four program". March 1990. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  9. ^ "No. 1 Rebels overcome Marymount". Las Vegas Sun. November 16, 1989. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  10. ^ "Rebels take their show to the big city". Las Vegas Sun. November 18, 1989. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  11. ^ "Rebels rise to the occasion". Las Vegas Sun. November 25, 1989. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "Stormin' in Norman: Sooners win 89-81". Las Vegas Sun. December 10, 1989. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  13. ^ "UNLV Repels Temple's Late Charge". Los Angeles Times. January 14, 1990. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  14. ^ "UNLV 82, Temple 76". UPI Archives. January 13, 1990. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  15. ^ "LSU 107, UNLV 105". United Press International. January 28, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  16. ^ "Rebels beat Wolfpack at own game". Las Vegas Sun. February 3, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  17. ^ "Rebels Forget Their Troubles, 88-82". Los Angeles Times. February 4, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  18. ^ "Aggies trail the Hunt, 109-86". Las Vegas Sun. February 15, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  19. ^ "Order on the court: Rebels win 95-87". Las Vegas Sun. February 18, 1990. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  20. ^ "Rebels don't get mad at Louisville, just even". Las Vegas Sun. February 24, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  21. ^ "UNLV 102, Arkansas-Little Rock 72". United Press International. March 15, 1990. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  22. ^ "UNLV 76, Ohio St. 65". United Press International. March 17, 1990. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  23. ^ "Rebels take the bounce out of Ball State, 69-67". Las Vegas Sun. March 23, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  24. ^ "U.N.L.V. Repels Ball State Rally, 69-67". The New York Times. March 24, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  25. ^ "Rebels roll to Final Four". Las Vegas Sun. March 25, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  26. ^ "Augmon Is Main Man for the Rebels". Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  27. ^ "UNLV Escapes Foul End, Downs Georgia Tech". The Washington Post. April 1, 1990. p. B1. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  28. ^ "Rebels rule NCAA". Las Vegas Sun. April 3, 1990. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  29. ^ "UNLV Takes Title Running Away". The Washington Post. April 3, 1990. p. B1. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  30. ^ "Nevada-Las Vegas 103, Duke 73". United Press International. April 2, 1990. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  31. ^ "U.N.L.V. Applies a Defensive Clamp and It Works". The New York Times. April 3, 1990. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  32. ^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
  33. ^ "1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.
  34. ^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  35. ^ "1991 NBA Draft". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
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