1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball Basketball none 1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels UNLV Wordmark Logo 1983-1997.jpeg 150 Big West Conference Big West 1 1 34–1 18–0 Jerry Tarkanian 18th Tim Grgurich 10th Ron Ganulin 4th Ron Adams 1st Thomas and Mack Center NCAA Division I regular season championsBig West tournament championsBig West Regular Season Champions NCAA men's Division I tournament Final Four 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 were the last team to finish the regular season unbeaten before St. Joseph's did it in 2004. They were also the only team since Indiana State in 1979 to enter the NCAA tournament after completing a perfect regular season and winning their postseason conference title until Wichita State did it in 2014. The team played its home games in the Thomas & Mack Center, and was a member of the Big West Conference. UNLV’s Final Four loss in the NCAA tournament brought an end to their astounding 45-game win streak. That is the fourth-longest consecutive-game win streak in NCAA Division I basketball history, and the longest win streak since the longest one ever (by UCLA) ended in 1974.https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-01-19/longest-winning-streaks-college-basketball-history The longest winning streaks in college basketball history | NCAA.com www.ncaa.com They are often called the greatest college basketball team to not win the championship.2021-04-02 'They need to go to the NBA': UNLV's 45-game win streak was historic, and its end was shocking https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/31172232/the-1990-91-unlv-runnin-rebels-were-best-team-not-win-college-basketball-national-title 2023-09-17 ESPN.com en Roster 1990 UNLV Runnin' Rebels y Larry Johnson 4 F 6 7 250 Sr y basketball, born 1969 Dallas, TX Anderson Hunt 12 G 6 1 180 Jr y Detroit, MI Travis Bice 13 G 6 4 155 Jr Simi Valley, CA Bryan Emerzian 15 G 5 11 160 Jr Waukegan, IL Elmore Spencer 24 C 7 0 265 Jr y Atlanta, GA Dave Rice 30 G 6 4 205 Sr y basketball Claremont, CA Stacey Augmon 32 F 6 8 210 Sr y Pasadena, CA Barry Young 33 G/F 6 7 200 Sr Ellicott City, MD George Ackles 44 F/C 6 9 210 Sr y y Pittsburgh, PA Greg Anthony 50 G 6 0 175 Sr y Las Vegas, NV Chris Jeter 53 F 6 8 215 Sr San Diego, CA Sean Watkins G So   Byron Wesley F Sr   Dan Bisek G Sr   H Waldman G 6 3 195 Fr y Las Vegas, NV Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State) 1990-91 UNLV Roster and Stats Schedule and results yes yes |- !colspan=12 style=UNLV Runnin' Rebels| Regular Season Dec 1, 1990 yes yes 1 1990 men UAB Blazers UAB BC Place Vancouver, BC 109–68 Johnson 26         7,963 1–0 Dec 7, 1990 yes yes 1 1990 men Nevada Wolf Pack Nevada Lawlor Events Center Reno, NV 131–81             11,090 2–0 Dec 15, 1990 yes yes 1 Michigan State 21 The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, MI 95–75 Johnson 35         21,454 3–0 Dec 19, 1990 yes 1 Princeton 25 Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 69–35             17,778 4–0 Dec 22, 1990 yes 1 Florida State Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 101–69             17,133 5–0 Dec 30, 1990 yes 1 1990 men Pacific Tigers Pacific Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, CA 92–72             6,150 6–0 1–0 Jan 2, 1991 yes yes 1 1990 men James Madison Dukes James Madison Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 89–65             17,473 7–0 Jan 4, 1991 1 1990 men Cal State Fullerton Titans Cal State Fullerton Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 98–67             18,995 8–0 2–0 Jan 7, 1991 1 1990 men San Jose State Spartans San Jose State Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 95–63             17,718 9–0 3–0 Jan 9, 1991 1 1990 men Utah State Aggies Utah State Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 124–93             18,792 10–0 4–0 Jan 12, 1991 yes 1 1990 men Fresno State Bulldogs Fresno State Selland Arena Fresno, CA 117–91             10,159 11–0 5–0 Jan 17, 1991 yes 1 UC Irvine Bren Events Center Irvine, CA 117–76             5,005 12–0 6–0 Jan 19, 1991 1 1990 men Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 114–63             19,444 13–0 7–0 Jan 21, 1991 yes 1 1990 men UC Santa Barbara Gauchos UC Santa Barbara The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA 88–71             6,000 14–0 8–0 Jan 26, 1991 yes yes 1 Louisville Freedom Hall Louisville, KY 97–85             19,465 15–0 Jan 28, 1991 yes 1 Utah State Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, UT 126–83             9,797 16–0 9–0 Jan 31, 1991 yes 1 San Jose State The Event Center San Jose, CA 88–64             4,867 17–0 10–0 Feb 3, 1991 yes 1 Rutgers Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 115–73             18,954 18–0 Feb 7, 1991 1 Fresno State Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 113–64             18,883 19–0 11–0 Feb 10, 1991 yes yes 1 Arkansas 2 Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, AR 112–105U.N.L.V. Perks Up To Pass a Big Test https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/11/sports/unlv-perks-up-to-pass-a-big-test.html The