1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

Previous season

The Rebels finished the 1988–89 season 25–8, 16–2 in Big West play to win the regular season championship. They defeated UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, and New Mexico State to win the Big West tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the West region. They defeated Idaho, DePaul, and No. 1-seeded Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to Seton Hall.

Season summary

NCAA tournament

UNLV won three of its tournament games by 30 points, but got a scare from Ball State in the regional semifinal, winning by just two points.

In the 1990 Tournament -

• UNLV at the time had the largest accumulated victory margin (112 points), over the entire tournament by a championship team that played 6 games. To date it is the sixth-largest.
• UNLV's 103–73 win over Duke marked the first, (and to date, only), time in the history of the tournament that at least 100 points were scored in the championship game.
• UNLV's 571 points over six games set the record for most points scored by a single team in any one year of the tournament.
• UNLV is the only team in tournament history to average more than 95 points per game, over six games. In six tournament games, they won three by exactly 30 points, while scoring more than 100 points in each 30-point victory.
• UNLV and UCLA in 1965 are the only teams in tournament history to win three games all while scoring at least 100 points in each win. (Loyola Marymount also scored at least 100 points in three games in the 1990 tournament, but lost their last game, where they scored 101 points, to UNLV, by 30 points. UNLV also scored at least 100 points in three victories in the 1977 tournament, but their last one was in the Final Four consolation game.)
• UNLV's 30-point margin of victory in the championship game is also a tournament record. ESPN called it the 36th "worst blowout in sports history".
• To date, UNLV remains the last team from a non-power conference (AAC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC) to win the national championship, since Louisville in 1986. (Louisville was in The Metro Conference in 1986, which was considered a major basketball conference throughout its history, 1975 - 1995.)
• The championship game was UNLV's eleventh-consecutive win. They would eventually run the win streak to an astounding 45 games. That is the fourth-longest win streak in NCAA Division 1 basketball history, and the longest win streak since the longest one ever (by UCLA) ended in 1974.

(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

• Jerry Tarkanian ()
• Tim Grgurich
• Ron Ganulin
• Cleveland Edwards 1989-90 UNLV Roster and StatsRebel-Net.com - Best of the 64 Era: The 1990 Runnin' Rebels

Schedule and results

|- !colspan=12 style=| Regular Season |- !colspan=12 style=| Big West tournament |- !colspan=12 style=| NCAA Tournament Sources Rebel-Net.com - Best of the 64 Era: The 1990 Runnin' Rebels1989-90 UNLV Schedule and Results

Rankings

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

Awards and honors

• Anderson Hunt, NCAA Men's MOP Award
• 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

References

References

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2. (2022). "The Tournament". [[NCAA]].
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6. (September 15, 2015). "100 worst blowouts in history: Nos. 50-26". ESPN.
7. Wilco, Daniel. (January 19, 2020). "The longest winning streaks in college basketball history". [[NCAA]].
8. . (March 1990). "1990 NCAA Final Four program".
9. (November 16, 1989). "No. 1 Rebels overcome Marymount". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
10. (November 18, 1989). "Rebels take their show to the big city". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
11. (November 25, 1989). "Rebels rise to the occasion". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
12. (December 10, 1989). "Stormin' in Norman: Sooners win 89-81". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
13. (January 14, 1990). "UNLV Repels Temple's Late Charge". [[Los Angeles Times]].
14. (January 13, 1990). "UNLV 82, Temple 76". [[United Press International.
15. (January 28, 1990). "LSU 107, UNLV 105". [[United Press International]].
16. (February 3, 1990). "Rebels beat Wolfpack at own game". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
17. (February 4, 1990). "Rebels Forget Their Troubles, 88-82". [[Los Angeles Times]].
18. (February 15, 1990). "Aggies trail the Hunt, 109-86". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
19. (February 18, 1990). "Order on the court: Rebels win 95-87". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
20. (February 24, 1990). "Rebels don't get mad at Louisville, just even". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
21. (March 15, 1990). "UNLV 102, Arkansas-Little Rock 72". [[United Press International]].
22. (March 17, 1990). "UNLV 76, Ohio St. 65". [[United Press International]].
23. (March 23, 1990). "Rebels take the bounce out of Ball State, 69-67". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
24. (March 24, 1990). "U.N.L.V. Repels Ball State Rally, 69-67". [[The New York Times]].
25. (March 25, 1990). "Rebels roll to Final Four". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
26. (March 26, 1990). "Augmon Is Main Man for the Rebels". [[Los Angeles Times]].
27. (April 1, 1990). "UNLV Escapes Foul End, Downs Georgia Tech". [[The Washington Post]].
28. (April 3, 1990). "Rebels rule NCAA". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
29. (April 3, 1990). "UNLV Takes Title Running Away". [[The Washington Post]].
30. (April 2, 1990). "Nevada-Las Vegas 103, Duke 73". [[United Press International]].
31. (April 3, 1990). "U.N.L.V. Applies a Defensive Clamp and It Works". [[The New York Times]].
32. "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
33. "1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball stats".
34. "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com.
35. "1991 NBA Draft". [[Sports Reference]].