1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1989–90 season, and won the NCAA title under head coach Jerry Tarkanian. 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. As of the present, they are the last team from any of the non-major seven conferences (AAC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC) to win the national championship. UNLV won three of its tourney games by 30 points, but got a scare from Ball State in the Regional Semifinal, winning by just 2.

1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball
NCAA Tournament National Champions Big West Tournament champions Big West regular season co-champions
Conference	Big West Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
1989–90 record	35–5 (16–2 Big West)
Head coach	Jerry Tarkanian (17th season)
Assistant coaches	Tim Grgurich Ron Ganulin (3rd season) Cleveland Edwards
Home arena	Thomas & Mack Center

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 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  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 Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State) Assistant coach(es) Tim Grgurich Ron Ganulin Cleveland Edwards Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

[1]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
Nov 15, 1989*	No. 1	Loyola Marymount Preseason NIT	W 102–91[2]	1–0	26 – Hunt	16 – Johnson	12 – Anthony	Thomas & Mack Center (13,430) Las Vegas, NV
Nov 16, 1989*	No. 1	California Preseason NIT	W 101–81[3]	2–0	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center (11,777) Las Vegas, NV
Nov 22, 1989*	No. 1	vs. Kansas Preseason NIT Semifinal	L 77–91	2–1	21 – Hunt	9 – Augmon, Johnson	9 – Anthony	Madison Square Garden (10,546) New York, NY
Nov 24, 1989*	No. 1	vs. DePaul Preseason NIT Consolation	W 88–53[4]	3–1	32 – Johnson	–	–	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
Dec 9, 1989*	No. 5	at No. 12 Oklahoma	L 81–89[5]	3–2	–	–	–	Lloyd Noble Center (11,700) Norman, OK
Dec 16, 1989	No. 14	at Pacific	W 79–65	4–2 (1–0)	–	–	–	Alex G. Spanos Center  Stockton, CA
Dec 23, 1989*	No. 13	No. 16 Iowa	W 97–80	5–2	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Dec 26, 1989	No. 12	at Long Beach State	W 78–58	6–2 (2–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Jan 1, 1990*	No. 12	No. 11 Arkansas	W 101–93	7–2	28 – Hunt	13 – Butler	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Jan 3, 1990	No. 10	Cal State Fullerton	W 94–66	8–2 (3–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Jan 6, 1990	No. 10	at San Jose State	W 100–80	9–2 (4–0)	–	–	–	Event Center Arena  San Jose, CA
Jan 8, 1990	No. 10	at New Mexico State	L 82–83	9–3 (4–1)	–	–	–	Pan American Center  Las Cruces, NM
Jan 13, 1990*	No. 7	at Temple	W 82–76	10–3	–	–	–	McGonigle Hall  Philadelphia, PA
Jan 15, 1990	No. 7	at Fresno State	W 84–75	11–3 (5–1)	–	–	–	Selland Arena  Fresno, CA
Jan 18, 1990	No. 9	UC Irvine	W 103–67	12–3 (6–1)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Jan 22, 1990	No. 9	at Long Beach State	W 86–77	13–3 (7–1)	–	–	–	Gold Mine  Long Beach, CA
Jan 25, 1990	No. 5	UC Santa Barbara	W 69–67	14–3 (8–1)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Jan 28, 1990*	No. 5	at No. 16 LSU	L 105–107[6]	14–4	31 – Hunt	–	–	Maravich Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, LA
Feb 1, 1990	No. 12	Utah State	W 124–90	15–4 (9–1)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Feb 3, 1990*	No. 12	NC State	W 88–82[7][8]	16–4	24 – Johnson	16 – Johnson	–	Thomas & Mack Center (18,295) Las Vegas, NV
Feb 5, 1990*	No. 12	San Jose State	W 105–69	17–4 (10–1)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Feb 8, 1990*	No. 9	Pacific	W 116–76	18–4 (11–1)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Feb 10, 1990*	No. 9	Oklahoma State	W 100–84	19–4	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Feb 12, 1990	No. 9	Fresno State	W 69–64	20–4 (12–1)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Feb 15, 1990	No. 7	No. 25 New Mexico State	W 109–86[9]	21–4 (13–1)	31 – Hunt	13 – Johnson	6 – Anthony	Thomas & Mack Center (18,790) Las Vegas, NV
Feb 18, 1990*	No. 7	No. 20 Arizona	W 95–87[10]	22–4	26 – Johnson	12 – Augmon	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Feb 22, 1990	No. 4	at UC Irvine	W 99–77	23–4 (14–1)	–	–	–	Bren Events Center  Irvine, CA
Feb 24, 1990*	No. 4	No. 16 Louisville	W 91–81[11]	24–4	22 – Johnson	15 – Johnson	–	Thomas & Mack Center (19,099) Las Vegas, NV
Feb 26, 1990	No. 4	at UC Santa Barbara	L 70–78	24–5 (14–2)	–	–	–	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
Mar 1, 1990	No. 2	at Utah State	W 84–82	25–5 (15–2)	–	–	–	Smith Spectrum  Logan, UT
Mar 3, 1990	No. 2	at Cal State Fullerton	W 103–85	26–5 (16–2)	–	–	–	Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
Big West Tournament
Mar 8, 1990*	No. 3	Cal State Fullerton Quarterfinal	W 115–93	27–5	–	–	–	Long Beach Arena  Long Beach, CA
Mar 9, 1990*	No. 3	Pacific Semifinal	W 99–72	28–5	–	–	–	Long Beach Arena  Long Beach, CA
Mar 10, 1990*	No. 3	Long Beach State Championship	W 92–74	29–5	–	–	–	Long Beach Arena  Long Beach, CA
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1990*  CBS	(W1) No. 2	vs. (W16) Arkansas–Little Rock First Round	W 102–72	30–5	16 – Augmon	12 – Johnson	5 – Bice, Cvijanovich	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 17, 1990*  CBS	(W1) No. 2	vs. (W8) Ohio State Second Round	W 76–65	31–5	23 – Johnson	16 – Johnson	5 – Anthony	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 23, 1990*  CBS	(W1) No. 2	vs. (W12) Ball State Sweet Sixteen – West Regional Semifinal	W 69–67[12][13]	32–5	20 – Augmon, Johnson	13 – Johnson	9 – Anthony	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena  Oakland, CA
Mar 25, 1990*  CBS	(W1) No. 2	vs. (W11) No. 21 Loyola Marymount Elite Eight – West Regional Final	W 131–101[14][15]	33–5	33 – Augmon	18 – Johnson	13 – Hunt	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena (14,298) Oakland, CA
Mar 31, 1990*  CBS	(W1) No. 2	vs. (SE4) No. 9 Georgia Tech Final Four – National Semifinal	W 90–81[16]	34–5	22 – Augmon	10 – Butler	7 – Hunt	McNichols Sports Arena  Denver, CO
Apr 2, 1990*  CBS	(W1) No. 2	vs. (E3) No. 9 Duke National Championship	W 103–73[17][18][19][20]	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 [21]

