The game turned when Anthony fouled out with 3:51 remaining. Quick Links. Maxon informed Tarkanian that the NCAA had heard UNLVs appeal and offered a choice: UNLV could play out the 90-91 season in its entirety (tournament and all) if the school agreed to a post-season and television ban for 91-92. Menu. Have you ever felt as if youre in a washing machine on a super speed setting? Have you ever been caught in a rip current, breaking swells pounding around you as youre jerked away from the shore? Instead, the Rebels overcame a one-point deficit midway through the second half and won going away, 95-75. John Bishop and Tyler Clement will call the action. "It still hurts. Then the NCAA handed down its verdict. Then Michigan State by 20. Nine players from this past year's team have entered the transfer portal. The Rebels eked out a two-point win against surprising No. Coach K's team stayed reasonably close for the game's first 24 minutes before the roof fell in on them. Twenty-five years later the question is still asked: How did Duke pull it off? IT WAS TOUTED as the game of the year in college basketball, and it would tip at 11:20 in the morning local time on a Sunday in February. What to do? 1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels during this 1990-91 season, and he was afforded a special seat for the contest. Zaon Collins, a star basketball player at Bishop Gorman High School and the top recruit of this year's UNLV class, was ordered released from jail Thursday, a . Why? Duke, meanwhile, won the first of five National Championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015) two nights later. Thats the beauty of college basketball and its blemish. Now you know what Duke experienced for 40 minutes. Plastic Man, with his elastic arms and legs, made it a nightmare for offensive players in an age where defensive player like Shane Battier take acting classes to engage in flopping to gain foul trouble on his match-up. Either Tarkanian could serve a personal suspension from coaching during the 1991 tournament and watch his team from afar before facing a postseason ban for both himself and the Rebels in 1992, or UNLV could play in the 1991 postseason in exchange for a ban on all live TV appearances and on any postseason play for the 1991-92 season. 1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels during this 1990-91 season, and he was afforded a special seat for the contest. But lets cut through all the PC rules and regulations when it comes to picking the best team of all time and just come out honest and swinging. No title defense. For the game, Fullerton nearly doubled its average attendance. The perfect season was over, and so was the pressure that accompanies maintaining perfection. "They had blown everyone out that year," Grant Hill says. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. No team has won 40 games or more in a row in the 30 years since. But Augmon (31 points), Hunt (26) and Johnson (25) were too much. "I looked over at Brian [Davis] and said, We got these MF's. McCabe, Keshon 1988 Men's . And it wasnt really that close. The 1991 Rebels were the bad guys and they loved every minute of their role. UNLV chose the second alternative, and other programs that were or recently had been placed on probation by the NCAA were outraged. The Hoyas pulled to within four before falling 62-54. Huh? By the time he graduated in 1995, he had . "Even at halftime, you're thinking we're going to go out and do what we usually do, and it just never happened.". Sara Doty. I still have the game when they played Arkansas at Arkansas -- when Larry Johnson swung on Todd Day and missed -- on tape. Will Saxon. But the take away: UNLV won, 112-105. If there was a weakness to Ackles, other than his lack of offensive ability, it was his foul trouble. You call a last second shot that hits the backboard and grazes the rim better? A brutal sucker punch in the OVC tournament stopped the game in its tracks. The BC Hoopfest 90 was a noble attempt to give basketball a breath of air before hockey season took over. A defensive ball hawk and who ran the UNLV offense as smooth as a Cadillac. There is no additional information to display. To this day, the Rebels are the only team to top 100 points in the title game, and the win over Duke still stands as the largest margin of victory ever recorded in a championship final. Hes covered high school and UNLVs Anderson Hunt scores a basket as teammate Larry Johnson looks on during an NCAA Tournament first-round win over Montana on March 15,1991. Larry Johnson shot 66% from the floor for the season. Lang, Greg I call this a fact that few can argue, yet there are few that will even take on that argument because of all the variables at play with the hated Runnin Rebels. The core five of Butler (15.8), Anthony (11.2), Augmon (14.2), Hunt (15.9), and Johnson (20.6) each . By continuing to browse or by clicking I Accept Cookies you agree to the storing of first-party and third-party cookies on your device and consent to the disclosure of your personal information to our third party service providers or advertising partners to optimize your experience, analyze traffic and personalize content. ", The Rebels negated coach Nolan Richardson's vaunted "40 minutes of hell" full-court press by repeatedly firing outlet passes to a streaking Anderson Hunt for still another fast-break dunk. ESPN and CBS analyst Jay Bilas was a Duke assistant coach for both the 1990 national title game, UNLV's 103-73 rout, and the following year's 79-77 Final Four upset that stopped the Rebels two . After a 113 to 64 humiliation of Fresno State, UNLV stood at 19-0. 