That and the fact that perfect regular seasons are exceedingly rare in college basketball. The BC Hoopfest 90 was a noble attempt to give basketball a breath of air before hockey season took over. Theyre just better than we are. The Runnin' Rebels were the defending national champions on a 45-game winning streak. Though UNLV led 43-41 at halftime, Duke remained confident. Coleman, Cameron . Still, those of us who grew up with Jerry Tarkanians Rebels will tell you, theres been no team better in the history of college basketball history than those 1990-1991 Runnin Rebels, even without a championship cherry on top. The guy had the power of a post player with the shooting touch of a perimeter man. 1991 UNLV Roll Call: The Starters. The team had only trailed for 38 minutes during the entire campaign. While both Cole Field House and Freedom Hall have both been replaced, only Freedom Hall's replacement, the KFC Yum! Coming off the 1989-1990 title season, UNLV got every teams absolute best shot the next year. These publications were digitized by Digital Scholarship@UNLV staff from copies held in . Have you ever felt as if youre in a washing machine on a super speed setting? The 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. "UNLV were so cool and nonchalant like, Yeah, it's going to be a cakewalk. Royce At the time, we knew the defeat ended UNLVs undefeated season after 34 wins. Record: 26-2 (18-0, 1st in Big West MBB ) Rank: 7th in the Final AP Poll. UNLV as a squad led the Big West in almost every countable category. "It still hurts. Students at Arkansas -- ranked No. Be sure to subscribe to SB Nation's YouTube channel for highlight videos, features, analysis and more. 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Tarkanian's group easily captured the Big West's automatic bid and, at 29-5, was given the top seed in the West region. You call a last second shot that hits the backboard and grazes the rim better? Like us on Facebook. Record: 34-1 (18-0, 1st in Big West MBB ) Rank: 1st in the Final AP Poll. The UNLV men's basketball team, called The Runnin' Rebels, and the women's basketball team, called the Lady Rebels, are NCAA Division I teams and part of the Mountain West Conference. Point guard Greg Anthony skillfully ran the offense often pounding the ball to Johnson, the college Player of the Year, or finding Anderson Hunt behind the three-point arc. Marred records from the Sun Belt, to the American East, to the West Coast Conference, and everywhere in between. Fresno State enters having made 76.2 percent of its free throws (298-391), which currently would eclipse the school record for single-season free throw percentage (74.2 percent, 484-652, 1991-92). The core five of Butler (15.8), Anthony (11.2), Augmon (14.2), Hunt (15.9), and Johnson (20.6) each . Johnson then tied the game after hitting one of three free throws -- Thomas Hill was called for a lane violation. The perfect season was over, and so was the pressure that accompanies maintaining perfection. Larry Varnado Jr. Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for Men's Basketball and Volleyball. 103-73. Yes, I know that. If this two-time all American honors and 1991 Wooden Award winner isnt in your list of top 20 college players of all time, chances are you need to get some old film and watch pure dominance at work. UNLV came down court with one final chance at keeping its dreams alive, but Anderson Hunt's 3-pointer with 2 seconds to play bounced off the rim. Larry Johnson scored 26. Ranking the top 25 players in the 2021 Final Four, Anonymous coaches scout the men's Final Four teams, ESPN Insider college basketball contributor, First began covering college hoops in 2004, Has written for Basketball Prospectus and the Wall Street Journal. Amazingly these same sports writers who have jumped on Tarkanian throughout his coaching career, especially after his team lost to Duke in 1991, either havent or only lightly brushed the Sam Gilbert connection to Woodens legacy. Updated December 31, 2020 - 7:44 pm. My hat off to Coach Tark for getting us to play together and play that hard all the time. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The 1991 Rebels were the bad guys and they loved every minute of their role. In addition, Hunt was sensational from both sides of the arc and would lead all scorers with 29 points. The timing of the NCAA's ruling left Johnson and Augmon in a difficult spot because by then the 1990 NBA draft had already taken place. They were the number one team that entire season. But Augmon (31 points), Hunt (26) and Johnson (25) were too much. Augmon would like to refute a few notions surrounding the upset. There the Rebels handled Arkansas-Little Rock, Ohio State, and Ball State, before crushing the dreams of Bo Kimble and Loyola Marymount. You call getting a bogus and now famous Duke charging call that resulted in UNLV Greg Anthonys foul disqualification better? Dembele, Justin Laettner was especially good, finishing with 28 points and seven rebounds while holding UNLV star Larry Johnson to 13 points on 10 shots. The Blue Devils were playing in their fourth Final Four in five years, but Mike Krzyzewski had yet to win it all and his team had a reputation as, in the Chicago Tribune's phrasing, "the familiar bridesmaids." Varnado Jr. Bryan Instead, the Rebels played without their point guard and managed just three points over their final four possessions. Director of Basketball Operations. Larry Johnson: There may be no greater injustice in college basketball history than Larry Johnson. It still hurts," Stacey Augmon says when reached a few days before the 25th anniversary of the game. All subsequent tournament games played in Atlanta are now played at either the Georgia Dome (since demolished) or Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We didnt know it would also mark the beginning of the end of the programs reign as a national power. A brutal sucker punch in the OVC tournament stopped the game in its tracks. What to do? Why would anyone want to research someone like Wooden who has been built up saintly? Until 48 hours before the season tipped off, UNLV was ineligible to defend its National title. One of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history ushered in the Duke Dynasty and ended the run of one of the most influential college basketball teams of all time. Wins over Utah and Seton Hall at the Kingdome in Seattle carried the Rebels to the national semifinals in Indianapolis and a rematch with Duke. UNLV will finally commemorate its 2021-22 Mountain West regular-season and tournament championships ahead of Thursdays game against Utah State. Why, you might ask? So weve made it to March. Tarkanian's program was indeed under scrutiny, and speculation had already begun on where his star players would go if UNLV were placed on probation by the NCAA. It wasn't. Spencer was armed with a soft touch around the basket, effective rebounding and solid passing with true center size. Because as a person he was highly intelligent, republican, business minded and was extremely well spoken in interviews. Though his team had gone 0-3 against the Rebels that season, Long Beach State head coach Seth Greenberg said Tarkanian's "biggest vulnerability is if Greg [Anthony] gets in foul trouble." On the court Duke trained for UNLV's length, athleticism and speed. We won some. Almost everything to say about this team has been said. All rights reserved, The All 22 - An Inside Look at Duke Football, Hide/Show Additional Information For Marty Clark, Hide/Show Additional Information For Bill McCaffrey, Hide/Show Additional Information For Bobby Hurley, Hide/Show Additional Information For Antonio Lang, Hide/Show Additional Information For Greg Koubek, Hide/Show Additional Information For Brian Davis, Hide/Show Additional Information For Thomas Hill, Hide/Show Additional Information For Christian Laettner, Hide/Show Additional Information For Grant Hill, Hide/Show Additional Information For Crawford Palmer, Hide/Show Additional Information For Clay Buckley, Hide/Show Additional Information For Christian Ast, Allentown, Pa. / Allentown Central Catholic. While they knew they werent thugs or convicts they played with swagger and gave menacing stares after destroying the rim. UNLV had a 23-point lead late in the second half when Tarkanian pulled his starters, and a 3 at the buzzer for the Razorbacks cut the final margin to 112-105. Fresno State enters having made 76.1 percent of its free throws (289-380), which currently would eclipse the school record for single-season free throw percentage (74.2 percent, 484-652, 1991-92). "In hindsight, I think it's less of a surprise that we won that game than when it happened. When asked over email to name the most significant change from the 1990 team, Hurley simply replied: "Grant Hill. Coach K's team stayed reasonably close for the game's first 24 minutes before the roof fell in on them. Only Michigans Fab Five in recent memory has captivated the nation like the Rebels did. Most werent that great. Ill see you after the game, Johnson threatened as the referees pulled the players apart. Travis Bice: Fan favorite with great perimeter shooting and willing passer with surprising toughness. Spencer was considered by many to be a top 25 high school player. Then the NCAA handed down its verdict. Who will win each 2023 conference tournament? He was one of the strongest players in the post with a 36 + vertical, a post-up game, face-up game, ball handling and 3-point range. Even the Late John Wooden couldnt stand the idea that the 1991 Rebels were better than any of his teams. Twenty-five years later the question is still asked: How did Duke pull it off? No post season for the Rebels. For the first time, CBS Sports showed all 63 tournament games. Solid scorer; a starter at any other school. Usual start times were noon and 7:30 or 8 p.m. Eastern time on each of the Thursdays and Fridays. And the change . The opponent: Alabama-Birmingham. In advance of the rematch on the Aggies' home floor, Utah State took out a full-page ad in the Logan Herald Journal. In it, Dukes head coach confesses that the 1990 team were exceptional and destroyed his team. [2] This was the first National Championship game for Williams as a head coach. But if you really want to talk perfection and dominance, its gotta be the 1991 UNLV Runnin Rebels. VICTORY NO. But what was pegged a mismatch became one of the most compelling games in NCAA history, with the fallout ushering in a new era in college basketball. On This Day In UK Basketball History On March 2, 1970, Dan Issel scored 42 points against Auburn. 25 years later, UNLV players still feel the heartbreak of losing toDuke, The Clippers Russell Westbrook experiment is off to a terrible start. He gave Duke sophomore Christian Laettner (5-of-12 shooting) fits in the final. Robinson, Jimmie "We just never got there," Koloskie says now of the Duke game. While no one could have known of the impending streak, the game did attract national attention for a very different reason. Stacey Augmon, who had set off an impromptu autograph mob scene on the campus of UBC the night before, opened the game with a thunderous dunk. DeShawn Henry. The Blue Demons would join the, This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 22:15. 1 in what would become the fourth-longest win streak in the history of Division I men's basketball was recorded at Utah State on March 1, 1990. When Krzyzewski was asked about that image at the Sunday news conference, he replied, "It really doesn't bother me.". Georgia Tech, with Kenny Anderson and Dennis Scott, gave UNLV a game in the Final Four, but UNLV pulled out a 90-81 victory. The Rebels met Duke in back-to-back Final Fours in 1990 and 91. Wichita State in 2014. And as I look around the college basketball landscape, I see failure and defeats everywhere. "I looked over at Brian [Davis] and said, We got these MF's. Defensively, Ackles was intimidating, often blocking shots out of position and using his length to grab rebounds. Brown, Josh With Anthony on the bench, UNLV managed just three points the rest of the way. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Augmon was an award-winning defender and an elite finisher near the rim. To understand just how different it was, consider the following four numbers. Johnson joined an already loaded squad. Do you have a sports website? A total of 63 games were played. The left-hander often backed up Ackles or Larry Johnson depending on foul trouble and opposing team personnel. "It legitimized us as a serious program.