1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

Basketball season August 2023 March 2026 1990 File:NCAA primary logo 1980.svg UNLV Runnin' Rebels March 14 April 1, 1991 Hoosier Dome Indianapolis, Indiana Duke Blue Devils Stanford Cardinal Larry Johnson, UNLV Runnin' Rebels The 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1990 and ended with the Final Four at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 1, 1991. The Duke Blue Devils won their first NCAA national championship with a 72–65 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks. Season headlines The Patriot League began play, with seven original members. In a game on January 5, 1991, between two teams specializing in the fast-break offense, Kevin Bradshaw of U.S.International set a new NCAA record for points scored by a single player against an NCAA Division I opponent, scoring 72 points in a 186–140 loss to Loyola Marymount. Bradshaw broke LSU shooting guard Pete Maravich's record of 69 points, set in a February 1970 game against Alabama."72-Point Performance Erases Maravich's Record," The New York Times, January 7, 1991.https://www.espn.com/classic/s/add_Maravich_Pete.html#:~:text=Feb.,against%20a%20Division%20I%20opponent Maravich scored at will Carter Bob November 19, 2003 espn.com ESPN Classic August 30, 2024 In the 1991 NCAA tournament, a No. 15 seed defeated a No. 2 seed for the first time in tournament history, when Richmond topped Syracuse 73–69 in a first-round game.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 12 UNLV was the first team since the 1975–76 Indiana Hoosiers to enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten. The Runnin' Rebels reached 34–0 (and 45 straight wins dating to the previous season) before losing 79–77 to Duke in the national semifinals. Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State became the first head coach to take four different teams to the NCAA tournament. He had done it previously with Creighton in 1974, Arkansas in 1977, and Kentucky in 1986.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 13 North Carolina's Dean Smith became the first head coach to take a school to the NCAA tournament's Final Four in four different decades. He coached North Carolina to the Final Four 11 times between 1967 and 1997. Duke won its first national championship in its ninth (and fourth consecutive) Final Four appearance. The American South Conference disbanded at the end of the season. Major rule changes Beginning in 1990–91, the following rule changes were implemented: Players fouled in the act of shooting a missed three-pointer received three free throws instead of the previous two. Starting with the 10th team foul of each half, the fouled team receives two free throws, regardless of whether the foul was committed in the act of shooting (except for player control fouls). Season outlook Pre-season polls The top 25 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.*ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 976 2009 978-0-345-51392-2 Associated PressRankingTeam1 UNLV2 Arkansas3 Arizona4 Michigan State5 North Carolina6 Duke7 Alabama8 Indiana9 Georgetown10 Ohio State11 UCLA12 Pittsburgh13 Syracuse14 LSU15 1990 men Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma16 Georgia Tech17 Connecticut18 Virginia19 Temple20 Missouri21 Georgia22 Texas23 Louisville24 Southern Miss25 St. John's UPI CoachesRankingTeam1 UNLV2 Arizona3 Arkansas4 North Carolina5 Michigan State6 Duke7 Georgetown8 Indiana9 Alabama 10 UCLA 11 Ohio State12 1990 men Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma 13 LSU Connecticut15 Pittsburgh16 Syracuse17 Georgia Tech18 Southern Miss19 Virginia 20 Kansas21 Texas22 Louisville23 Georgia24 Temple25 Notre Dame Conference membership changes SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Akron Akron Zips NCAA Division I independent Mid-Continent Conference Army Army Cadets Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Patriot League Bucknell Bucknell Bison East Coast Conference Patriot League Cal State Northridge Cal State Northridge Matadors CCAA (D-II) NCAA Division I independent Central Connecticut State Central Connecticut State Blue Devils NCAA Division I independent East Coast Conference Central Florida Central Florida Knights American South Conference Colgate Colgate Raiders North Atlantic Conference Patriot League Davidson Davidson Wildcats NCAA Division I independent Big South Conference Fordham Fordham Rams Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Patriot League Hardin Simmons Hardin–Simmons Cowboys Trans America Athletic Conference Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (D-III) Holy Cross Holy Cross Crusaders Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Patriot League Lafayette Lafayette Leopards East Coast Conference Lehigh Lehigh Engineers Maryland Baltimore Country UMBC Retrievers NCAA Division I independent East Coast Conference Milwaukee Milwaukee Panthers NCAA Division II independent NCAA Division I independent Northeastern Illinois Northeastern Illinois Golden Eagles Northern Illinois Northern Illinois Huskies NCAA Division I independent Mid-Continent Conference Southeastern Louisiana Southeastern Louisiana Lions No team NCAA Division I independent Southwest Missouri State Southwest Missouri State Bears Mid-Continent Conference Missouri Valley Conference Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments ConferenceRegular season first placeConference player of the yearConference Coach of the YearConference tournamentTournament venue (city)Tournament winner American South Conference Arkansas State & New Orleansc Topseed Top seed in conference tournament. Tank Collins, New Orleans Nelson Catalina, Arkansas State 1991 American South Conference men's basketball tournament Lakefront Arena(New Orleans, LA) Louisiana Tech Atlantic 10 Conference Rutgers Keith Hughes, Rutgers John Carroll, Duquesne 1991 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament Palestra(Philadelphia, PA) Penn State Atlantic Coast Conference Duke Rodney Monroe, NC State Dave Odom, Wake Forest 1991 ACC men's basketball tournament Charlotte ColiseumCharlotte, NC North Carolina Big East Conference Syracuse Billy Owens, Syracuse Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 1991 Big East men's basketball tournament Madison Square Garden(New York, NY) Seton Hall Big Eight Conference Kansas & Oklahoma Statec Topseed Top seed in conference tournament. Byron Houston, Oklahoma State & Doug Smith, Missouri Danny Nee, Nebraska 1991 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena(Kansas City, MO) Missouri Big Sky Conference Montana Kevin Kearney, Montana Stew Morrill, Montana 1991 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Dahlberg Arena(Missoula, MT) Montana Big South Conference Coastal Carolina Tony Dunkin, Coastal Carolina Oliver Purnell, Radford 1991 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament Civic Center of Anderson(Anderson, SC) Coastal Carolina Big Ten Conference Indiana & Ohio State Jim Jackson, Ohio State Randy Ayers, Ohio StateNo Tournament Big West Conference UNLV Larry Johnson, UNLV Jerry Tarkanian, UNLV 1991 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament Long Beach Arena(Long Beach, CA) UNLV Colonial Athletic Association James Madison Steve Hood, James Madison Dick Tarrant, Richmond 1991 CAA men's basketball tournament Richmond Coliseum(Richmond, VA) Richmond East Coast Conference Towson State Devin Boyd, Towson State Terry Truax, Towson State 1991 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Towson Center(Towson, MD) Towson State Ivy League Princeton Kit Mueller, Princeton Not namedNo Tournament Metro Conference Southern Miss Clarence Weatherspoon, Southern Miss Perry Clark, Tulane 1991 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament Roanoke Civic Center(Roanoke, VA) Florida State Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference La Salle & Sienac Topseed Top seed in conference tournament. Marc Brown, Siena Ted Fiore, Saint Peter's 1991 MAAC men's basketball tournament Knickerbocker Arena(Albany, NY) Saint Peter's Mid-American Conference Eastern Michigan Marcus Kennedy, Eastern Michigan Ben Braun, Eastern Michigan 1991 MAC men's basketball tournament Cobo Arena(Detroit, MI) Eastern Michigan Mid-Continent Conference Northern Illinois Tony Bennett, Wisconsin–Green Bay Jim Molinari, Northern Illinois 1991 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena(Green Bay, WI) Wisconsin–Green Bay Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coppin State Larry Stewart, Coppin State Fang Mitchell, Coppin State 1991 MEAC men's basketball tournament Norfolk Scope(Norfolk, VA) Florida A&M Midwestern Collegiate Conference Xavier Darin Archbold, Butler Barry Collier, Butler 1991 Midwestern Collegiate Conference men's basketball tournament UD Arena(Dayton, OH) Xavier Missouri Valley Conference Creighton Chad Gallagher, Creighton Tates Locke, Indiana State 1991 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Kiel Auditorium(St. Louis, MO) Creighton North Atlantic Conference Northeastern Matt Johnson, Vermont Tom Brennan, Vermont 1991 North Atlantic Conference men's basketball tournament Matthews Arena(Boston, MA) Northeastern Northeast Conference Fairleigh Dickinson & Saint Francis (PA)c Topseed Top seed in conference tournament. Mike Iuzzolino, Saint Francis (PA) Rich Zvosec, St. Francis (NY) 1991 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament DeGol Arena(Loretto, PA) Saint Francis (PA) Ohio Valley Conference Murray State Popeye Jones, Murray State Dave Loos, Austin Peay 1991 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Racer Arena(Murray, KY) Murray State Pacific-10 Conference Arizona Terrell Brandon, Oregon Kelvin Sampson, Washington StateNo Tournament Patriot League Fordham Damon Lopez, Fordham Nick Macarchuk, Fordham 1991 Patriot League men's basketball tournament Hart Center(Worcester, MA) Fordham Southeastern Conference LSU & Mississippi State Shaquille O'Neal, LSU Rick Pitino, Kentucky 1991 SEC men's basketball tournament Memorial Gymnasium(Nashville, TN) Alabama Southern Conference East Tennessee State & Furmanc Topseed Top seed in conference tournament. Keith Jennings, East Tennessee State Butch Estes, Furman 1991 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Asheville Civic Center(Asheville, NC) East Tennessee State Southland Conference Northeast Louisiana Carlos Funchess, Northeast Louisiana & Anthony Jones, Northeast Louisiana Ned Fowler, Stephen F. Austin 1991 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament Fant–Ewing Coliseum(Monroe, LA) Northeast Louisiana Southwest Conference Arkansas Oliver Miller, Arkansas Nolan Richardson, Arkansas 1991 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament Reunion Arena(Dallas, TX) Arkansas Southwestern Athletic Conference Jackson State Steve Rogers, Alabama State Andy Stoglin, Jackson State 1991 SWAC men's basketball tournament Health and Physical Education Arena(Houston, TX) Jackson State Sun Belt Conference South Alabama Chris Gatling, Old Dominion Ronnie Arrow, South Alabama 1991 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Mobile Civic Center(Mobile, AL) South Alabama Trans America Athletic Conference Texas–San Antonio Patrick Greer, Centenary Tommy Vardeman, Centenary 1991 TAAC men's basketball tournament Edmunds Center(DeLand, FL) Georgia State West Coast Athletic Conference Pepperdine Doug Christie, Pepperdine Tom Asbury, Pepperdine 1991 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Toso Pavilion(Santa Clara, CA) Pepperdine Western Athletic Conference Utah Josh Grant, Utah Rick Majerus, Utah 1991 WAC men's basketball tournament Arena-Auditorium(Laramie, WY) BYU c Conference standings Division I independents A total of 17 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, DePaul (20–9) had both the best winning percentage (.690) and the most wins.https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/independent/men/1991.html Sports Reference 1990-91 Men's Independent Season Summary August 28, 2024 Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Saint Joseph's & Temple Mark Macon, Temple Saint Joseph's and Temple both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5. After this season, the Big 5 dropped its full round-robin schedule in which each team met each other team once, which it had used since its first season of competition in 1955–56. Instead, each team played only two games against other Big 5 members from the 1991–92 season through the 1998–99 season. The Big 5 did not revive its full round-robin schedule until 1999–2000 season. Statistical leaders Points per game Rebounds per game Assists per game Steals per game Player School PPG Player School RPG Player School APG Player School SPG Kevin Bradshaw US International 37.6 Shaquille O'Neal LSU 14.7 Chris Corchiani NC State 9.6 Van Usher Tenn. Tech 3.7 Alphonso Ford Miss. Valley St. 32.7 Popeye Jones Murray St. 14.2 Danny Tirado Jacksonville 9.3 Scott Burrell Connecticut 3.6 Von McDade UW–Milwaukee 29.6 Larry Stewart Coppin St. 13.4 Terrell Lowery Loyola Marymount 9.1 Eric Murdock Providence 3.5 Steve Rogers Alabama St. 29.4 Tim Burroughs Jacksonville 13.0 Keith Jennings E. Tenn. St. 9.1 Von McDade UW–Milwaukee 3.5 Terrell Lowery Loyola Marymount 28.5 Warren Kidd Middle Tenn St. 12.3 Greg Anthony UNLV 8.9 Lynn Smith St. Francis (NY) 3.4 Blocked shots per game Field goal percentage Three-point field goal percentage Free throw percentage Player School BPG Player School FG% Player School 3FG% Player School FT% Shawn Bradley BYU 5.2 Oliver Miller Arkansas .704 Keith Jennings E. Tenn St. .592 Darin Archbold Butler .912 Cedric Lewis Maryland 5.1 Warren Kidd Middle Tenn. St. .700 Tony Bennett UW–Green Bay .533 William Lewis Monmouth .901 Shaquille O'Neal LSU 5.0 Pete Freeman Akron .700 Mike Iuzzolino St. Francis (PA) .528 Darwyn Alexander Oklahoma St. .897 Dikembe Mutombo Georgetown 4.7 Lester James St. Francis (NY) .693 Ross Richardson Loyola Marymount .526 Keith Jennings E. Tenn. St. .895 Kevin Roberson Vermont 3.7 Marcus Kennedy E. Michigan .692 David Mitchell Samford .526 Rodney Monroe NC State .895 Postseason tournaments NCAA tournament 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four - Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana National Semifinals National Championship Game E1 North Carolina 73 S3 Kansas 79 M2 Duke 79 W1 UNLV 77 S3 Kansas 65 M2 Duke 72 National Invitation tournament 1991 National Invitation Tournament NIT Semifinals and Final Semifinals Finals Oklahoma 88 Colorado 78 Massachusetts 71 Stanford 78 Oklahoma 72 Stanford 78 Third place game Colorado 98 Massachusetts 91 Award winners Consensus All-American teams 1991 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans + Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Kenny Anderson G Sophomore Georgia Tech Jimmy Jackson G/F Sophomore Ohio State Larry Johnson F Senior UNLV Shaquille O'Neal C Sophomore Louisiana State Billy Owens F Junior Syracuse + Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Stacey Augmon F Senior UNLV Keith Jennings G Senior East Tennessee State Christian Laettner F Junior Duke Eric Murdock G Senior Providence Steve Smith G Senior Michigan State Major player of the year awards Wooden Award: Larry Johnson, UNLV Naismith Award: Larry Johnson, UNLV Associated Press Player of the Year: Shaquille O'Neal, LSU UPI Player of the Year: Shaquille O'Neal, LSU NABC Player of the Year: Larry Johnson, UNLV Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Larry Johnson, UNLV Adolph Rupp Trophy: Shaquille O'Neal, LSU Sporting News Player of the Year: Larry Johnson, UNLV Major coach of the year awards Associated Press Coach of the Year: Randy Ayers, Ohio State UPI Coach of the Year: Rick Majerus, Utah Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Randy Ayers, Ohio State NABC Coach of the Year: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Naismith College Coach of the Year: Randy Ayers, Ohio State CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year: Randy Ayers, Ohio State Sporting News Coach of the Year: Rick Pitino, Kentucky Other major awards Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Keith Jennings, East Tennessee State Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Mark Macon, Temple NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Malik Sealy, St. John's USBWA National Freshman of the Year: Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonBradleyStan AlbeckJim Molinari BrownMike CingiserFrank Dobbs Central MichiganCharlie ColesKeith Dambrot Colorado StateBoyd GrantStew Morrill CornellMike DementJan van Breda Kolff CreightonTony BaroneRick Johnson DartmouthPaul CormierDave Faucher DrexelEddie BurkeBill Herrion East CarolinaMike SteeleEddie Payne Payne became head coach after he was an assistant with South Carolina.FairfieldMitch BuonaguroPaul Cormier HarvardPeter RobyFrank Sullivan IonaGary BrokawJerry Welsh JacksonvilleRich HaddadMatt KilcullenMercerBrad SiegfriedBill Hodges Middle Tennessee StateBruce StewartDavid Farrar MontanaStew MorrillBlaine TaylorMorrill left to coach Colorado State. Morehead StateTommy GaitherDick Fick Murray StateSteve NewtonScott Edgar Northern IllinoisJim MolinariBrian Hammel Molinari left to coach Bradley.Notre DameDigger PhelpsJohn MacLeodOld DominionTom YoungOliver Purnell Purnell returns to hs alma mater.RadfordOliver PurnellRon Bradley Saint Mary'sPaul LandreauxDave FehteErnie Kent Sam Houston StateLarry BrownJerry Hopkins SamfordEd McLeanJohn Brady South CarolinaGeorge FeltonSteve Newton Tennessee StateRon AbernathyFrankie Allen Texas A&MKermit DavisTony Barone Texas TechGerald MyersJames Dickey Myers resigned as head coach and became assistant athletic director. Dickey was an assistant coach under Myers.ToledoJay EckLarry Gipson TulsaJ. D. BarnettTubby Smith Smith was an assistant at Kentucky.UC IrvineBill MulliganRod Baker UNC GreensboroBob McEvoyMike Dement Virginia TechFrankie AllenBill Foster Allen left to coach Tennessee State.Weber StateDenny HustonRon Abegglen References 2