1985–86 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

1985–86 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
1985–86 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
PCAA tournament champions; PCAA regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 11
Record	33–5 (16–2 PCAA)
Head coach	Jerry Tarkanian (13th season);
Assistant coaches	Tim Grgurich; Mark Warkentien; Cleveland Edwards;
Home arena	Thomas & Mack Center

1985–86 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 11 UNLV †	16	–	2	.889	33	–	5	.868
UC Irvine	12	–	6	.667	17	–	13	.567
New Mexico State	10	–	8	.556	18	–	12	.600
San Jose State	9	–	9	.500	16	–	12	.571
Pacific	9	–	9	.500	17	–	14	.548
Cal State Fullerton	8	–	10	.444	16	–	16	.500
Fresno State	8	–	10	.444	15	–	15	.500
Utah State	8	–	10	.444	12	–	16	.429
UC Santa Barbara	7	–	11	.389	12	–	15	.444
Long Beach State	3	–	15	.167	7	–	22	.241

† 1986 PCAA tournament winner

The 1985–86 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1985–86 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. The Rebels won the regular season conference and PCAA tournament titles. The team finished with a record of 33–5 (16–2 PCAA) and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.

Roster

1985–86 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G/F	11	Anthony Jones	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Washington, D.C.
G	13	Freddie Banks	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	Jr	Las Vegas, Nevada
F	30	Leon Symanski	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Orange, California
G	32	Gary Graham	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Baltimore, Maryland
G/F	33	Eldridge Hudson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Carson, California
F/C	35	Armon Gilliam	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Head coach

Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 22, 1985*	No. 18	Nevada	W 89–62	1–0	Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada
Nov 25, 1985*	No. 16	South Carolina	W 73–55	2–0	Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada
Nov 29, 1985*	No. 16	vs. Villanova Great Alaska Shootout	W 61–49	3–0	Sullivan Arena Anchorage, Alaska
Nov 30, 1985*	No. 16	vs. Arizona Great Alaska Shootout	W 60–59	4–0	Sullivan Arena Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 1, 1985*	No. 16	vs. No. 1 North Carolina Great Alaska Shootout	L 60–65	4–1	Sullivan Arena Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 7, 1985*	No. 14	at Maryland	W 64–63 ^OT	5–1	Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland
Dec 14, 1985*	No. 13	at Nevada	W 74–52	6–1	Lawlor Events Center Reno, Nevada
Dec 20, 1985*	No. 12	San Diego State	W 105–85	7–1	Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada
Dec 21, 1985*	No. 12	Iona	W 82–63	8–1	Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada
Dec 24, 1985*	No. 12	vs. Stanford	W 83–65	9–1	Neil S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 25, 1985*	No. 12	vs. NC State	L 73–80	9–2	Neil S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 27, 1985*	No. 12	Ball State Budweiser Holiday Classic	W 88–71	10–2	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 28, 1985*	No. 12	No. 14 UAB Budweiser Holiday Classic	W 73–72	11–2	Thomas & Mack Center (17,980) Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 2, 1986	No. 13	Utah State	W 100-94	12–2	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 4, 1986	No. 13	San Jose State	W 106-80	13–2	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 9, 1986	No. 12	at Pacific	W 85-80	14–2	Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, California
Jan 12, 1986	No. 12	at Fresno State	W 68-53	15–2	Selland Arena Fresno, California
Jan 16, 1986	No. 10	UC Santa Barbara	W 79-71	16–2	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 18, 1986	No. 10	at Cal State Fullerton	W 62-51	17–2	Titan Gym Fullerton, California
Jan 23, 1986	No. 10	New Mexico State	W 92-75	18–2	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 25, 1986	No. 10	Long Beach State	W 72-65	19–2	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 30, 1986	No. 10	at San Jose State	W 62-55	20–2	San Jose Civic Auditorium San Jose, California
Feb 1, 1986	No. 10	at Utah State	W 87-79	21–2	Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, Utah
Feb 6, 1986	No. 9	Pacific	W 92-73	22–2	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 7, 1986*	No. 9	No. 3 Memphis State	W 67–66	23–2	Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada
Feb 8, 1986	No. 9	Fresno State	W 72-56	24–2	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 15, 1986	No. 6	UC Irvine	L 92-99	24–3	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 17, 1986	No. 11	Cal State Fullerton	W 92-83	25-3	Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 20, 1986	No. 11	at New Mexico State	W 88-79	26-3	Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico
Feb 22, 1986	No. 11	at UC Santa Barbara	W 79-65	27-3	The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California
Feb 27, 1986	No. 9	at UC Irvine	L 88-95	27-4	Crawford Hall Irvine, California
Mar 1, 1986*	No. 9	at Long Beach State	W 94–76	28–4	The Gold Mine Long Beach, California
PCAA tournament
Mar 6, 1986*	No. 13	vs. Fresno State Quarterfinals	W 68–49	29–4	The Forum Inglewood, California
Mar 7, 1986*	No. 13	vs. Cal State Fullerton Semifinals	W 75–65	30–4	The Forum Inglewood, California
Mar 8, 1986*	No. 13	vs. New Mexico State Championship game	W 75–55	31–4	The Forum Inglewood, California
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1986*	(4 W) No. 11	vs. (13 W) Northeast Louisiana First round	W 74–51	32–4	Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California
Mar 16, 1986*	(4 W) No. 11	vs. (5 W) Maryland Second round	W 70–64^[1]	33–4	Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California
Mar 20, 1986*	(4 W) No. 11	vs. (8 W) Auburn West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	L 63–70	33–5	The Summit Houston, Texas
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

Source:^[2]^[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	18	16	14	13	12	12	13	12	10	10	10	9	6	11	9	13	11
Coaches	18	18^	9	10	10	12	13	12	10	10	11	9	4	11	7	11	10

^[4]

Awards and honors

Anthony Jones – co–PCAA Player of the Year

References

^ "UNLV Survives Rally by Maryland". The New York Times. March 17, 1986. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
^ "1985-86 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.
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 910–911. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

[1] "UNLV Survives Rally by Maryland". The New York Times. March 17, 1986. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

[2] "1985-86 UNLV Rebels Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

[3] "2020-21 UNLV Men's Basketball Media Guide". UNLV Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

[ESPN-4] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 910–911. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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 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 2025–26
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Roster

Schedule and results

Rankings

Awards and honors

See also

References