New York Times February 11, 1991 February 22, 2020The Sun-Sentinel https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1991-02-11-9101080128-story.html No. 1 UNLV Makes Arkansas Look 2nd-Rate February 10, 1991 March 21, 2023 Augmon 31 Johnson 14 Anthony 10 9,640 20–0 Feb 14, 1991 1 UC Santa Barbara Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 98–71             19,147 21–0 12–0 Feb 16, 1991 1 New Mexico State 12 Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 86–74             18,902 22–0 13–0 Feb 18, 1991 yes 1 Long Beach State Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA 122–75             12,007 23–0 14–0 Feb 21, 1991 1 Pacific Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 80–59             19,568 24–0 15–0 Feb 23, 1991 1 UC Irvine Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV 114–86             19,826 25–0 16–0 Feb 25, 1991 yes 1 New Mexico State 15 Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM 86–74Streak Reaches 37 as UNLV Cruises By New Mexico State https://www.deseret.com/1991/2/26/18907611/streak-reaches-37-as-unlv-cruises-by-new-mexico-state Deseret News February 26, 1991 May 17, 2020 Augmon 24         13,007 26–0 17–0 Mar 2, 1991 yes 1 Cal State Fullerton Titan Gym Fullerton, CA 104–83             4,032 27–0 18–0 |- !colspan=12 style=UNLV Runnin' Rebels| Big West tournament Mar 8, 1991 yes yes 1 1 Long Beach State 8 Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA Quarterfinals 49–29             11,760 28–0 Mar 9, 1991 yes yes 1 1 UC Santa Barbara 5 Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA Semifinals 95–66             11,283 29–0 Mar 10, 1991 yes yes 1 1 Fresno State 7 Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA Championship 98–74             11,045 30–0 |- !colspan=12 style=UNLV Runnin' Rebels| NCAA Tournament Mar 15, 1991 yes yes 1 1 W Montana 16 W McKale Center Tucson, AZ First Round 99–65 Johnson 23 Johnson 9 Anthony 9 13,367 31–0 Mar 17, 1991 yes yes 1 1 W Georgetown 8 W McKale Center Tucson, AZ Second Round 62–54UNLV takes slow road past Hoyas Runnin' Rebels win, 62-54, but fast break is missing The Baltimore Sun https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/03/18/unlv-takes-slow-road-past-hoyas-runnin-rebels-win-62-54-but-fast-break-is-missing/ March 18, 1991 April 19, 2019 Johnson 20 Tied 10 Anthony 4 13,497 32–0 March 21, 1991 yes yes 1 1 W Utah 10 4 W Kingdome Seattle, WA Sweet Sixteen CBS 83–66 Johnson 23 Johnson 13 Anthony 10 22,628 33–0 March 23, 1991 yes yes 1 1 W Seton Hall 13 3 W Kingdome Seattle, WA Elite Eight CBS 77–65Rebels Run By Seton Hall to Final Four https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-24-sp-1491-story.html Los Angeles Times March 24, 1991 May 17, 2020 34–0 Johnson 30 Johnson 6 Anthony 11 23,666 March 30, 1991 yes yes 1 1 W Duke 6 2 MW RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN Final Four CBS 77–79Duke Exacts Revenge on UNLV, 79-77 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/memories/final4/articles/semi91a.htm?noredirect=on The Washington Post March 31, 1991 May 23, 2019 34–1 Hunt 29 Johnson 13 Anthony 6 47,100 AP Poll Pacific W West Sources 1990–91 UNLV Schedule and Results https://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/MBB1/B/Men's%20Basketball_Men's_Division%20I_1991_465_University%20of%20Nevada,%20Las%20Vegas.pdf 1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball stats NCAA Career Statistics Rankings 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings AP 0 16 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Coaches 0 16 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 987–988 2009 978-0-345-51392-2https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/seasons/1991-polls.html 1990-91 College Basketball Polls Sports Reference March 18, 2018 Awards and honors Larry Johnson – Naismith College Player of the Year,http://www.naismithawards.com/History/NaismithTrophy/tabid/58/Default.aspx Naismith Awards - Naismith Trophy 2009-03-13 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090302160347/http://www.naismithawards.com/History/NaismithTrophy/tabid/58/Default.aspx 2009-03-02 USBWA College Player of the Year,http://www.oscarrobertsontrophy.org/content/view/14/17/ The Oscar Robertson Trophy - Past Oscar Robertson Trophy Winners 2008-06-11 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080611112656/http://www.oscarrobertsontrophy.org/content/view/14/17/ 2008-06-11 John R. Wooden Awardhttp://woodenaward.cstv.com/ot/award-winners.html Wooden Award - Athletics 2009-04-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20090413170924/http://woodenaward.cstv.com/ot/award-winners.html 2009-04-13 dead Stacey Augmon – NABC Defensive Player of the Year (3) Team players drafted into the NBA 2 UNLV Runnin' Rebels 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 Clippers1991 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1991 https://web.archive.org/web/20100117121521/http://databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1991&lg=n 2010-01-17 usurped 2009-07-04 References 2 Unlv Category:UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Unlv Unlv Unlv