United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1991, 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, East Regional East Rutherford, New Jersey, Southeast Regional Charlotte, North Carolina, 1991 NCAA Basketball National Championship Game, NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments, Duke Blue Devils men's basketball 199091 NCAA champions, 1991 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, 1991 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 1991 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament, 1991 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament, 1991 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, 1991 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament, 1991 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament, 1991 National Women's Invitation Tournament, 1991 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament, 1991 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament, "Florida Gulf Coast vs. Georgetown Game Recap March 22, 2013 ESPN", "College Basketball; Smith Ejected on 2 Technicals", "Fordham's road to NCAA blocked by St. Francis, 7064", "The longest winning streaks in college basketball history | NCAA.com", Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Series, 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sports, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1991_NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_basketball_tournament&oldid=1136549342, 199091 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Basketball competitions in Charlotte, North Carolina, March 1991 sports events in the United States, April 1991 sports events in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Bobby Dibler, David Bair, and Harrell Allen, This was Duke's fourth (of five) consecutive Final Four trip, the first team to achieve such a feat since UCLA. You call holding two All-Americans in Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon to a combined 16 points better? These publications were digitized by Digital Scholarship@UNLV staff from copies held in . But the committee saw the matter differently and imposed the ban on postseason play for 1991, making UNLV . Quick Links. Whats up? "Beating that UNLV team was a pivotal moment in Duke basketball history," Grant Hill says. It was, at a minimum, a pivotal turning point. You call getting a bogus and now famous Duke charging call that resulted in UNLV Greg Anthonys foul disqualification better? My hat off to Coach Tark for getting us to play together and play that hard all the time. ", Bobby Hurley adds, "Coach K did a tremendous job instilling confidence in us in the week leading up to the rematch with UNLV.". Theyre just better than we are. Regardless though, the real possibility of the Rebels putting out on the floor one of the greatest teams of all time in the 1991 regular season, and then not having the chance to go to the tournament loomed. The official 1990-91 Men's Basketball Roster for the Duke University The Lions were making a storybook tournament run in the wake of the tragic death of Hank Gathers, but UNLV ended that story with an easy 131-101 victory. Greg Anthony: He was quite simply the engine that ran the rebels and quite possibly the most hated Rebel. Buckley, Brandon 1990-1991 UNLV Runnin . . Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. A brutal sucker punch in the OVC tournament stopped the game in its tracks. I just feel so happy and fortunate that we got here and were able to win it., Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski: We were overmatched. True to Greenberg's word, Anthony fouled out when he was called for a charge on Davis with 3:51 remaining in the game. On This Day In UK Basketball History On March 2, 1970, Dan Issel scored 42 points against Auburn. UNLV came down court with one final chance at keeping its dreams alive, but Anderson Hunt's 3-pointer with 2 seconds to play bounced off the rim. As the game wore on at timeouts, at halftime we were like, Yo, we can win this.'". Say what you want about level of competition, but while the Big West wasnt the Pac-10 or ACC, think of Memphis in conference USA. We had been in close games. The UNLV-UAB contest capped off a day of basketballa girls game at 12:15, a boys game at 2:15, a matchup between the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria at 4:30, and then finally UNLV. But that wide-ranging influence was rooted first in UNLV's dominance on the basketball court. We had three of the top college players of all time, but we didn't know that then.". Dave Rice: (UNLVs new head coach): Fundamentally sound player who received minor minutes. Baker, Trey Bobby Joyce: Great junior college player. At the other end of the floor, however, Duke was overwhelmed on its defensive glass as the Rebels pulled down half of their missed shots and Johnson personally recorded eight offensive boards. Lindl, MS, LAT, ATC, Connor Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Video & Recruiting Coordinator. That and the fact that perfect regular seasons are exceedingly rare in college basketball. Simply put, most opponents were already beat before the game even started. "Beating that UNLV team was a pivotal moment in Duke basketball history," Grant Hill . In advance of the rematch on the Aggies' home floor, Utah State took out a full-page ad in the Logan Herald Journal. 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. Solid scorer; a starter at any other school. 1 UNLV Runnin' Rebels during this 1990-91 season, and he was afforded a special seat for the contest. Because many people forget or simply ignore the plain truth - LJ kicked everyone's ass on the court. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Drake and Bradley are the favorites in the MVC mens basketball conference tournament. The Hogs even held the halftime lead. UNLV had its way with UAB. The opponent: Alabama-Birmingham. Why Wooden changed his verbage is unknown, but Im sure some of it had to do with Jerry Tarkanian. After a 113 to 64 humiliation of Fresno State, UNLV stood at 19-0. 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. UNLV coach Kevin Kruger is 3-0 against the Wolf Pack, but the Rebels are regrouping after a 91-66 loss to Utah State on Wednesday. He still can't bring himself to click on the link provided by the NCAA's March Madness channel on YouTube. "We knew we had a target on our back in every game and had to play our best.". No need. This isnt the NBA where you need to be consistent in a best of seven series. Its simple those teams are mentioned in passing - never with the reverence of 91 UNLV. Games in the Washington area have since been played at either Baltimore, Landover or in Washington itself at Capital One Arena. Some teams were ranked. Hill, Crawford Johnson, Cheickna Most werent that great. Because as a person he was highly intelligent, republican, business minded and was extremely well spoken in interviews. The margins were ridiculous. (Rebel coach Jerry Tarkanians nickname was Tark the Shark.) 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. As the ball left Anderson Hunts hands, we naturally assumed it would find its mark, desperate and deep as the 3-pointer might have been in the waning seconds of the national semifinal game. On March 2, 1991, before a crowd of 24,310 at Rupp Arena, Kentucky defeats Auburn, 114-93, to claim the best record in the Southeastern Conference and end its two-year probation. When the two teams met in Las Vegas in February of 1990, a brawl erupted after UNLV's Chris Jeter head-butted one Utah State player and punched another. And their opponent in the Final Four was the same team they had defeated 103-73 in the previous year's national championship. Buckley, Christian The core five of Butler (15.8), Anthony (11.2), Augmon (14.2), Hunt (15.9), and Johnson (20.6) each . The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. 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. During the UNLV golden age they won an impressive 45 games straight when you include their final 11 games of the 1990 championship season. Instead, the Rebels played without their point guard and managed just three points over their final four possessions. "I looked over at Brian [Davis] and said, We got these MF's. I should know; I was there, ball-boying my way as close the Rebels as possible. I should get it converted.". UNLV reeled off its next 16 wins by an average score of 103-71 before encountering what experts forecasted to be an actual challenge, a true road game at Arkansas. With NCAA sanctions banning UNLV from postseason play, Tarkanian announced in June 1991 that he would resign after the upcoming season. Duke assurance grew with every break they caught in the second half: Ackles picked up his fourth foul minutes after halftime, an ankle injury hobbled his backup, Elmore Spencer. UAB did the best it could. 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. There is no additional information to display: View Full Bio, Marty We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Copyright 2019 Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service, In this March 30, 1991, file photo, UNLV's Anderson Hunt (12) and unidentified teammates leave the floor after losing to Duke in an NCAA national semifinal game in Indianapolis. Check out the detailed 1990-91 Virginia Tech Hokies Roster and Stats for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. An Ackles tip-in on the ensuing possession pushed the lead to five, but UNLV was disjointed without their point guard and Duke went on a 6-0 run to pull ahead 77-76. The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1991 tournament: Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight), National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship). 27-0. Athletic Trainer. Visit ESPN to view the UNLV Rebels team roster for the current season. There was no way we were going to beat them. 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). ", "We're the greatest team to have not won a national championship. What happened: You can count on hand how many times an NCAA final has seen such dominance created by defense. Hampshire, Marvin The 1991 Runnin Rebels are the greatest college basketball team of all time. For the first time, CBS Sports showed all 63 tournament games. The 1991 Rebels were the bad guys and they loved every minute of their role. Mutual respected rivals (L to R) Tark & Wooden. Odds & lines subject to change. At the time, we knew the defeat ended UNLVs undefeated season after 34 wins. Larry Johnson shot 66% from the floor for the season. 1990-1991 UNLV Runnin' Rebels Roster # Player Class Pos HT WT . And as I look around the college basketball landscape, I see failure and defeats everywhere. Learn more and register, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. With Anthony on the bench, UNLV managed just three points the rest of the way. 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 had 22 points and 11 rebounds while Final Four Most Valuable Player Anderson Hunt scored 29 for a UNLV team that shot a sizzling 61 percent. Tarkanian grew tired of the NCAAs accusations and their blatant blind eyes to obvious rule breaking by UCLAs boaster Sam Gilbert.