1982–83 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1982–83 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1982–83 season under head coach Jerry Tarkanian . The team played its final season of home games at the Las Vegas Convention Center , and was a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), now known as the Big West Conference . The Rebels won the first 24 games of the season and ascended to No. 1 in both major polls. UNLV captured the regular season conference title, then defeated Fresno State in the championship game of the PCAA Tournament. The team finished with a record of 28–3 (15–1 PCAA). As No. 3 seed in the West region, the Rebels were beaten in the second round of the NCAA tournament by eventual National champion NC State, 71–70.
Roster
1982–83 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1982 *
No. 20
Oklahoma
W 65–54
1–0
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Nov 30, 1982 *
No. 19 т
at Nevada
W 85–84
2–0
Centennial Coliseum (6,042)Reno, Nevada
Dec 3, 1982 *
No. 19 т
at Duquesne
W 67–54
3–0
Civic Arena (4,654)Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dec 6, 1982 *
No. 19 т
Arizona
W 88–70
4–0
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 9, 1982 *
No. 19 т
Nevada
W 85–75
5–0
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 21, 1982 *
No. 17
Long Island University
W 101–78
6–0
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 22, 1982 *
No. 17
Baylor
W 77–65
7–0
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 28, 1982 *
No. 15
Wagner
W 120–70
8–0
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 29, 1982 *
No. 15
No. 8 Tennessee
W 70–54
9–0
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 1, 1983 *
No. 15
Utah
W 71–68
10–0
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 6, 1983
No. 11
at Utah State
W 89–77
11–0 (1–0)
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,506)Logan, Utah
Jan 8, 1983
No. 11
vs. UC Irvine
W 68–64
12–0 (2–0)
Long Beach Arena (4,229)Long Beach, California
Jan 13, 1983
No. 8
Pacific
W 86–63
13–0 (3–0)
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 15, 1983
No. 8
Fresno State
W 56–48
14–0 (4–0)
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 20, 1983
No. 5
Long Beach State
W 95–83
15–0 (5–0)
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 22, 1983
No. 5
Cal State Fullerton
W 76–71
16–0 (6–0)
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 25, 1983
No. 4
at UC Santa Barbara
W 77–73
17–0 (7–0)
The Thunderdome (4,215)Santa Barbara, California
Jan 29, 1983
No. 4
at Long Beach State
W 78–74
18–0 (8–0)
Long Beach Arena (6,077)Long Beach, California
Feb 4, 1983
No. 2
UC Santa Barbara
W 85–79
19–0 (9–0)
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 5, 1983
No. 2
UC Irvine
W 70–68
20–0 (10–0)
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 10, 1983
No. 2
at Pacific
W 79–62
21–0 (11–0)
Alex G. Spanos Center (5,902)Stockton, California
Feb 12, 1983
No. 2
at Fresno State
W 66–59
22–0 (12–0)
Selland Arena (6,586)Fresno, California
Feb 18, 1983
No. 1
San Jose State
W 84–81
23–0 (13–0)
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 19, 1983
No. 1
Utah State
W 111–78
24–0 (14–0)
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,380)Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 24, 1983
No. 1
at Cal State Fullerton
L 78–86[ 1]
24–1 (14–1)
Titan Gym (5,015)Fullerton, California
Feb 27, 1983 *
No. 1
at West Virginia
L 78–87[ 2]
24–2
WVU Coliseum (15,638)Morgantown, West Virginia
Mar 3, 1983
No. 9
at San Jose State
W 67–61
25–2 (15–1)
San Jose Civic Auditorium (2,612)San Jose, California
PCAA tournament
Mar 10, 1983 *
No. 9
vs. Pacific Quarterfinals
W 74–67
26–2
The Forum (9,717)Inglewood, California
Mar 11, 1983 *
No. 9
vs. Long Beach State Semifinals
W 67–64
27–2
The Forum (12,053)Inglewood, California
Mar 12, 1983 *
No. 9
vs. Fresno State Championship game
W 66–63 OT[ 3]
28–2
The Forum (11,022)Inglewood, California
NCAA tournament
Mar 20, 1983 *
(3 W) No. 6
vs. (6 W) No. 16 NC State Second Round
L 70–71[ 4]
28–3
Gill Coliseum (8,700)Corvallis, Oregon
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
Source: [ 5] [ 6]
[ 7]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final AP 20 19 т 19 т 18 17 15 11 8 5 4 2 2 1 1 9 9 6 Coaches — —^ — 19 18 15 13 9 9 8 3 3 2 1 11 11 6
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.
[ 8]
Awards and honors
See also
References
^ "The Titans' Ambush of '83" . The Los Angeles Times . March 6, 1993. Retrieved December 5, 2021 .
^ "W.Va. Tops Vegas, 87-78" . The New York Times . February 28, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022 .
^ "Nevada-Last Vegas 66, Fresno State 63" . The New York Times . March 13, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022 .
^ "N.C. State Rallies to Upset UNLV" . The Washington Post . March 21, 1983. Retrieved December 5, 2021 .
^ "1982-83 UNLV Rebels Schedule and Results" . Sports Reference . Retrieved December 5, 2021 .
^ "2020-21 UNLV Men's Basketball Media Guide" . UNLV Athletics . Retrieved December 5, 2021 .
^ "1982-1983 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball stats" (PDF) . NCAA Career Statistics .
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game . Random House . 2009. pp. 910–911. ISBN 0-345-51392-4 .
Venues Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics