UNLV teams, Las Vegas players helped shape NCAA Tournament

Las Vegas Review-Journal

4 years ago

UNLV players Moses Scurry, left, and Anderson Hunt hug their coach Jerry Tarkanian after their ... — UNLV players Moses Scurry, left, and Anderson Hunt hug their coach Jerry Tarkanian after their 103-73 victory over Duke in the NCAA Final Four Championship game, April 2, 1990, in Denver, Colorado. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan) UNLV players Moses Scurry, left, and Anderson Hunt hug their coach Jerry Tarkanian after their 103-73 victory over Duke in the NCAA Final Four Championship game, April 2, 1990, in Denver, Colorado. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan)

JEFF SCHEID/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL This image left to right, Mosses Scurry, Anderson Hunt, David Butler, David Rice, Stacey Augmon, and Jerry Tarkanian in the middle (hidden) celebrate after the victory on April 2, 1990. Event is the NCAA National Championship basketball game in Denver Colorado where the Duke Blue Devils played the UNLV Rebels. The University of Nevada Las Vegas won the Game 103 to 73. UNLV dominated the game and never trailed; the 30 point win was the largest margin of victory in a championship game. UNLV finished the season with 35 wins and 5 losses. UNLVÃs half-court pressure forced Duke into 14 first half turnovers on the way to a 47-35 halftime lead. In the second half UNLV went on an 18-0 run to turn a 57-47 lead into a 75-47 blowout with 13:18 left to play. Anderson Hunt was named the most valuable player scoring 29 points; Larry Johnson added 22; Greg Anthony 13 and Stacey Augmon 12. All 12 rebels played with 9 scoring. Photographer is Jeff Scheid JEFF SCHEID/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL This image left to right, Mosses Scurry, Anderson Hunt, David Butler, David Rice, Stacey Augmon, and Jerry Tarkanian in the middle (hidden) celebrate after the victory on April 2, 1990. Event is the NCAA National Championship basketball game in Denver Colorado where the Duke Blue Devils played the UNLV Rebels. The University of Nevada Las Vegas won the Game 103 to 73. UNLV dominated the game and never trailed; the 30 point win was the largest margin of victory in a championship game. UNLV finished the season with 35 wins and 5 losses. UNLVís half-court pressure forced Duke into 14 first half turnovers on the way to a 47-35 halftime lead. In the second half UNLV went on an 18-0 run to turn a 57-47 lead into a 75-47 blowout with 13:18 left to play. Anderson Hunt was named the most valuable player scoring 29 points; Larry Johnson added 22; Greg Anthony 13 and Stacey Augmon 12. All 12 rebels played with 9 scoring.

RJ FILE*** JEFF SCHEID/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL UNLV forward Larry Johnson does a behind the back pass during the NCAA Men’s basketball championship game against Duke in Denver on April 2, 1990. The Rebels went on to defeated Duke 103-73. JEFF SCHEID/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL UNLV forward Larry Johnson does a behind the back pass during the NCAA Men’s basketball championship game against Duke in Denver on April 2, 1990. The Rebels defeated Duke 103-73.

The NCAA Tournament comes to Las Vegas in person for the first time in 2023 when T-Mobile Arena will host a regional. But the city’s teams and players have been major factors in the event for many years, making an indelible impact.

Be it the great UNLV teams under Jerry Tarkanian or individual players who grabbed the spotlight in March, the tournament wouldn’t be quite the same without those contributions.

Here are the top five UNLV teams and top five local players to make an impact. Findlay Prep players aren’t included because the list emphasizes those who grew up in the Las Vegas Valley.

UNLV teams

1. 1990. Well, of course this team tops the list. It was the only Rebels team to win the national championship. Its 103-73 victory over Duke remains the most lopsided title game in tournament history. The Rebels had only one hiccup in the tournament, surviving a scare in the Sweet 16 against No. 12 seed Ball State before winning 69-67. Four of their victories were by double figures. The national semifinal win over Georgia Tech was by nine points.

2. 1991. This Rebels blew through the field to take a 34-0 record into the Final Four, sparking discussions of whether this was the greatest college basketball team of all time. But UNLV’s dream season ended with a shocking 79-77 loss to Duke. A late questionable charge on Greg Anthony deprived the Rebels of their point guard and shifted the momentum.

3. 1977. This team put UNLV on the basketball map. This was the school’s first Final Four team, establishing an expectation of the success to come. UNLV set NCAA records for most points in a season (3,426), most 100-point games (23) and most consecutive 100-point games (12).

4. 1987. This was the first UNLV team to end the regular season ranked No. 1, its only loss was by a point to Oklahoma. The Rebels reached the Final Four. In the national semifinal against Indiana, Freddie Banks made a tournament record 10 3-pointers, but the Hoosiers prevailed 97-93.

5. 2007. The only team on this list not coached by Tarkanian, Lon Kruger — with son, Kevin, playing point guard — advanced to the Sweet 16 with close victories over Georgia Tech and Wisconsin. The regional semifinal was close only at the end, the Rebels falling 76-72 to Oregon after being down 17 points.

Players

1. Greg Anthony, Rancho. He ran the Rebels’ offense that reached the Final Four in 1990 and 1991. Anthony was expert at distributing the ball to an all-star lineup that included Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon. He also was tough defensively, making five steals each in the 1990 title game against Duke and in the 1991 Elite Eight game against Seton Hall.

RJ FILE*** JOHN GURZINSKI/REVIEW JOURNAL Former UNLV head basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, left, gets a hug from former Rebel player and current ESPN analyst Greg Anthony following UNLV's Legends Alumni Game Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006, at the Thomas and Mack Center. Anthony, who is co-host of ESPN's NBA Shootaround, is UNLV's career leader in assist and steals and is scheduled to have his No. 50 jersey retired by the school. JOHN GURZINSKI/REVIEW JOURNAL Sports---UNLV's former coach Jerry Tarkanian gets a hug from Greg Anthony following a alumni game Tuesday, November 7,2006, at the Thomas and Mack Center

2. Zach Collins, Bishop Gorman. In his one season at Gonzaga, Collins was instrumental in the Bulldogs advancing to the 2017 championship game, where they lost to North Carolina. He blocked 18 shots over six games, and in the semifinals against South Carolina, Collins totaled 14 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks.

3. Lionel Hollins, Rancho. He led Arizona State to an unlikely appearance in the 1975 Elite Eight, the last time the Sun Devils advanced that far. Hollins averaged 15 points in three tournament games, scoring 12 points in a Sweet 16 victory over UNLV.

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins watches play late in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, May 7, 2013, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

4. Sam Smith, Clark. Known as “Sudden” Sam Smith, he reached double figures in four of UNLV’s five tournament games in 1977, helping the Rebels reach their first Final Four. The year before, Smith scored 16 points against Boise State and 26 against Arizona in the two tournament games.

5. Billy White, Green Valley. San Diego State made the Sweet 16 in White’s senior season in 2011, losing to ninth-ranked Connecticut by seven points. He had double-doubles in the first two tournament games — 12 points and 13 rebounds against Northern Colorado and 16 and 13 against Temple. White scored 14 points against UConn.

JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL SDSU's Billy White, from Green Valley High School, celebrates after leading his team to victory of BYU in the finals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on March 11, 2011. White scored 21 points in the game and was named first team all-tournament. JASON BEAN JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL SDSU's Billy White, from Green Valley High School, celebrates after leading his team to victory of BYU in the finals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on March 11, 2011. White scored 21 points in the game and was named first team all-tournament.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.