Rankings

Main article: 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Awards and honors

• Anderson Hunt, NCAA Men's MOP Award[22]
• Larry Johnson, Consensus First-team All-American and Big West Conference Player of the Year
• Stacey Augmon – NABC Defensive Player of the Year (2)

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

[23]

References

1. "1990 NCAA Final Four program". March 1990. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
2. "No. 1 Rebels overcome Marymount". Las Vegas Sun. November 16, 1989. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
3. "Rebels take their show to the big city". Las Vegas Sun. November 18, 1989. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
4. "Rebels rise to the occasion". Las Vegas Sun. November 25, 1989. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
5. "Stormin' in Norman: Sooners win 89-81". Las Vegas Sun. December 10, 1989. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
6. "LSU 107, UNLV 105". United Press International. January 28, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
7. "Rebels beat Wolfpack at own game". Las Vegas Sun. February 3, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
8. "Rebels Forget Their Troubles, 88-82". Los Angeles Times. February 4, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
9. "Aggies trail the Hunt, 109-86". Las Vegas Sun. February 15, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
10. "Order on the court: Rebels win 95-87". Las Vegas Sun. February 18, 1990. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
11. "Rebels don't get mad at Louisville, just even". Las Vegas Sun. February 24, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
12. "Rebels take the bounce out of Ball State, 69-67". Las Vegas Sun. March 23, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
13. "U.N.L.V. Repels Ball State Rally, 69-67". The New York Times. March 24, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
14. "Rebels roll to Final Four". Las Vegas Sun. March 25, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
15. "Augmon Is Main Man for the Rebels". Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1990. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
16. "UNLV Escapes Foul End, Downs Georgia Tech". The Washington Post. April 1, 1990. p. B1. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
17. "Rebels rule NCAA". Las Vegas Sun. April 3, 1990. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
18. "UNLV Takes Title Running Away". The Washington Post. April 3, 1990. p. B1. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
19. "Nevada-Las Vegas 103, Duke 73". United Press International. April 2, 1990. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
20. "U.N.L.V. Applies a Defensive Clamp and It Works". The New York Times. April 3, 1990. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
21. http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1990
22. "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
23. "1991 NBA Draft". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2018.