• Competing in the Mountain West Conference the UNLV Rebels Men's Basketball team have made ten NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, four trips to the Final Four and won the 1990 NCAA National Championship, defeating Duke by 30 points at Denver, CO. UNLV's most recent NCAA tournament appearance was 2007's Sweet Sixteen loss to Oregon. UNLV has the third best winning percentage in Division 1, behind Kentucky and North Carolina and ahead of Kansas and Duke. In the Rebels' 50-year history there have only been four losing seasons. The program reached it's zenith during the late 1980's and early 1990's under the controversial leadership of head coach Jerry Tarkanian. He guided the team to the Final Four on 4 different occasions, including winning the 1990 national championship. He introduced a unique style of zone defense nicknamed the 'amoeba defense', and was easily identifiable for sitting on the bench chewing a towel to help deal with nerves. He also had numerous run-ins with the NCAA over rules violations regarding recruitment and eligibility issues. After blowing out Duke in the 1990 championship game, the "Running Rebels", as they were known back then, went undefeated during the 1991 regular season, and were the overwhelming favorites to become the first repeat NCAA champions since UCLA in the 1970s. But Duke pulled a stunning upset in the 1991 Final Four, and after the university hired a new president to help change the image of the school, Tarkanian was forced to resign in 1992. Among the great players in UNLV history are Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Reggie Theus, Sidney Green, Greg Anthony, Shawn Marion, and Armon Gilliam. Johnson, Augmon, and Anthony were all drafted within the first 12 selections of the 1991 NBA Draft.
    1. Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
    2. College: University of Nevada Las Vegas
    3. Established: 1957
    4. Head Coach: Lon Kruger
    5. Nickname: "Runnin' Rebels
    6. Team colors: Scarlet and Gray
    7. Conference: Mountain West
    8. Mascot: Rebels
    9. Arena: Thomas & Mack Center #Capacity: 18,500
    10. First team to score 100 points in a [http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament#Final_Four National Championship Final]
    11. Made back-to-back Final Four appearances, [http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament#Final_Four 1990] & 1991
    12. Have scored a [http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-point_field_goal#History 3-point goal] in every game since the rule was adopted, this is the NCAA record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer
    13. The last game UNLV failed to make a 3 pointer was January 25, 1986
    14. Five seasons with 30 or more wins

Categories