# 1982–83 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 1982–83 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1982–83 season under head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The team played its final season of home games at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and was a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), now known as the Big West Conference. The Rebels won the first 24 games of the season and ascended to No. 1 in both major polls. UNLV captured the regular season conference title, then defeated Fresno State in the championship game of the PCAA Tournament. The team finished with a record of 28–3 (15–1 PCAA). As No. 3 seed in the West region, the Rebels were beaten in the second round of the NCAA tournament by eventual National champion NC State, 71–70.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1982* | No. 20 | Oklahoma | W 65–54 | 1–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Nov 30, 1982* | No. 19 т | at Nevada | W 85–84 | 2–0 | Centennial Coliseum (6,042) Reno, Nevada |
| Dec 3, 1982* | No. 19 т | at Duquesne | W 67–54 | 3–0 | Civic Arena (4,654) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 6, 1982* | No. 19 т | Arizona | W 88–70 | 4–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 9, 1982* | No. 19 т | Nevada | W 85–75 | 5–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 21, 1982* | No. 17 | Long Island University | W 101–78 | 6–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 22, 1982* | No. 17 | Baylor | W 77–65 | 7–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 28, 1982* | No. 15 | Wagner | W 120–70 | 8–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 29, 1982* | No. 15 | No. 8 Tennessee | W 70–54 | 9–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 1, 1983* | No. 15 | Utah | W 71–68 | 10–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 6, 1983 | No. 11 | at Utah State | W 89–77 | 11–0 (1–0) | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,506) Logan, Utah |
| Jan 8, 1983 | No. 11 | vs. UC Irvine | W 68–64 | 12–0 (2–0) | Long Beach Arena (4,229) Long Beach, California |
| Jan 13, 1983 | No. 8 | Pacific | W 86–63 | 13–0 (3–0) | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 15, 1983 | No. 8 | Fresno State | W 56–48 | 14–0 (4–0) | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 20, 1983 | No. 5 | Long Beach State | W 95–83 | 15–0 (5–0) | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 22, 1983 | No. 5 | Cal State Fullerton | W 76–71 | 16–0 (6–0) | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 25, 1983 | No. 4 | at UC Santa Barbara | W 77–73 | 17–0 (7–0) | The Thunderdome (4,215) Santa Barbara, California |
| Jan 29, 1983 | No. 4 | at Long Beach State | W 78–74 | 18–0 (8–0) | Long Beach Arena (6,077) Long Beach, California |
| Feb 4, 1983 | No. 2 | UC Santa Barbara | W 85–79 | 19–0 (9–0) | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Feb 5, 1983 | No. 2 | UC Irvine | W 70–68 | 20–0 (10–0) | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Feb 10, 1983 | No. 2 | at Pacific | W 79–62 | 21–0 (11–0) | Alex G. Spanos Center (5,902) Stockton, California |
| Feb 12, 1983 | No. 2 | at Fresno State | W 66–59 | 22–0 (12–0) | Selland Arena (6,586) Fresno, California |
| Feb 18, 1983 | No. 1 | San Jose State | W 84–81 | 23–0 (13–0) | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Feb 19, 1983 | No. 1 | Utah State | W 111–78 | 24–0 (14–0) | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Feb 24, 1983 | No. 1 | at Cal State Fullerton | L 78–86 | 24–1 (14–1) | Titan Gym (5,015) Fullerton, California |
| Feb 27, 1983* | No. 1 | at West Virginia | L 78–87 | 24–2 | WVU Coliseum (15,638) Morgantown, West Virginia |
| Mar 3, 1983 | No. 9 | at San Jose State | W 67–61 | 25–2 (15–1) | San Jose Civic Auditorium (2,612) San Jose, California |
| PCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 1983* | No. 9 | vs. Pacific Quarterfinals | W 74–67 | 26–2 | The Forum (9,717) Inglewood, California |
| Mar 11, 1983* | No. 9 | vs. Long Beach State Semifinals | W 67–64 | 27–2 | The Forum (12,053) Inglewood, California |
| Mar 12, 1983* | No. 9 | vs. Fresno State Championship game | W 66–63 | 28–2 | The Forum (11,022) Inglewood, California |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 20, 1983* | (3 W) No. 6 | vs. (6 W) No. 16 NC State Second Round | L 70–71 | 28–3 | Gill Coliseum (8,700) Corvallis, Oregon |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. ||||||
    Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 20 | 19 т | 19 т | 18 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 6 |
| Coaches | — | —^ | — | 19 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 6 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

## Awards and honors

* Sidney Green – PCAA Player of the Year