1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball | |
---|---|
Conference | Big West Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 1 |
1990–91 record | 34–1 (18–0 Big West) |
Head coach | Jerry Tarkanian |
Home arena | Thomas and Mack Center |
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. 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 and Kentucky in 2015.
The team played its home games in the Thomas & Mack Center, and was a member of the Big West Conference; it would join the Western Athletic Conference in 1996 and become a charter member of its current conference, the Mountain West Conference, in 1999.
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".