# 1987–88 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 1987–88 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1985–86 season under head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The team played its home games in the Thomas & Mack Center, and was a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), now known as the Big West Conference. The Rebels won the regular season conference and PCAA tournament titles. The team finished with a record of 28–6 (15–3 PCAA) and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 3, 1987* | No. 19 | at Hawaii–Loa Pearl Harbor Classic | W 114–46 | 1–0 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center (500) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 4, 1987* | No. 19 | at Hawaii–Hilo Pearl Harbor Classic | W 113–65 | 2–0 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center (2,425) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 5, 1987* | No. 19 | at Hawaii–Loa Pearl Harbor Classic | W 120–47 | 3–0 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center (500) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 8, 1987* | No. 17 | at Nevada | W 98–96 | 4–0 | Lawlor Events Center (11,388) Reno, Nevada |
| Dec 12, 1987* | No. 17 | at Houston | W 89–69 | 5–0 | Hofheinz Pavilion (6,021) Houston, Texas |
| Dec 21, 1987* | No. 15 | Tennessee Tech | W 103–76 | 6–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (17,202) Paradise, Nevada |
| Dec 22, 1987* | No. 15 | Creighton | W 90–59 | 7–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (15,957) Paradise, Nevada |
| Dec 28, 1987* | No. 15 | Wisconsin UNLV Holiday Classic | W 102–65 | 8–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (15,971) Paradise, Nevada |
| Dec 29, 1987* | No. 15 | Louisiana State UNLV Holiday Classic | W 78–59 | 9–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (16,596) Paradise, Nevada |
| Jan 2, 1988 | No. 15 | at New Mexico State | W 69–64 | 10–0 (1–0) | Pan American Center (10,812) Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Jan 4, 1988 | No. 13 | at Long Beach State | W 71–68 | 11–0 (2–0) | Long Beach Arena (4,286) Long Beach, California |
| Jan 7, 1988 | No. 13 | UC Santa Barbara | L 60–62 | 11–1 (2–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (18,500) Paradise, Nevada |
| Jan 9, 1988 | No. 13 | UC Irvine | W 103–68 | 12–1 (3–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (15,506) Paradise, Nevada |
| Jan 16, 1988 | No. 13 | at Cal State Fullerton | W 63–57 | 13–1 (4–1) | Titan Gym (4,113) Fullerton, California |
| Jan 17, 1988* | No. 13 | at Providence | W 92–72 | 14–1 | Providence Civic Center (13,100) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Jan 19, 1988 | No. 8 | at Utah State | W 87–83 | 15–1 (5–1) | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270) Logan, Utah |
| Jan 21, 1988 | No. 8 | at San Jose State | W 95–83 | 16–1 (6–1) | San Jose Civic Auditorium (2,612) San Jose, California |
| Jan 24, 1988* | No. 8 | No. 3 Temple | W 59–58 | 17–1 | Thomas & Mack Center (19,000) Paradise, Nevada |
| Jan 28, 1988 | No. 4 | Fresno State | W 87–71 | 18–1 (7–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (17,934) Paradise, Nevada |
| Jan 30, 1988 | No. 4 | Pacific | W 92–67 | 19–1 (8–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (17,583) Paradise, Nevada |
| Feb 4, 1988 | No. 2 | at UC Irvine | W 99–77 | 20–1 (9–1) | Bren Events Center (5,000) Irvine, California |
| Feb 6, 1988 | No. 2 | at UC Santa Barbara | L 66–71 | 20–2 (9–2) | The Thunderdome (6,000) Santa Barbara, California |
| Feb 11, 1988 | No. 7 | Cal State Fullerton | W 77–61 | 21–2 (10–2) | Thomas & Mack Center (17,530) Paradise, Nevada |
| Feb 13, 1988* | No. 7 | Missouri | L 79–81 | 21–3 | Thomas & Mack Center (19,000) Paradise, Nevada |
| Feb 18, 1988 | No. 11 | Utah State | W 94–74 | 22–3 (11–2) | Thomas & Mack Center (19,250) Paradise, Nevada |
| Feb 20, 1988 | No. 11 | San Jose State | W 85–68 | 23–3 (12–2) | Thomas & Mack Center (16,798) Paradise, Nevada |
| Feb 25, 1988 | No. 8 | at Pacific | W 77–61 | 24–3 (13–2) | Alex G. Spanos Center (5,424) Stockton, California |
| Feb 27, 1988 | No. 8 | at Fresno State | W 71–60 | 25–3 (14–2) | Selland Arena (10,159) Fresno, California |
| Mar 3, 1988 | No. 5 | Long Beach State | L 77–79 | 25–4 (14–3) | Thomas & Mack Center (18,310) Paradise, Nevada |
| Mar 5, 1988 | No. 5 | New Mexico State | W 86–68 | 26–4 (15–3) | Thomas & Mack Center (19,371) Paradise, Nevada |
| PCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1988* | No. 7 | vs. Cal State Fullerton Quarterfinals | W 61–56 | 27–4 | The Forum (9,587) Inglewood, California |
| Mar 12, 1988* | No. 7 | vs. UC Irvine Semifinals | L 70–74 | 27–5 | The Forum (12,066) Inglewood, California |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 18, 1988* | (4 W) No. 12 | vs. (13 W) SW Missouri State First round | W 54–50 | 28–5 | Pauley Pavilion (11,175) Los Angeles, California |
| Mar 20, 1988* CBS | (4 W) No. 12 | vs. (5 W) No. 17 Iowa Second round | L 86–104 | 28–6 | Pauley Pavilion (12,901) Los Angeles, California |
| *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 :
| | 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 | — | 19 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Coaches | Not released | 18 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 15 |