1986–87 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

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Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1

1986–87 PCAA men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 UNLV †	18	–	0	1.000	37	–	2	.949
UC Santa Barbara	10	–	8	.556	16	–	12	.571
San Jose State	10	–	8	.556	16	–	14	.533
Cal State Fullerton	9	–	9	.500	17	–	13	.567
New Mexico State	9	–	9	.500	15	–	15	.500
UC Irvine	9	–	9	.500	14	–	14	.500
Utah State	8	–	10	.444	15	–	16	.484
Long Beach State	7	–	11	.389	10	–	17	.370
Pacific	6	–	12	.333	10	–	17	.370
Fresno State	4	–	14	.222	9	–	20	.310

† 1987 PCAA tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1986–87 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1986–87 season under head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The team played its home games in the Thomas & Mack Center, and was a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), now known as 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".

Roster

1986–87 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	10	Mark Wade	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sr
G	13	Freddie Banks	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Sr
F	35	Armon Gilliam	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	Bethel Park, PA

Head coach

Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2018-Mar-17

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
11/21/1986*	No. 5	No. 19 Arizona Preseason NIT	W 92-87^[1]	1-0	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center (15,065) Las Vegas, NV
11/24/1986*	No. 5	No. 7 Oklahoma Preseason NIT	W 90-81	2-0	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center (14,836) Las Vegas, NV
11/28/1986*	No. 5	vs. Temple Preseason NIT	W 78-76	3-0	–	–	–	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
11/29/1986*	No. 5	vs. Western Kentucky Preseason NIT Championship	W 96-95 ^{2OT^[2]}	4-0	–	–	–	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
12/27/1986*	No. 1	Old Dominion UNLV Holiday Classic	W 103-83	10-0	35 – Gilliam	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center (19,320) Las Vegas, NV
12/28/1986*	No. 1	No. 12 Navy UNLV Holiday Classic	W 104-79^[3]	11-0	27 – Gilliam	–	21 – Wade	Thomas & Mack Center (20,321) Las Vegas, NV
Jan 15, 1987	No. 1	at UC Santa Barbara	W 88–74	15–0 (4–0)	–	–	–	The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA
1/17/1987*	No. 1	at No. 16 Oklahoma	L 88-89	15-1	–	–	–	Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK
2/1/1987*	No. 3	at No. 18 Auburn	W 104-85	21-1	–	–	–	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Mar 1, 1987	No. 1	at Fresno State	W 70–59	30–1 (18–0)	–	–	–	Selland Arena Fresno, CA
PCAA Tournament
3/5/1987*	No. 1	vs. Long Beach State Quarterfinals	W 105-70	31-1	–	–	–	The Forum Inglewood, CA
3/6/1987*	No. 1	vs. Cal State Fullerton Semifinals	W 99-65	32-1	–	–	–	The Forum Inglewood, CA
3/7/1987*	No. 1	vs. San Jose State Championship Game	W 94-69	33-1	–	–	–	The Forum Inglewood, CA
NCAA Tournament
3/12/1987* CBS	(W1) No. 1	vs. (W16) Idaho State First Round	W 95-70	34-1	23 – Banks	10 – Hudson	9 – Wade	Special Events Center Salt Lake City, UT
3/14/1987* CBS	(W1) No. 1	vs. (W12) Kansas State Second Round	W 80-61	35-1	24 – Gilliam	11 – Gilliam	13 – Wade	Special Events Center Salt Lake City, UT
3/20/1987* CBS	(W1) No. 1	vs. (W12) Wyoming Sweet Sixteen	W 92-78	36-1	38 – Gilliam	13 – Gilliam	9 – Wade	Kingdome Seattle, WA
3/22/1987* CBS	(W1) No. 1	vs. (W2) No. 6 Iowa Elite Eight	W 84-81^[4]^[5]	37-1	27 – Gilliam	10 – Gilliam	12 – Wade	Kingdome Seattle, WA
3/28/1987* CBS	(W1) No. 1	vs. (MW1) No. 3 Indiana Final Four	L 93-97	37-2	38 – Banks	10 – Gilliam	18 – Wade	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Sources [1]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	5	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	4	3	1	1	1	1	1	1
Coaches	Not released	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	2	1 (32)	1	1 (30)	1	1 (29)	1 (39)

^[6]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	2	Armon Gilliam	Phoenix Suns
2	24	Freddie Banks	Detroit Pistons

^[7]

References

^ "Rebels rally to overcome Arizona". Las Vegas Sun. November 21, 1986. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
^ "UNLV Overcomes 21-Point Deficit, Wins NIT Classic". The Washington Post. November 30, 1986. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
^ "Top-Ranked Nevada-Las Vegas Routs Navy, 104-79". The Washington Post. December 30, 1986. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
^ "UNLV Junks Strategy, Runs Down Iowa". Chicago Tribune. March 23, 1987. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
^ "U.N.L.V. and Indiana squeeze into Final 4; Rally beats Iowa, 84-81". The New York Times. March 23, 1987. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 943–944. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
^ "1987 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.

External links

UNLV Runnin' Rebels Official site

[1] "Rebels rally to overcome Arizona". Las Vegas Sun. November 21, 1986. Retrieved March 17, 2018.

[2] "UNLV Overcomes 21-Point Deficit, Wins NIT Classic". The Washington Post. November 30, 1986. Retrieved March 17, 2018.

[3] "Top-Ranked Nevada-Las Vegas Routs Navy, 104-79". The Washington Post. December 30, 1986. Retrieved March 18, 2018.

[4] "UNLV Junks Strategy, Runs Down Iowa". Chicago Tribune. March 23, 1987. Retrieved March 17, 2018.

[5] "U.N.L.V. and Indiana squeeze into Final 4; Rally beats Iowa, 84-81". The New York Times. March 23, 1987. Retrieved March 17, 2018.

[ESPN-6] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 943–944. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

[7] "1987 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.

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v t e UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
Venues	Dula Memorial Center (1958–1960) NSU Gym (1960–1967) Las Vegas Convention Center (1967–1983) Thomas & Mack Center (1983–present)
Culture & lore	Hey Reb! 103–73 1991 Duke game
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics