BACK IN TIME WITH @sportsguychris - MARCH MADNESS CLASSICS - 1990
Welcome back all! In a normal year, under normal conditions I'd be bouncing off the walls with excitement for the NCAA Tournament getting under way just like many of you. Sadly, of course, we won't have March Madness this year, but I'm still doing my best to keep March Madness alive. Tomorrow I'll be simulating the first round games from my Official 2020 March Madness NCAA Tournament Bracket that I revealed on Saturday. In the meantime, however, I'm back with another edition of "Back In Time with @sportsguychris" March Madness Classics. In today's post we are going to go back 30 years, and visit 1990 & one of the most intriguing NCAA Tournaments from yesteryear. - The UNLV Runn'in Rebels were known for their talented starting 5 and ability to score with ease while running teams into the ground. In fact, the 1989-90 UNLV squad scored 100 points or more in a game on 16 occasions during the season, including 3 times in the NCAA Tournament. They boasted a quintet of talented players unparalleled to any other at that time in Larry Johnson (20.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game), Anderson Hunt (15.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists), Stacey Augmon (14.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 assists), Greg Anthony (11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 2.7 steals), and David Butler (15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals). UNLV came into the tournament as one of the favorites, and they did not disappoint as they went on an eventful run to the Final Four. More on the Rebels in the moment. - While UNLV came into the tournament on fire, having won 15 of their last 16, most of which were in dominant fashion, another team in the West Region came in reeling from a tragic loss. Loyola-Marymount was one of the big story-lines during the 1989-90 college basketball season, as they sported one of the most dynamic and explosive players in the nation in Hank Gathers. Gathers had led the nation in both rebounding & scoring the year prior in 1989. The Lions had another successful season in 1990, but Gathers was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat during the season and missed some time, eventually returning. In a devastating and shocking tragedy, Gathers collapsed near mid-court and died during the Lions Semfinal game in the West Coast Conference Tournament. It was an incredibly shocking and painful event, and the WCC canceled the remainder of the tournament and awarded the Lions, who had been the regular season Conference Champion, the leagues automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. LMU was given an 11-seed in the West Region and became an inspiration and one of the great stories of the 1990 tournament. First, behind Gathers' childhood friend & teammate Bo Kimble, the Lions knocked off New Mexico State, 111-92. Next up were the defending National Champions in the Michigan Wolverines, who decided they would attempt to match LMU's high-octane, high-scoring style of offense, and were promptly blown out of the arena in a 149-114 complete demolition. - Alabama was next up, and the Crimson Tide decided they wanted no part of the high-flying style of play that the Lions preferred, and instead decided they would slow the game down and hold the ball as much as possible. While the strategy worked in keeping the game close, and limiting LMU's intense offense, it still resulted in a 62-60 defeat that sent the Lions all the way to the Elite 8. - Waiting for them were - you guessed it, the 1-seed in the West, the UNLV Runn'in Rebels. In a highly anticipated showdown between high-scoring teams, UNLV finally put the Lions' magical run to an end in a 131-101 victory. While LMU's run had come to an end, they had captivated the nation with their epic run through the bracket. That 1990 LMU team is still the greatest of all-time in terms of scoring, setting the NCAA record for points per game for a season with a sizzling & insane 122.1 points per contest. A mark that hasn't been approached since. - While UNLV was on their run to the Final Four, there was another notable team in the West Region that made a run of their own. 12-seed Ball State faced off with 5th-seeded Oregon State in the opening game, and pulled out a narrow 54-53 upset. The Cardinals then snuck past 4-seed Louisville 62-60 in a battle of the Cardinals in the second round before squaring off with UNLV. They ended up giving them by far their toughest test of the tournament, falling by a single bucket, 69-67, while holding the Runn'in Rebels to their lowest point total of the tournament. Another noteworthy upset came out of the Southeast Region where 4-seed Georgia Tech knocked off 1-seed Michigan State in a terrific 81-80 overtime thriller. Yellow Jackets guard (and future NBA player) Kenny Anderson hit a shot at the buzzer, that at first glance appeared to be a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired in regulation, but after review sent the game to overtime where Georgia Tech prevailed by 1. There's been debate in the years since as to whether that shot should have counted in the first place, but it did. The Yellow Jackets made the most of their fortunate upset and went on to knock off Minnesota 93-91 in another excellent game in the Elite 8 to advance to the Final Four. - Joining UNLV and Georgia Tech in the Final Four was another 4-seed, this time from the Midwest Region, as Arkansas won several close games, including an 88-85 victory over 10th-seeded Texas in the Elite 8. The RazorBacks were making their 4th Final Four appearance. - That leads us to last of the Final Four participants, and one that is a familiar name to most - the Duke Blue Devils. Coach Mike Kryzewski had built a successful program in Durham, N.C. leading the Dukies' to the Final Four in 1989. Duke was also in the Final Four in 1986, falling in the Title game that year. With the Final Four set, UNLV got past Georgia Tech, 90-81, and Duke breezed past Arkansas, 97-83, setting up a highly-anticipated Title Game between Duke's talented roster of future NBA talent, and UNLV's roster also littered with future NBA talent. Instead of the classic showdown everyone expected, what they got was an impressive annihilation from the Runn'in Rebels as they put an emphatic exclamation point on their 1989-90 season. They set the NCAA record for points scored in a title, becoming the first - and to date, only - team to score 100 points or more in the Championship game (103). The 103-73 spanking also set the NCAA mark for margin of victory in a Title game (30). Hunt poured in 29 in the Title game, and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player (MOP), while Johnson added 11 rebounds. - These two would meet again the following season in the Final Four, but that is another story for another day. As always, I appreciate the support, and would love to get your thoughts in the comments section below. Where do you rank the 1990 UNLV Runn'in Rebels in terms of college basketball's all-time great teams? ---- I'll be back again tomorrow keeping March Madness alive the best I can with my simulated results to my Official March Madness 2020 NCAA Tournament Bracket! - Be sure to checkout today's video on the NFL free agency QB carrousel!: - https://youtu.be/J2P9i0tiOb8 - Chris Elgersma - Find me on Instagram & Youtube: @sportsguychris
BACK IN TIME WITH @sportsguychris - MARCH MADNESS CLASSICS - 1990
Welcome back all! In a normal year, under normal conditions I'd be bouncing off the walls with excitement for the NCAA Tournament getting under way just like many of you. Sadly, of course, we won't have March Madness this year, but I'm still doing my best to keep March Madness alive. Tomorrow I'll be simulating the first round games from my Official 2020 March Madness NCAA Tournament Bracket that I revealed on Saturday. In the meantime, however, I'm back with another edition of "Back In Time with @sportsguychris" March Madness Classics. In today's post we are going to go back 30 years, and visit 1990 & one of the most intriguing NCAA Tournaments from yesteryear. - The UNLV Runn'in Rebels were known for their talented starting 5 and ability to score with ease while running teams into the ground. In fact, the 1989-90 UNLV squad scored 100 points or more in a game on 16 occasions during the season, including 3 times in the NCAA Tournament. They boasted a quintet of talented players unparalleled to any other at that time in Larry Johnson (20.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game), Anderson Hunt (15.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists), Stacey Augmon (14.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 assists), Greg Anthony (11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 2.7 steals), and David Butler (15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals). UNLV came into the tournament as one of the favorites, and they did not disappoint as they went on an eventful run to the Final Four. More on the Rebels in the moment. - While UNLV came into the tournament on fire, having won 15 of their last 16, most of which were in dominant fashion, another team in the West Region came in reeling from a tragic loss. Loyola-Marymount was one of the big story-lines during the 1989-90 college basketball season, as they sported one of the most dynamic and explosive players in the nation in Hank Gathers. Gathers had led the nation in both rebounding & scoring the year prior in 1989. The Lions had another successful season in 1990, but Gathers was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat during the season and missed some time, eventually returning. In a devastating and shocking tragedy, Gathers collapsed near mid-court and died during the Lions Semfinal game in the West Coast Conference Tournament. It was an incredibly shocking and