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. After the game, Miller said simply of UNLV, "They need to go to the NBA. It was the lack of having our point guard out there. A 30-point blowout doesnt usually have much pride or excuses associated with it. The Rebels never even rolled out their crippling press for the final contest of the regular season. On the court Duke trained for UNLV's length, athleticism and speed. Marred records from the Sun Belt, to the American East, to the West Coast Conference, and everywhere in between. "I've never watched the game in 30 years," he says. Quinn Buckner, for one, had already stated his belief that UNLV was actually superior to his own team. "I still look at those games like, Wow' when I see the level we were playing. Kentucky did it in 2015. Fresno State is now 5-4 against UNLV in Hutson's five seasons. On March 2, 1991, the UNLV Runnin Rebelscoached by perennial NCAA-tormentor Jerry Tarkanian and led by future NBA first rounders Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, and Greg Anthonyfinished off a perfect regular season. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. ESPN reported in January of 1990 that Augmon would reunite with his 1988 Olympic team coach, John Thompson, and transfer to Georgetown if the Rebels were ineligible to play in the 1991 postseason. Before that St. Josephs in 2004. Hamilton. 1990-1991 UNLV Runnin' Rebels Roster # Player Class Pos HT WT . Basketball; Football; Baseball; . Thats right I said it. UNLV shredded Duke with an 18-0 second-half run to leave no doubt as to which was the countrys finest team. 2 in the nation and standing at 22-1 behind stars Oliver Miller and Todd Day -- had been camping out in front of Fayetteville's Barnhill Arena for a full week in advance of the game, and Rebels coach Jerry Tarkanian sought to put the tent city to good use for his own team. Hinton. 1 the entire season and had just one game decided inside double digits, a 112-105 road win at Arkansasa squad that went on to claim one of the other three No. 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. The UNLV mens basketball team got a steal and a layup in the final seconds to rally past Air Force on Friday at the Thomas & Mack Center. When talk began to hit the Wizard of Westwood ears, the typically humble and reserved Wooden quickly spoke that his UCLA teams were better than UNLV, but also quickly recanted in a separate interview proclaiming that 1991 UNLV is up there and no college basketball team is the best ever. Almost everything to say about this team has been said. Despite its image as a team that relied mainly on Johnson in the paint, UNLV was significantly more perimeter-oriented than Division I as a whole in 1990-91. Chappell, DeShawn The 1991 Runnin Rebels are the greatest college basketball team of all time. We had three of the top college players of all time, but we didn't know that then.". "We were tougher and more defensive-minded. Muoka, Bryce Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski, won a rematch of the previous year's . By this point in his career he had already taken the NCAA all the way to the Supreme Court. Video & Recruiting Coordinator. "We heard some of the worst comments," Tarkanian would recall in 2009. This tournament adopted the NBA's 10ths-second timer during the final minute of each period in all arenas. It snapped UNLVs 45-game win streak dating to the previous season, including its championship game whipping of these Blue Devils. The guy had the power of a post player with the shooting touch of a perimeter man. Re-read that line a couple times. The Rebels got some extra time to prepare for Air Forces unique offense, but are likely to be without two starters again as they try to snap a three-game losing skid. It still hurts," Stacey Augmon says when reached a few days before the 25th anniversary of the game. Don't miss the big stories. As 7,963 Canadians looked on (in a stadium that could seat 60,000), the Rebels rolled. Three lottery picks and a Hall of Fame coach. Before the 1990 season Ackles injured his wrist in a pickup game and redshirted. "In the locker room, my guys were talking about how they were gonna kill these [bleeps]. Robinson, Jimmie But what most didnt realize was that, as superb a returning starting five as UNLV had that evening in 91, Duke put on the floor three players (Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley) who would also be considered among the best in college history. George Ackles: The most forgotten of all the members of the 1991 UNLV team, Ackles played the 1989 season for UNLV after transferring from junior college. KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2022-23 season. UNLV Rebels Men's. Roster and Stats. The left-hander often backed up Ackles or Larry Johnson depending on foul trouble and opposing team personnel. 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. Kruger, Carlin But if you really want to talk perfection and dominance, its gotta be the 1991 UNLV Runnin Rebels. 1 seed and arrived at the 1991 round of 32 in Tucson, Arizona, with a 31-0 record. We definitely werent backing down from anyone. Stanford Cardinal (13-17, 7-12 Pac-12) at Oregon Ducks (17 . Richmond became the . And all five UNLV starters would be recognized as All-Americans (Augmon and Johnson as First Teamers; the rest as Honorable Mentions) for their efforts. Johnson then tied the game after hitting one of three free throws -- Thomas Hill was called for a lane violation. Its difficult to imagine a group like that making such a decision in todays pro-oriented environment. The official 1990-91 Men's Basketball Roster for the Duke University We havent talked about it once, Tarkanian told the Los Angeles Times when it was all over. With 99 Duke they werent even ranked as the number one team in the country. To make things interesting Coach Jerry Tarkanian always scheduled a tough out of conference schedule that, in 1991, included Arkansas (2), Michigan State (4), and Louisville (23), all top 25 opponents at the time. Whats up? UNLV's roster included three of the eventual top 12 picks in the 1991 NBA Draft: Larry Johnson (first overall), Stacey Augmon (9th) and Greg Anthony (12th). Yet for my money, there was no greater team in college basketball than the one that came next, even if its final shot happened not to go through the hoop. You call holding two All-Americans in Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon to a combined 16 points better? "We wanted to show him that we were his best team," Grant Hill says. #1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels travelled to the Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, AR to take on the #2 Arkansas Razorbacks. 