1986–87 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

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.

1986–87 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
PCAA tournament champions PCAA Regular Season Champions Preseason NIT champions
NCAA men's Division I tournament, Final Four
Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	37–2 (18–0 PCAA)
Head coach	Jerry Tarkanian (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Tim Grgurich Mark Warkentien Ralph Readout
Home arena	Thomas & Mack Center
Seasons ← 1985–86 1987–88 →

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 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 C 00 Richard Robinson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Granada Hills, California G/F 3 Lawrence West 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr San Diego, California G 10 Mark Wade 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr San Pedro, California G 13 Freddie Banks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Sr Las Vegas, Nevada F 23 Gerald Paddio 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Rayne, Louisiana F 30 Leon Symanski 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Orange, California G 31 Stacey Cvijanovich 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Oxnard, California G 32 Gary Graham 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Baltimore, Maryland G/F 33 Eldridge Hudson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Carson, California F/C 35 Armon Gilliam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania C 40 David Willard 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So San Diego, California F 44 Jarvis Basnight 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Detroit, Michigan	Head coach Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State) Assistant coach(es) Tim Grgurich (Pittsburgh) Mark Warkentien (Cal State Fullerton) Ralph Readout (Ohio) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2019-Mar-16

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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[2]	1–0	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center (15,065) Las Vegas, NV
11/24/1986*	No. 5	No. 7 Oklahoma Preseason NIT	W 90–81[3]	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[4]	4–0	–	–	–	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
Dec 5, 1986*	No. 2	at Memphis State	W 80–77[5]	5–0	26 – Paddio	–	–	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
12/19/1986*	No. 1	Ohio Rebel Round-Up	W 105–81	8–0	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
12/20/1986*	No. 1	Louisiana Tech	W 79–75	9–0	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
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[6]	11–0	27 – Gilliam	–	21 – Wade	Thomas & Mack Center (20,321) Las Vegas, NV
1/3/1987	No. 1	UC Irvine	W 114–72	12–0 (1–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center (19,058) Las Vegas, NV
1/8/1987	No. 1	San Jose State	W 89–77	13–0 (2–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
1/10/1987	No. 1	Utah State	W 114–94	14–0 (3–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center (19,418) 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
1/19/1987	No. 4	at Cal State Fullerton	W 73–65	16–1 (5–0)	–	–	–	Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
1/22/1987	No. 4	Long Beach State	W 104–74	17–1 (6–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
1/24/1987	No. 4	New Mexico State	W 85–58	18–1 (7–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
1/26/1987	No. 3	Fresno State	W 106–58	19–1 (8–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center (18,068) Las Vegas, NV
1/29/1987	No. 3	at UC Irvine	W 114–103	20–1 (9–0)	–	–	–	Bren Events Center (4,644) Irvine, CA
2/1/1987*	No. 3	at No. 18 Auburn	W 104–85	21–1	–	–	–	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
2/5/1987	No. 1	at Utah State	W 113–78	22–1 (10–0)	–	–	–	Smith Spectrum (10,280) Logan, UT
2/7/1987	No. 1	at San Jose State	W 83–74	23–1 (11–0)	–	–	–	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
2/9/1987	No. 1	at Pacific	W 73–59	24–1 (12–0)	–	–	–	Alex G. Spanos Center  Stockton, CA
2/12/1987	No. 1	Cal State Fullerton	W 74–64	25–1 (13–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
2/14/1987	No. 1	UC Santa Barbara	W 86–76	26–1 (14–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
2/19/1987	No. 1	at Long Beach State	W 86–66	27–1 (15–0)	–	–	–	Gold Mine (8,663) Long Beach, CA
2/21/1987	No. 1	at New Mexico State	W 80–69	28–1 (16–0)	–	–	–	Pan American Center  Las Cruces, NM
2/26/1987	No. 1	Pacific	W 82–55	29–1 (17–0)	–	–	–	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, NV
Mar 1, 1987	No. 1	at Fresno State	W 70–59	30–1 (18–0)	–	–	–	Selland Arena (10,132) Fresno, CA
PCAA tournament
3/5/1987*	(1) No. 1	vs. (8) Long Beach State Quarterfinals	W 105–70	31–1	–	–	–	The Forum  Inglewood, CA
3/6/1987*	(1) No. 1	vs. (5) Cal State Fullerton Semifinals	W 99–65	32–1	–	–	–	The Forum  Inglewood, CA
3/7/1987*	(1) No. 1	vs. (3) San Jose State Championship Game	W 94–69	33–1	–	–	–	The Forum  Inglewood, CA
NCAA tournament
3/12/1987* ESPN	(W1) No. 1	vs. (W16) Idaho State First Round	W 95–70	34–1	23 – Banks	10 – Hudson	9 – Wade	Special Events Center (11,314) Salt Lake City, UT
3/14/1987* CBS	(W1) No. 1	vs. (W9) Kansas State Second Round	W 80–61	35–1	24 – Gilliam	11 – Gilliam	13 – Wade	Special Events Center (14,944) 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 (23,035) Seattle, WA
3/22/1987* CBS	(W1) No. 1	vs. (W2) No. 6 Iowa Elite Eight	W 84–81[7][8]	37–1	27 – Gilliam	10 – Gilliam	12 – Wade	Kingdome (22,914) 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 (64,959) New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source:

Rankings

Main article: 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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)

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Awards and honors

• Armon Gilliam – PCAA Player of the Year, Consensus Second-team All-American

Team players drafted into the NBA

Main article: 1987 NBA draft

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

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See also

• UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
• 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament