UNLV Runnin' Rebels
From Hoopedia
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public, coeducational university located in Las Vegas, Nevada. UNLV has 31,000 students.
UNLV's basketball teams are nicknamed the Rebels or Lady Rebels (the men's basketball team is typically referred to as the Runnin' Rebels. The name Rebels is derived from nickname of UNLV's predecessor school, Nevada Southern University. The school's colors are scarlet and grey. UNLV is a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I.
The basketball teams play on the Jerry Tarkanian Court in the Thomas & Mack Center.
Men's Basketball
Before becoming a basketball powerhouse in the mid-1970s, UNLV was often referred to as "Tumbleweed Tech" due to its relative obscurity. Led by famed (some would say "infamous") coach Jerry Tarkanian, the Runnin' Rebels were among the most exciting teams in the nation. They consistently were tops in the nation in categories such as points scored, turnovers forced, and most importantly--wins. They played in every NCAA tournament from 1983 to 1991.
There had been numerous NCAA accusations against Tarkanian and the UNLV program, which he denied and claimed were motivated by his public criticism of the NCAA. The accusations resulted in substantial sanctions against UNLV, and led to clashes with new UNLV president Robert Maxson. Tarkanian was eventually forced to resign. Tarkanian has asserted that he was not to blame for the violations, and that the programs of more favored coaches were not penalized.
On November 26, 2005, Tarkanian was honored for his achievements as coach of the Runnin' Rebels (he was 509-105 in 19 years as head coach). The basketball court at the Thomas & Mack Center was renamed Jerry Tarkanian Court. The turmoil was highly controversial and remains a hot button issue in Las Vegas to this day. Today they are still known as a basketball powerhouse due to their rich basketball history.
On Saturday, December 9, 2006 the UNLV Runnin' Rebels won a significant road game at (ranked #20 in the nation at the time) University of Nevada, Reno 58-49. The victory extended UNLV's all-time series lead over Nevada-Reno to 49-19. It was the first time UNLV had won a game on the road vs. a ranked opponent since the #1 Runnin' Rebels won at #12 University of New Mexico 86-74 on February 25, 1991, the year UNLV finished 34-1 under coach Jerry Tarkanian with a loss to Duke University in the NCAA semifinals being their only defeat.
On Saturday, March 10 the UNLV Runnin' Rebels won the Mountain West Conference Basketball Championship beating BYU Cougars 78-70. The Rebels came back from a eleven point deficit at half time to win. Kevin Kruger was named the tournament MVP.
The Runnin' Rebels were seeded #7 in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Region. They beat #10 seed Georgia Tech on March 17, 67-63. It was their first NCAA tournament win since 1991. On March 18 UNLV upset the #2 seed Wisconsin Badgers, 74-68, to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