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." Two of the program's prize recruits, Ed O'Bannon and Shon Tarver, promptly withdrew their verbal commitments to Tarkanian and enrolled at UCLA instead. During the weekend of the second round, the national telecast began at noon, with the regional windows (three on Saturday, two on Sunday) following. And the change . The Hogs even held the halftime lead. As for specific tactics, Duke sagged an extra defender, often center George Ackles' man, on Johnson whenever he caught the ball down low. By Ryan Swanson | From there the gauntlet was thrown, but not before former UCLA ball player Bill Walton wrote in his 1978 book On the Road with the Portland Trail Blazers, UCLA players were so well taken care of far beyond the ground rules of the NCAA that even players from poor backgrounds never left UCLA prematurely (for pro basketball) during John Woodens championship years. The game stayed close for the duration, and both teams showcased skills that had carried them this far. Augmon used good ole fashioned foot speed and length to disrupt positions 1-through-3. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. Solid scorer; a starter at any other school. "We knew we had a target on our back in every game and had to play our best.". When asked over email to name the most significant change from the 1990 team, Hurley simply replied: "Grant Hill. That remains the largest margin of victory in any tournament finalan amazing achievement by UNLVs fantastic title team. Defensively, his foot speed was tremendous, which was crucial for disrupting passing lanes in UNLVs Amoeba Defense. Everything came together perfectly. Will Saxon. Place in Vancouver, Canada on December 1, 1990. But he picked up his dribble and passed to Hunt, who was about 30 feet from the basket. UNLV never let down. There is no additional information to display. Tark played everyone. UNLV had now won 45 games in a row, and Tarkanian's men -- who had won their games by an average of 27 points -- were being compared to the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers of 1976. The Blue Devils opened the game against UNLV by making their first five shots and taking a 15-8 lead. No post season for the Rebels. Johnson joined an already loaded squad. For the first time in tournament history a 15-seed defeated a 2-seed. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Dikembe Mutombo was 7-foot-2, Alonzo Mourning was 6-10 and Georgetown slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl. And their opponent in the Final Four was the same team they had defeated 103-73 in the previous year's national championship. Instead of using the traditional players' entrance to the arena, Tarkanian had the UNLV bus pull up to Barnhill's main gate on game day. Missing two starters, UNLV stayed close with Boise State but still lost its third consecutive game Sunday in Boise, Idaho. Yes, the Rebels intensity occasionally boiled over, but mostly Tarks guys stuck to trash talking and winning. Saxon, Christin Only Michigans Fab Five in recent memory has captivated the nation like the Rebels did. We present them here for purely educational purposes. People can try to deny this, but UNLV was like the Yankees in baseball, the Notre Dame of college football and the Mike Tyson of boxing. Heck, I was a kid living in Canada and I couldnt get enough of Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt, and Larry Johnson (and I guess we can toss George Ackles in there too). To mimic the Runnin' Rebels' swarming defense -- which shifted between man-to-man and the Amoeba, a 1-1-3 zone that combined ball pressure and corner traps with man-to-man concepts -- Duke starters played 5-on-7 against the bench in practice. 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. Jones and Stanford host Oregon. With NCAA sanctions banning UNLV from postseason play, Tarkanian announced in June 1991 that he would resign after the upcoming season. Title. Gilbert, David An average person they would call all of this better, but any college basketball coach or any real fan who knows the game would call that luck. The Tarkanian connection began before the Sharks coaching career at UNLV when, at Long Beach State, Tarks growing program was continually investigated by the NCAA. Odds & lines subject to change. Todd Day, Oliver Miller, and Lee Mayberry anchored the Arkansas squad. But what makes them different than, say, 83 Houston, 85 Georgetown or 99 Duke? Learn more and register, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Heres an important piece of the UNLV puzzle. Tar Heel Times UNC Sports & Recruiting News. "I was a fan of theirs," Grant Hill says. They were ranked No. We got these dudes because they are taking us lightly. This is a discussion on PS3 NCAA Basketball 10/March Madness Legacy: 2020-21 and Classic Team Rosters within the EA Sports NCAA Basketball Rosters forums. Previous Season Next Season. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Simple attrition I suppose. If ever there has been a coach unintimidated by the NCAA it was Jerry Tarkanian. "Our attitude was that if we keep it close, the pressure is on them. DeShawn Henry. Greenberg added that "Johnson may be the best player in the country, but Anthony is their key.". NCAA Tournament. 1991 UNLV Roll Call: The Starters. Scoring was distributed across the team, too. The tournament also returned to Charlotte in 1991, this time to the new Charlotte Coliseum, then the off-campus home of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team. We dont always play well, but weve always played hard and that didnt happen tonight., Duke freshman Grant Hill: I dont think they were used to slowing the ball down and having to look for one shot at the end, he said of a UNLV team which had won by an average of more than 27 points in its 30 games prior to the NCAA tournament.
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