Tarks 90-91 UNLV teams were the best college basketball teams in my lifetime. Stifling "Amoeba defense" and fast break dunks left and right off turnovers.
The turning point of this game was the opening tip off. After that, it was all Vegas. My absolute favorite college basketball game of all time, seeing those complete snobs from Duke, get absolutely crushed into oblivion. REBELS!!!!!!!!!!!
This ended maybe the best five year run of title games in NCAA tourney history. 85, you had the Villanova shocker over Georgetown. 86, the forever underrated Louisville/Duke final (NEVER NERVOUS PERVIS!). 87, the Keith Smart dagger for Indiana over Syracuse. 88, Danny and the Miracles shock Oklahoma in the title game. And 89, the Michigan last second OT win over Seton Hall thanks to Rumeal Robinson's FT's.
Good point and I never noticed how many were so close in a row, but also with the exception of Georgetown’s decisive victory over Houston in 84 it was 7 out of 8 consecutive years. Starting with North Carolina squeaking by Georgetown and North Carolina state squeaking by Houston.
Funny you say that, I was just thinking how this year's final shows how much better the skill levels are in today's game, especially that Baylor guard rotation. Baylor's defense was better too if you ask me. But that's how it's supposed to work- each year and decade builds off the previous. Having said that, that AMOEBA was something special!!
But there's one thing that's funny that they cut out. After the pregame hype video, the UNLV band was playing the 1987-92 CBS College Basketball theme. Luckily, all other uploads have the pre-game show intact, unlike the NCAA here, giving us the NASCAR TH-cam throwback treatment of going directly to the start without the valuable context for 1st time viewers.
@@daa_97 that wasn't the problem! '91 Vegas played in a weaker conference after alignments at the time and except for one non-league game that season against Arkansas and Todd Day, they weren't tested all year in a stretch run type game until the tournament! And Duke was a way better team in '91 with the addition of Grant Hill, which gave Duke a wing player having athleticism that could have played for anyone! Vegas was also very weak at center with the slow and flat footed George Ackles (who Laettner ate alive), and they're extremely thin bench came back to bite them when Anthony questionably fouled out late! Vegas was still real, real good in '91 but they had more obstacles that everyone seems to ignore when discussing their fate! No, Duke as a team may not have been at that level consistently, but in the Dance u only need to be better for one game! And they were better in '91 than in '90, plus had five added days to prepare they didn't have the year before! Oh and Vegas also didn't have David Butler or Moses Scurry in '91 and they were consistent do everything type of guys on both ends of the floor
1990 UNLV is still the best tournament team I've seen since I started keeping up with college basketball in '80'-81 as a third grader! Ive told people the same two things for years now since Vegas' woodshed beating of my boys in the '90 championship! 1) the way Vegas was playing during that March run, they could have beaten any team from any era and 2) if u were never to a basketball clinic, all u needed was to be watching or attended the game on April 2, 1990 because u were a witness to a basketball clinic! Vegas could do no wrong in any aspect of the final that night! They were simply extraordinary
@@bnegs521 And your a joke for not realizing how athletic and well schooled Ball State was that season! Don't call me a joke when you assume as to why Vegas struggled with Ball State! Their tempo controlled the pace and kept UNLV from consistently running it's vaunted fast break! That entire team had already played for Rick Majerus, who's coaching mastery always gave more athletic and bigger programs fits (just ask '98 Arizona and North Carolina both)! I vividly remember watching the Ball State Vegas game as a senior in HS and Ball State was more legit than your obviously aware of
This is the GREATEST College Basketball team of all time. And a TOP 5 Basketball Team ever. The Dream Team, 86 Celtics, 72 win Chicago Bulls and then UNLV is right there....
I was downtown Denver for all the events going on during the Championship game. Grandmama and Plastic Man were outstanding players. When I went on vacation in Las Vegas years later, I actually saw Tarkanian at a mall and got his autograph.
I'd put the 1990-1991 UNLV squad against any team in college history. There were men amongst boys and only lost because they got paid to. You'll never see a championship game end with a margin of points this wide.
Kevin, I was a senior in HS that '89-'90 season of college basketball and Vegas' performance that night was scintillating! I'm a die-hard Duke fan and have been since '81-'82 and I got to suffer a bad case of whiplash watching UNLV run us out of the building! That squad is to this day the best national champion we've had in the tournament expansion era (1985-present)
@@DanielSong39 Vegas put on the definition of a basketball clinic! That game could be used as a video tool for kids wanting to learn the game effortlessly
2021 Baylor during the tournament was just as dominant, with superb perimeter shooting, sound defensively and athletic at every position! Them and Vegas would be an interesting matchup, but yes they would hammer the Zags
And never forget - 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. 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; and the only one since 1977. 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.
And why do they accuse him of 'running up the score?' 57:50 He's up by 26 with 11 minutes to go. He only added four to the difference. He could've added at least 20.
This was the city of Las Vegas's biggest sports victory until just a couple of days ago (June 13, 2023) when the Vegas Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup!
LJ had issues with his back which limited his explosiveness, his best years were in Charlotte, was not the same player when he left Charlotte for the Knicks because of his back issues
@@ethad123 I know everything about LJ . Still didn't get to the level he should have. Him and mourning with boges should have made some deep playoff runs . But that whole team under achieved. By the time he went to the Knicks he was on his last legs.
One of the greatest teams in history. Manhandled the Blue Devils. They lost the rematch the next year with a combination of UNLV underestimating Duke, help from the refs and Duke playing their best game in years. Had the 91 team won that one UNLV would have gone down as the greatest college team ever
@@eddychiella923and I've been saying that very thing for several years! Moses Scurry has also been sorely undervalued when remembering in hindsight! '91 Vegas very much missed both Scurry and Butler
This was the Runnin' Rebels team we never saw in the 1991 tournament. Even though they were considered to be better than this 1990 version they were more like the Walking Rebels in the '91 tourney leading up to getting upset by Duke. They never played anywhere near as good in March as the 1990 team did.
And people so forget how important the losses of David Butler and Moses Scurry we're off the 1990 championship team! They were so undervalued by several who automatically think the '91 team was better! Butler and Scurry brought intangibles and effort the '91 Vegas team didn't have due to a short, ineffective bench against quality competition! And plus Butler was a way more complete center than George Ackles! Ackles was inconsistent period and moreso on the defensive end! It glaringly showed in the '91 rematch when he got torched by Laettner
ON EVERYTHING I LOVE.....This was the LAST BASKETBALL TEAM (College or NBA) that played SMOTHERING DEFENSE without PLAYING DIRTY & PLAYING DEFENSE COLLECTIVELY AS A TEAM. WATCH THEM (ALL 5)!!!
Facts. If you watch the videos on youtube of Tark teaching defensive drills and techniques they're hellacious. Anderson Hunt said they hated practice and that practice was harder than the games
As a white guy who played hoops in private schools at this time, Vegas was my favorite team and all my friends too. LJ and Hunt! 53:33 "folks this one is all Vegas"
@@shawnflanagan4995 I posted this 2 years ago and I shouldn't have said fired.Technically, he wasn't. His contract was up and they elected not to resign him. So he knew going into that Monday night he would be unemployed the next day.
@daboys1215 ok. still, i blame nantz for our loss in '91, and all of our subsequent tournament failures. now that he's not there anymore, maybe rebs' chances are looking up.😉
@@jeffboy13 A completely healthy Kenny Smith no question about it! That was the best Carolina team ever to not win a championship! Had he not broken his wrist, it's a Carolina Georgetown rematch in '84! '98 Carolina right behind them at #2
Well no. They finished 3rd in the conference standings. New Mexico State also beat UNLV that year and swept UCSB. They tied for the regular season title with UNLV. Just had a tough draw in the tournament playing the loaded and vastly underseeded Loyola Marymount team in the first round.
And unlike '91, Vegas benefited from being in a more competitive conference in '90, plus they played Oklahoma, LSU, Kansas and Arkansas in the non-conference as well! Their schedule overall in '91 was one of the things that came back to bite them defending their title
@@bentonja668 oh absolutely there's no question Duke was a better team the second time around due to the addition of Grant Hill (athlete on equal par with Vega's group) and the quantom leap improvement of Laettner! But what I was saying is Vegas' weak schedule didn't afford them the opportunity to deal with late game pressure! Duke stayed with them the entire night and UNLV played tight and unsure
@@bentonja668 Benton, I still remember exactly where I was watching that classic! I was a 19-yr old first full semester college student at Western Carolina! We were on our spring break from courses that semester
This is why Duke needed Grant Hill. Because he notified Stacey augmon plus he provided an additional ball handler to take the pressure off of Bobby Hurley. And the fact that he was a 52 player allowed him and the coach of Duke to switch him on all players playing defense. Plus he added a sense of more offense than the other two starters of this year's Duke Blue devils team
Last dominant team I’ve seen close to them were those 2006 and 2007 Florida gators teams. There SG broke the NCAA tournament record for 3’s. There C Noah broke the tournament record for blocks. They were deep too and stayed fresh. 4 1st rounders and the rest were experienced vets who gave 100%. Also there bigs were just so versatile and could switch on guards and compete out in the perimeter.
Yep they'd thump any team you throw at them .I think what gets lost in alll this is that Duke was no 3rd rate team they were a top 5 team that year an they looked like high-school kids getting beat up on
@@kanderson5092 Kevin it had nothing to do with Vegas being cheated! This is so typical of someone selling '91 Duke short and making it blantanly obvious! Everyone was so entranced by Vegas talent and them being undefeated, they block out so many reasons that kept Vegas from repeating! '91 UNLV - weak schedule (besides Arkansas) which led to them not being tested in a down the stretch pressure situation pre NCAA tournament; a center who lacked lateral movement and an overall needed skill set to man up an improved Laettner, not being prepared for the one Duke player who could have started for them (Grant Hill), Duke having as a team five days to prepare instead of one, and another factor that is always taken lightly - Vegas had absolutely no bench - not having Butler and Scurry back was so vital because for one, Butler was a more complete center than Ackles and the do everything Scurry provided the heart and leadership Vegas could have used when Greg Anthony fouled out! Amazing how often in these videos people suffer from tunnel vision when anointing '91 UNLV! Yes they were great (though extremely thin) but there were a lot of factors which get overlooked when it came to them being derailed
@ Brad Lewis sorry bro UNLV was robbed out of that game. Entering the National Semifinal game 34-0 . And just because there conference was weak didn’t mean they were. They played 9 top 25 teams that year. I’m from Indiana, and Bobby Knight called in the fix for his protege. Coach K.
@@kanderson5092 only four in the top 25 and it was nowhere near the non conference schedule their '90 champions played! '91 UNLV so much like '15 Kentucky in that they're not being ultimately tested in the closing minutes of a game and being pressed eventually did them in! And it was the same scenario with '99 Duke! UConn was very good and that Duke team wasn't accustomed to being pushed
@@kanderson5092 and if u remember at that time Coach K and Knight's relationship had frozen up and they weren't on speaking terms JS! In fact Knight barely acknowledged Coach K after the '92 FF game and I mean barely
Stacy augmon was a great defensive player in the NBA. Don't know if he truly ever developed a pure jump shot man but he d up. That bricky kid. I don't know whatever happened to him he seemed to have some game
Irony of Brent Musburger talking about how UNLV program were set to face penalties in the future, little did he know that as the time expired on the game, his employment at CBS also expired.
I'm a Kansas fan +30yrs so literally watched my Hawks BEAT this great UNLV team in 1990 at 13yrs old. Watched us lose to that 2012 UK team in the actual National Title game. IMO 2011-12 Kentucky Wildcats are top5 greatest team ever. The best team since 2000. The 2011 NBA Lockout helped Calipari get his 1st ring. Lamb, Jones and Miller decided to come back to school because of that NBA 2011 Lockout. As great as Unibrow&Kidd-Gilchrist were? Kentucky in 2012 doesn't win it all without those 3 upperclassmen returning. Lamb, Jones and Miller combined for 50ppg. They were the glue.
Ive always said this UNLV squad and 1996 Kentucky were the best two college basketball teams ive ever seen. Man if only this UNLV team would have been in 96' and we got that matchup. 96' UK for me though i give the slight edge. Would he an absolute war though.
The most fearsome team I’ve ever seen. And that includes the Kentucky team with Carl Anthony towns. But, the least respected and loved team I’ve ever seen. It just felt that no one really liked the coach or players and were really glad duke upset them a year later.
@@allengreene9954 Agree and they were well on their way. UNLV hasn't been great in 30 years and they are STILL the 6th winningest program in the history of college basketball.
Kansas Jayhawks fan since 1988. But I always thought UNLV's all white NIKE jerseys/shorts were the sharpest uniforms alltime. Then add in UNLV's warmups? F'ing awesome but you'll never catch me wearing it/ Rock Chalk Jayhawks gear ONLY!
This only team barely beat ball st in the sweet 16 by 2 and in the final four vs Georgia tech was up by 7 at the half and won a very close tight game. All hailing this team as the greatest ever based on this game 😄😄😄😄
They won those games though. And georgia tech was a good team. Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver were great college players. Yea UNLV lost 5 games that year but Muhammed Ali lost a few and hes still considered the greatest
@@Dario_Mazzella1975 good memory by you with that George tech team seed they were a 4 seed but tough. Unlv beat ball st by 2 though? 5 losses that year and they beat a 16 a 9 a 12 and an 11 to get to the final four. Why not pave the road with gold? Then they barely beat georgia tech. Everyone is basing their assertion of unlv over their win over duke. Now for the rest of the story.......
Tarks 90-91 UNLV teams were the best college basketball teams in my lifetime. Stifling "Amoeba defense" and fast break dunks left and right off turnovers.
We were spoiled! Golden era. How bout the Fab 5…
The turning point of this game was the opening tip off. After that, it was all Vegas. My absolute favorite college basketball game of all time, seeing those complete snobs from Duke, get absolutely crushed into oblivion. REBELS!!!!!!!!!!!
The thing that always annoyed me is how the media made Duke the white hats when they were basically the Cobra Kai of Basketball.
This ended maybe the best five year run of title games in NCAA tourney history. 85, you had the Villanova shocker over Georgetown. 86, the forever underrated Louisville/Duke final (NEVER NERVOUS PERVIS!). 87, the Keith Smart dagger for Indiana over Syracuse. 88, Danny and the Miracles shock Oklahoma in the title game. And 89, the Michigan last second OT win over Seton Hall thanks to Rumeal Robinson's FT's.
Good point and I never noticed how many were so close in a row, but also with the exception of Georgetown’s decisive victory over Houston in 84 it was 7 out of 8 consecutive years. Starting with North Carolina squeaking by Georgetown and North Carolina state squeaking by Houston.
COMING FROM A DUKE FAN .. DA 90-91 RUNNIN REBELS WERE DA BEST COLLEGE BASKETBALL TEAM I'VE EVER 👀 .. 2 THIS DAY ..
Funny you say that, I was just thinking how this year's final shows how much better the skill levels are in today's game, especially that Baylor guard rotation. Baylor's defense was better too if you ask me. But that's how it's supposed to work- each year and decade builds off the previous. Having said that, that AMOEBA was something special!!
You were not saying this when it happened tho
Big statement, especially from Duke fan. Gotta love your objectivity.
Poor Bobby Hurley was puking in the locker room before the game, the ‘Amoeba’ defense had him so scared.
More than puking 😅
Sometimes around March Madness I go back here and reminisce. 😎
Me too.
One of the best Basketball eras
Doing that right now.
But there's one thing that's funny that they cut out. After the pregame hype video, the UNLV band was playing the 1987-92 CBS College Basketball theme. Luckily, all other uploads have the pre-game show intact, unlike the NCAA here, giving us the NASCAR TH-cam throwback treatment of going directly to the start without the valuable context for 1st time viewers.
Greatest Team Ever...& the NCAA & refs robbed them in '91 vs. Duke in the Final 4
LROD NYC I’ll get you banned from TH-cam for saying that the refs stole them in 91 when they didn’t
@@VictorFernandezBigdestroyer yeah some people just can't give credit where credit is due, Duke played great and got revenge
UNLV threw that game we all know that duke was never at UNLVs level
@@daa_97 that wasn't the problem! '91 Vegas played in a weaker conference after alignments at the time and except for one non-league game that season against Arkansas and Todd Day, they weren't tested all year in a stretch run type game until the tournament! And Duke was a way better team in '91 with the addition of Grant Hill, which gave Duke a wing player having athleticism that could have played for anyone! Vegas was also very weak at center with the slow and flat footed George Ackles (who Laettner ate alive), and they're extremely thin bench came back to bite them when Anthony questionably fouled out late! Vegas was still real, real good in '91 but they had more obstacles that everyone seems to ignore when discussing their fate! No, Duke as a team may not have been at that level consistently, but in the Dance u only need to be better for one game! And they were better in '91 than in '90, plus had five added days to prepare they didn't have the year before! Oh and Vegas also didn't have David Butler or Moses Scurry in '91 and they were consistent do everything type of guys on both ends of the floor
@@daa_97 And '15 Kentucky was just like '91 Vegas! Barely tested until they got to the tournament because the SEC was weaker than normal!
1990 UNLV is still the best tournament team I've seen since I started keeping up with college basketball in '80'-81 as a third grader! Ive told people the same two things for years now since Vegas' woodshed beating of my boys in the '90 championship! 1) the way Vegas was playing during that March run, they could have beaten any team from any era and 2) if u were never to a basketball clinic, all u needed was to be watching or attended the game on April 2, 1990 because u were a witness to a basketball clinic! Vegas could do no wrong in any aspect of the final that night! They were simply extraordinary
Really? They beat ball st by 2 in the sweet 16. You're a joke.
Unlv smashed all there opponents
@@bnegs521 And your a joke for not realizing how athletic and well schooled Ball State was that season! Don't call me a joke when you assume as to why Vegas struggled with Ball State! Their tempo controlled the pace and kept UNLV from consistently running it's vaunted fast break! That entire team had already played for Rick Majerus, who's coaching mastery always gave more athletic and bigger programs fits (just ask '98 Arizona and North Carolina both)! I vividly remember watching the Ball State Vegas game as a senior in HS and Ball State was more legit than your obviously aware of
1996 UK
Greatest college team ever... the runnin rebels!!!!
This is the GREATEST College Basketball team of all time. And a TOP 5 Basketball Team ever. The Dream Team, 86 Celtics, 72 win Chicago Bulls and then UNLV is right there....
UNLV all day for me
The Jordan,worthy,Perkins team was a tough team to
Not a Michigan guy but that fab 5 team was beyond ridiculous.
@@dameshamroc Never won. UNLV BY 20.
@@bigcel42 I agree…
I was downtown Denver for all the events going on during the Championship game. Grandmama and Plastic Man were outstanding players. When I went on vacation in Las Vegas years later, I actually saw Tarkanian at a mall and got his autograph.
I'd put the 1990-1991 UNLV squad against any team in college history. There were men amongst boys and only lost because they got paid to. You'll never see a championship game end with a margin of points this wide.
I still haven't seen a championship game performance like that by one team since. Duke was completely outmatched.
North Carolina against Michigan St., that game was over by halftime
Kevin, I was a senior in HS that '89-'90 season of college basketball and Vegas' performance that night was scintillating! I'm a die-hard Duke fan and have been since '81-'82 and I got to suffer a bad case of whiplash watching UNLV run us out of the building! That squad is to this day the best national champion we've had in the tournament expansion era (1985-present)
@@bradlewis6514 Best performance in the Championship game for sure!
@@DanielSong39 Vegas put on the definition of a basketball clinic! That game could be used as a video tool for kids wanting to learn the game effortlessly
@@DanielSong39 they wouldn't need to attend any camp! Just view the video if it existed
Brent said Hubie Brown collapsed with a blood clot. That was 35 years ago. He's now 90. Amazing.
College basketball was at its absolute best during the late 80s to early 90s.
this UNLV team would beat the brakes off today's Baylor and Gonzaga teams
It would be a cakewalk for UNLV
Even the best NBA teams.
@@ethad123 yep
2021 Baylor during the tournament was just as dominant, with superb perimeter shooting, sound defensively and athletic at every position! Them and Vegas would be an interesting matchup, but yes they would hammer the Zags
And never forget -
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.
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; and the only one since 1977.
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.
It’s always good to see Duke get clobbered!
This era is so much more proficient on the glass.
Bring a Vegas native this was the greatest night in my 23 year old at the time life we had such a great line up in college basketball hands down.
UNLV's talent overwhelmed Duke
16:48
Lol, Coach Tark knew this game was over! 🤣
And why do they accuse him of 'running up the score?' 57:50 He's up by 26 with 11 minutes to go. He only added four to the difference. He could've added at least 20.
@@stephaniegormley9982 facts. Agreed.
04/02/1990 - 34 years ago
I still remember that night, everyone in the bar was in utter disbelief.
Larry Johnson was being called The Charles Barkley of the '90s.
Nah LJ was the LJ of the 90’s
This was the city of Las Vegas's biggest sports victory until just a couple of days ago (June 13, 2023) when the Vegas Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup!
Probably still bigger
@@fredfells209 Definitely bigger. Nobody cares about Hockey, at least not in the US. It's like soccer. Big internationally, not so big in the US.
LJ was a man amongst boys back then. Had a really good NBA career but never to a level that some people expected him to be a Hall of famer.
LJ had issues with his back which limited his explosiveness, his best years were in Charlotte, was not the same player when he left Charlotte for the Knicks because of his back issues
@@ethad123 I know everything about LJ . Still didn't get to the level he should have. Him and mourning with boges should have made some deep playoff runs . But that whole team under achieved. By the time he went to the Knicks he was on his last legs.
Bad back
@@waynewalton8798 He and Mourning were fighting over who was going to be the most important player in Charlotte.
He was a tad too undersized in the NBA as well.
One of the greatest teams in history. Manhandled the Blue Devils. They lost the rematch the next year with a combination of UNLV underestimating Duke, help from the refs and Duke playing their best game in years. Had the 91 team won that one UNLV would have gone down as the greatest college team ever
You’re forgetting that Duke added Grant Hill the next year
Also Ackles was no Butler
@@eddychiella923and I've been saying that very thing for several years! Moses Scurry has also been sorely undervalued when remembering in hindsight! '91 Vegas very much missed both Scurry and Butler
So in the olden days the score wasn't always on the tv screen?
The Rebels outclassed, out shined, out played duke, way before the game even started.....
It's all because of the coaching, all the unlv players were average in the NBA.
To this day UNLV beating Duke by 30 points still stands as the biggest deficit in a NCAA Championship Game.
At their best this Team could beat any team in college basketball history....yes even Kareem's bruins
Anderson Hunt was a beast in this game
amazing he never played a minute in the NBA
He was snubbed 90 draft
Detroit in the building
This was the Runnin' Rebels team we never saw in the 1991 tournament. Even though they were considered to be better than this 1990 version they were more like the Walking Rebels in the '91 tourney leading up to getting upset by Duke. They never played anywhere near as good in March as the 1990 team did.
Undefeated in 1991 til duke tho
And people so forget how important the losses of David Butler and Moses Scurry we're off the 1990 championship team! They were so undervalued by several who automatically think the '91 team was better! Butler and Scurry brought intangibles and effort the '91 Vegas team didn't have due to a short, ineffective bench against quality competition! And plus Butler was a way more complete center than George Ackles! Ackles was inconsistent period and moreso on the defensive end! It glaringly showed in the '91 rematch when he got torched by Laettner
College team vs a NBA team
ON EVERYTHING I LOVE.....This was the LAST BASKETBALL TEAM (College or NBA) that played SMOTHERING DEFENSE without PLAYING DIRTY & PLAYING DEFENSE COLLECTIVELY AS A TEAM. WATCH THEM (ALL 5)!!!
Facts. If you watch the videos on youtube of Tark teaching defensive drills and techniques they're hellacious. Anderson Hunt said they hated practice and that practice was harder than the games
The first part of second half Duke was competitive, that second strecy they began to get sloppy which led to them rebel runs
48:00 when the big run ices the game
Yeah, college kids today are so much more athletic😂😂😂.
As a white guy who played hoops in private schools at this time, Vegas was my favorite team and all my friends too. LJ and Hunt!
53:33 "folks this one is all Vegas"
Shoulda been folks this one is a beat down for all ages
I seen Anderson hunt on a episode of cheaters a few years ago
Unlv vs fab 5...that's a match I would have love to see
I'm sorry fab five would've won, Detroit owns Anderson Hunt would've had problems with Jimmy Jackson
Wait a second. Timeout there! Oh wait you’re out of timeouts!
And he travelled. @@ManuelFlores-oe2wf
Brent Musburger's last assignment for CBS Sports. Under new management, he was fired the previous day.
and we haven't won a title since. it's "the curse of jim nantz".
@@shawnflanagan4995 I posted this 2 years ago and I shouldn't have said fired.Technically, he wasn't. His contract was up and they elected not to resign him. So he knew going into that Monday night he would be unemployed the next day.
@daboys1215 ok. still, i blame nantz for our loss in '91, and all of our subsequent tournament failures. now that he's not there anymore, maybe rebs' chances are looking up.😉
Packer was such a fan of Duke. You could hear the pain in his voice when calling this game
RIP Phil Henderson. Crete-Monee HS Class of '86.
Only teams test would have beaten this team were the ‘84 Hoyas, the ‘82 Tar Heels & Any team with Alcindor & Walton.
Could have not sure
84 Tarheels with Jordan Perkins Brad Daughtery and Kenny Smith, 97 Heels with Carter Jamison, Haywood Ed Cota. 96 UK, the Fab Five, 09 Heels, 2012 UK
And the team with David Thompson. 1974 NC State
I disagree. Only one of the wooden teams would have beaten this UNLV team
@@jeffboy13 A completely healthy Kenny Smith no question about it! That was the best Carolina team ever to not win a championship! Had he not broken his wrist, it's a Carolina Georgetown rematch in '84! '98 Carolina right behind them at #2
Anderson Hunt was representing the Detroit heavily
RiP Billy packer
Was this Brent Musburger's last CBS assignment?
Yup next year he wasn’t calling it
Yes he went to ABC College Football afterwards, starting with them during the fall of 1991
Brett started doing sports on CBS channel 2 in Chicago. He is one of the great voices in broadcasting! "You are looking live" Awesome!
I just found out that Brent is the play-by-play commentator for the Las Vegas Raiders.
UCSB beat UNLV that year, UCSB was the 2nd best team in the big west conference and in the country
Well no. They finished 3rd in the conference standings. New Mexico State also beat UNLV that year and swept UCSB. They tied for the regular season title with UNLV. Just had a tough draw in the tournament playing the loaded and vastly underseeded Loyola Marymount team in the first round.
And unlike '91, Vegas benefited from being in a more competitive conference in '90, plus they played Oklahoma, LSU, Kansas and Arkansas in the non-conference as well! Their schedule overall in '91 was one of the things that came back to bite them defending their title
@@bradlewis6514 they lost to a better team in 1991
@@bentonja668 oh absolutely there's no question Duke was a better team the second time around due to the addition of Grant Hill (athlete on equal par with Vega's group) and the quantom leap improvement of Laettner! But what I was saying is Vegas' weak schedule didn't afford them the opportunity to deal with late game pressure! Duke stayed with them the entire night and UNLV played tight and unsure
@@bentonja668 Benton, I still remember exactly where I was watching that classic! I was a 19-yr old first full semester college student at Western Carolina! We were on our spring break from courses that semester
Unlv came to denver and found rocky Mountain magic
This is why Duke needed Grant Hill. Because he notified Stacey augmon plus he provided an additional ball handler to take the pressure off of Bobby Hurley. And the fact that he was a 52 player allowed him and the coach of Duke to switch him on all players playing defense. Plus he added a sense of more offense than the other two starters of this year's Duke Blue devils team
My favorite college basketball team of all time: these particular UNLV Runnin Rebels!
RIP Billy Packer
That just steam rolled through the season one of the greatest teams in history
Yo anybody that has watched this whole game please hmu!
Laettner is the greatest college player I've ever seen. He was the first stone on that Duke empire.
I had to hit the mute switch with Billy Packer speaks. Go UNLV!
Really? I think Billy Packer is brilliant lol. He was an excellent analyst RIP.
Yes he was great analyst RIp Billy@@followtheleader61
Duke went to another level the next year. Second half of this game was a UNLV master piece. Too bad the program declined post Tarkanian
Watch what you say the DPD (Duke Police Department) is patrolling.
Last dominant team I’ve seen close to them were those 2006 and 2007 Florida gators teams. There SG broke the NCAA tournament record for 3’s. There C Noah broke the tournament record for blocks. They were deep too and stayed fresh. 4 1st rounders and the rest were experienced vets who gave 100%. Also there bigs were just so versatile and could switch on guards and compete out in the perimeter.
I was there!!!
Larry Johnson. Stacy Augmon runnin rebels played like a. Nba squad 90
Go figure another ACC team- Georgia tech- gave the Rebels a stiffer test in their other Final 4 game
Lethal weapon 3 , Kenny. Brian, and Dennis that team was built for the run with that guard play
My favorite Duke game.
lol!
Been looking at the national championship game since 1970 best team i ever saw go rebels
How do you y'all think this UNLV team would do against teams of today? Could they win a it all?
Yep they'd thump any team you throw at them .I think what gets lost in alll this is that Duke was no 3rd rate team they were a top 5 team that year an they looked like high-school kids getting beat up on
They could beat Villanova Kansas Gonzaga Baylor
Even a nba squad Orlando Houston Sacramento Washington
Absofreakinlutely they could! With their athleticism and versatility at every position, along with their depth
This UNLV team was loaded they should have won the title in '91 also but Duke played the perfect game to beat them in '91!!!!
Bruh .. in 91 they were entering the final four 30-0. The last undefeated team NCAA history was Indiana. They cheated UNLV. Of all places Indiana.
@@kanderson5092 Kevin it had nothing to do with Vegas being cheated! This is so typical of someone selling '91 Duke short and making it blantanly obvious! Everyone was so entranced by Vegas talent and them being undefeated, they block out so many reasons that kept Vegas from repeating! '91 UNLV - weak schedule (besides Arkansas) which led to them not being tested in a down the stretch pressure situation pre NCAA tournament; a center who lacked lateral movement and an overall needed skill set to man up an improved Laettner, not being prepared for the one Duke player who could have started for them (Grant Hill), Duke having as a team five days to prepare instead of one, and another factor that is always taken lightly - Vegas had absolutely no bench - not having Butler and Scurry back was so vital because for one, Butler was a more complete center than Ackles and the do everything Scurry provided the heart and leadership Vegas could have used when Greg Anthony fouled out! Amazing how often in these videos people suffer from tunnel vision when anointing '91 UNLV! Yes they were great (though extremely thin) but there were a lot of factors which get overlooked when it came to them being derailed
@ Brad Lewis sorry bro UNLV was robbed out of that game. Entering the National Semifinal game 34-0 . And just because there conference was weak didn’t mean they were. They played 9 top 25 teams that year. I’m from Indiana, and Bobby Knight called in the fix for his protege. Coach K.
@@kanderson5092 only four in the top 25 and it was nowhere near the non conference schedule their '90 champions played! '91 UNLV so much like '15 Kentucky in that they're not being ultimately tested in the closing minutes of a game and being pressed eventually did them in! And it was the same scenario with '99 Duke! UConn was very good and that Duke team wasn't accustomed to being pushed
@@kanderson5092 and if u remember at that time Coach K and Knight's relationship had frozen up and they weren't on speaking terms JS! In fact Knight barely acknowledged Coach K after the '92 FF game and I mean barely
Stacy augmon was a great defensive player in the NBA. Don't know if he truly ever developed a pure jump shot man but he d up. That bricky kid. I don't know whatever happened to him he seemed to have some game
Wayne Walton that man play his role Stacy augmon longer Bruce Bowen
Arkansas tried nut unlv was to much
man this is a tough one to re watch as a Duke guy
How I missed when I was in the 80s I went to LA Uni and played Football And it was really great I found a job.
