# 1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1990–91 season. The Runnin' Rebels, coached by Jerry Tarkanian, entered the season as defending national champions and entered the 1991 NCAA tournament unbeaten, but lost in the national semifinal to eventual champions Duke when Anderson Hunt's desperation three in the final seconds bounced off the backboard and into the hands of a Duke player, Bobby Hurley, ending a 45-game winning streak that dated back to the previous season. They had been the last team to finish the regular season unbeaten before St. Joseph's did it in 2004. They were the last team to enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten until Wichita State did it in 2014, Kentucky in 2015, and Gonzaga in 2021.
The team played its home games in the Thomas & Mack Center, and was a member of the Big West Conference.
UNLV’s semi-final loss in the NCAA tournament brought an end to their astounding 45-game win streak. That is the fourth-longest consecutive-game win streak in NCAA Division 1 basketball history, and the longest win streak since the longest one ever (by UCLA) ended in 1974.
They are often called the greatest college basketball team to not win the championship.

## Roster

1990-91 UNLV Roster and Stats

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| Dec 1, 1990* | No. 1 | vs. UAB | W 109–68 | 1–0 | 26 – Johnson | – | – | BC Place (7,963) Vancouver, BC |
| Dec 7, 1990* | No. 1 | at Nevada | W 131–81 | 2–0 | – | – | – | Lawlor Events Center (11,090) Reno, NV |
| Dec 15, 1990* | No. 1 | vs. No. 21 Michigan State | W 95–75 | 3–0 | 35 – Johnson | – | – | The Palace of Auburn Hills (21,454) Auburn Hills, MI |
| Dec 19, 1990* | No. 1 | No. 25 Princeton | W 69–35 | 4–0 | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (17,778) Las Vegas, NV |
| Dec 22, 1990* | No. 1 | Florida State | W 101–69 | 5–0 | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (17,133) Las Vegas, NV |
| Dec 30, 1990 | No. 1 | at Pacific | W 92–72 | 6–0 (1–0) | – | – | – | Alex G. Spanos Center (6,150) Stockton, CA |
| Jan 2, 1991* | No. 1 | at James Madison | W 89–65 | 7–0 | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (17,473) Las Vegas, NV |
| Jan 4, 1991 | No. 1 | Cal State Fullerton | W 98–67 | 8–0 (2–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (18,995) Las Vegas, NV |
| Jan 7, 1991 | No. 1 | San Jose State | W 95–63 | 9–0 (3–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (17,718) Las Vegas, NV |
| Jan 9, 1991 | No. 1 | Utah State | W 124–93 | 10–0 (4–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (18,792) Las Vegas, NV |
| Jan 12, 1991 | No. 1 | at Fresno State | W 117–91 | 11–0 (5–0) | – | – | – | Selland Arena (10,159) Fresno, CA |
| Jan 17, 1991 | No. 1 | at UC Irvine | W 117–76 | 12–0 (6–0) | – | – | – | Bren Events Center (5,005) Irvine, CA |
| Jan 19, 1991 | No. 1 | Long Beach State | W 114–63 | 13–0 (7–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (19,444) Las Vegas, NV |
| Jan 21, 1991 | No. 1 | at UC Santa Barbara | W 88–71 | 14–0 (8–0) | – | – | – | The Thunderdome (6,000) Santa Barbara, CA |
| Jan 26, 1991* | No. 1 | at Louisville | W 97–85 | 15–0 | – | – | – | Freedom Hall (19,465) Louisville, KY |
| Jan 28, 1991 | No. 1 | at Utah State | W 126–83 | 16–0 (9–0) | – | – | – | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (9,797) Logan, UT |
| Jan 31, 1991 | No. 1 | at San Jose State | W 88–64 | 17–0 (10–0) | – | – | – | The Event Center (4,867) San Jose, CA |
| Feb 3, 1991* | No. 1 | Rutgers | W 115–73 | 18–0 | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (18,954) Las Vegas, NV |
| Feb 7, 1991 | No. 1 | Fresno State | W 113–64 | 19–0 (11–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (18,883) Las Vegas, NV |
| Feb 10, 1991* | No. 1 | at No. 2 Arkansas | W 112–105 | 20–0 | 31 – Augmon | 14 – Johnson | 10 – Anthony | Barnhill Arena (9,640) Fayetteville, AR |
| Feb 14, 1991 | No. 1 | UC Santa Barbara | W 98–71 | 21–0 (12–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (19,147) Las Vegas, NV |
| Feb 16, 1991 | No. 1 | No. 12 New Mexico State | W 86–74 | 22–0 (13–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (18,902) Las Vegas, NV |
| Feb 18, 1991 | No. 1 | at Long Beach State | W 122–75 | 23–0 (14–0) | – | – | – | Long Beach Arena (12,007) Long Beach, CA |
| Feb 21, 1991 | No. 1 | Pacific | W 80–59 | 24–0 (15–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (19,568) Las Vegas, NV |
| Feb 23, 1991 | No. 1 | UC Irvine | W 114–86 | 25–0 (16–0) | – | – | – | Thomas & Mack Center (19,826) Las Vegas, NV |
| Feb 25, 1991 | No. 1 | at No. 15 New Mexico State | W 86–74 | 26–0 (17–0) | 24 – Augmon | – | – | Pan American Center (13,007) Las Cruces, NM |
| Mar 2, 1991 | No. 1 | at Cal State Fullerton | W 104–83 | 27–0 (18–0) | – | – | – | Titan Gym (4,032) Fullerton, CA |
| Big West tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 1991* | (1) No. 1 | at (8) Long Beach State Quarterfinals | W 49–29 | 28–0 | – | – | – | Long Beach Arena (11,760) Long Beach, CA |
| Mar 9, 1991* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (5) UC Santa Barbara Semifinals | W 95–66 | 29–0 | – | – | – | Long Beach Arena (11,283) Long Beach, CA |
| Mar 10, 1991* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (7) Fresno State Championship | W 98–74 | 30–0 | – | – | – | Long Beach Arena (11,045) Long Beach, CA |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 15, 1991* | (1 W) No. 1 | vs. (16 W) Montana First Round | W 99–65 | 31–0 | 23 – Johnson | 9 – Johnson | 9 – Anthony | McKale Center (13,367) Tucson, AZ |
| Mar 17, 1991* | (1 W) No. 1 | vs. (8 W) Georgetown Second Round | W 62–54 | 32–0 | 20 – Johnson | 10 – Tied | 4 – Anthony | McKale Center (13,497) Tucson, AZ |
| March 21, 1991* CBS | (1 W) No. 1 | vs. (4 W) No. 10 Utah Sweet Sixteen | W 83–66 | 33–0 | 23 – Johnson | 13 – Johnson | 10 – Anthony | Kingdome (22,628) Seattle, WA |
| March 23, 1991* CBS | (1 W) No. 1 | vs. (3 W) No. 13 Seton Hall Elite Eight | W 77–65 | 34–0 | 30 – Johnson | 6 – Johnson | 11 – Anthony | Kingdome (23,666) Seattle, WA |
| March 30, 1991* CBS | (1 W) No. 1 | vs. (2 MW) No. 6 Duke Final Four | L 77–79 | 34–1 | 29 – Hunt | 13 – Johnson | 6 – Anthony | RCA Dome (47,100) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. |||||||||
Sources 1990-91 UNLV Schedule and Results

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | 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 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Coaches | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* Larry Johnson – Naismith College Player of the Year, USBWA College Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Award
* Stacey Augmon – NABC Defensive Player of the Year (3)

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 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 |
| 1992 | 1 | 25 | Elmore Spencer | Los Angeles Clippers |