Love seeing Duke getting trounced!!!
1:16:58 - 1:17:23 quite the prophetic call
Watching this game I'm confident that the Michigan Fab 5 would have beaten this UNLV team
I remember this game coming up i was tripping when I saw Greg Anthony dunking 🤣 fr. And the alley-hoop from half court
Duke just couldn't stay with UNLV
Its all Vegas folks!
Irony of Brent Musburger talking about how UNLV program were set to face penalties in the future, little did he know that as the time expired on the game, his employment at CBS also expired.
Even with a longer shot clock they used to score a lot more back in the day!
Players were more skilled offensively because the NBA caliber players stayed 3 or 4 years in college
Anderson hunt was tough 4real smooth j and he a dunk on u too
Remember,yes,good times
1990 UNLV Runnin' Rebels vs. 2012 Kentucky Wildcats.... Who Would Win?!? 😎🏀🤘
UNLV by far!!
That would be a badass matchup.
Running Rebs 7 out 10 games
I'm a Kansas fan +30yrs so literally watched my Hawks BEAT this great UNLV team in 1990 at 13yrs old.
Watched us lose to that 2012 UK team in the actual National Title game. IMO 2011-12 Kentucky Wildcats are top5 greatest team ever. The best team since 2000. The 2011 NBA Lockout helped Calipari get his 1st ring. Lamb, Jones and Miller decided to come back to school because of that NBA 2011 Lockout.
As great as Unibrow&Kidd-Gilchrist were? Kentucky in 2012 doesn't win it all without those 3 upperclassmen returning. Lamb, Jones and Miller combined for 50ppg. They were the glue.
@@jacobybryant9002 I have UNLV by just a few points due to their abilities in transition.
Ive always said this UNLV squad and 1996 Kentucky were the best two college basketball teams ive ever seen. Man if only this UNLV team would have been in 96' and we got that matchup. 96' UK for me though i give the slight edge. Would he an absolute war though.
It's hard to believe Duke could be that bad from the line, turn it over that often.
Hurley when you pressure him and body him up he was like JJ Redick nothing.
The most fearsome team I’ve ever seen. And that includes the Kentucky team with Carl Anthony towns. But, the least respected and loved team I’ve ever seen. It just felt that no one really liked the coach or players and were really glad duke upset them a year later.
Everyone loved Tark and the Rebels. Especially in the inner city. The NCAA and it's sympathizers was another story.
@Antonio Johnson Vegas could and should have been the Miami of College Basketball.
@@allengreene9954 Agree and they were well on their way. UNLV hasn't been great in 30 years and they are STILL the 6th winningest program in the history of college basketball.
Augmon = Snoop Dogg
Kansas Jayhawks fan since 1988. But I always thought UNLV's all white NIKE jerseys/shorts were the sharpest uniforms alltime. Then add in UNLV's warmups? F'ing awesome but you'll never catch me wearing it/ Rock Chalk Jayhawks gear ONLY!
Unc tar heels
That's good but stay loyal to your team. I love UNLV too but you won't catch me wearing their gear. UNC tar heels all the way baby!
Classic!!
Dook duke didnt belong here.
Here on CBSSSSS
Whenever people say that the 2024 UConn team is the best team ever I just send them links to games like this.
Back when they played defense
Watching UnL V
Bret last telecast on CBS
the best team ever unlv rebels
I have been whatcing this
Duke couldn't breathe.
Tark R.I.P
Duke always has their revenge. 1 year later the Shark was EATEN.
This only team barely beat ball st in the sweet 16 by 2 and in the final four vs Georgia tech was up by 7 at the half and won a very close tight game. All hailing this team as the greatest ever based on this game 😄😄😄😄
They won those games though. And georgia tech was a good team. Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver were great college players. Yea UNLV lost 5 games that year but Muhammed Ali lost a few and hes still considered the greatest
@@Dario_Mazzella1975 good memory by you with that George tech team seed they were a 4 seed but tough. Unlv beat ball st by 2 though? 5 losses that year and they beat a 16 a 9 a 12 and an 11 to get to the final four. Why not pave the road with gold? Then they barely beat georgia tech. Everyone is basing their assertion of unlv over their win over duke. Now for the rest of the story.......
@@bnegs521 All that matters is they hammered Duke to win the national title🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️
@@allengreene9954 not if people are saying this is the greatest tem of all time. And you are WELCOME FOR THE SPORTS HISTORY LESSON!