painful event, and the WCC canceled the remainder of the tournament and awarded the Lions, who had been the regular season Conference Champion, the leagues automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. LMU was given an 11-seed in the West Region and became an inspiration and one of the great stories of the 1990 tournament. First, behind Gathers' childhood friend & teammate Bo Kimble, the Lions knocked off New Mexico State, 111-92. Next up were the defending National Champions in the Michigan Wolverines, who decided they would attempt to match LMU's high-octane, high-scoring style of offense, and were promptly blown out of the arena in a 149-114 complete demolition. - Alabama was next up, and the Crimson Tide decided they wanted no part of the high-flying style of play that the Lions preferred, and instead decided they would slow the game down and hold the ball as much as possible. While the strategy worked in keeping the game close, and limiting LMU's intense offense, it still resulted in a 62-60 defeat that sent the Lions all the way to the Elite 8. - Waiting for them were - you guessed it, the 1-seed in the West, the UNLV Runn'in Rebels. In a highly anticipated showdown between high-scoring teams, UNLV finally put the Lions' magical run to an end in a 131-101 victory. While LMU's run had come to an end, they had captivated the nation with their epic run through the bracket. That 1990 LMU team is still the greatest of all-time in terms of scoring, setting the NCAA record for points per game for a season with a sizzling & insane 122.1 points per contest. A mark that hasn't been approached since. - While UNLV was on their run to the Final Four, there was another notable team in the West Region that made a run of their own. 12-seed Ball State faced off with 5th-seeded Oregon State in the opening game, and pulled out a narrow 54-53 upset. The Cardinals then snuck past 4-seed Louisville 62-60 in a battle of the Cardinals in the second round before squaring off with UNLV. They ended up giving them by far their toughest test of the tournament, falling by a single bucket, 69-67, while holding the Runn'in Rebels to their lowest point total of the tournament. Another noteworthy upset came out of the Southeast Region where 4-seed Georgia Tech knocked off 1-seed Michigan State in a terrific 81-80 overtime thriller. Yellow Jackets guard (and future NBA player) Kenny Anderson hit a shot at the buzzer, that at first glance appeared to be a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired in regulation, but after review sent the game to overtime where Georgia Tech prevailed by 1. There's been debate in the years since as to whether that shot should have counted in the first place, but it did. The Yellow Jackets made the most of their fortunate upset and went on to knock off Minnesota 93-91 in another excellent game in the Elite 8 to advance to the Final Four. - Joining UNLV and Georgia Tech in the Final Four was another 4-seed, this time from the Midwest Region, as Arkansas won several close games, including an 88-85 victory over 10th-seeded Texas in the Elite 8. The RazorBacks were making their 4th Final Four appearance. - That leads us to last of the Final Four participants, and one that is a familiar name to most - the Duke Blue Devils. Coach Mike Kryzewski had built a successful program in Durham, N.C. leading the Dukies' to the Final Four in 1989. Duke was also in the Final Four in 1986, falling in the Title game that year. With the Final Four set, UNLV got past Georgia Tech, 90-81, and Duke breezed past Arkansas, 97-83, setting up a highly-anticipated Title Game between Duke's talented roster of future NBA talent, and UNLV's roster also littered with future NBA talent. Instead of the classic showdown everyone expected, what they got was an impressive annihilation from the Runn'in Rebels as they put an emphatic exclamation point on their 1989-90 season. They set the NCAA record for points scored in a title, becoming the first - and to date, only - team to score 100 points or more in the Championship game (103). The 103-73 spanking also set the NCAA mark for margin of victory in a Title game (30). Hunt poured in 29 in the Title game, and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player (MOP), while Johnson added 11 rebounds. - These two would meet again the following season in the Final Four, but that is another story for another day. As always, I appreciate the support, and would love to get your thoughts in the comments section below. Where do you rank the 1990 UNLV Runn'in Rebels in terms of college basketball's all-time great teams? ---- I'll be back again tomorrow keeping March Madness alive the best I can with my simulated results to my Official March Madness 2020 NCAA Tournament Bracket! - Be sure to checkout today's video on the NFL free agency QB carrousel!: - https://youtu.be/J2P9i0tiOb8 - Chris Elgersma - Find me on Instagram & Youtube: @sportsguychris
BACK IN TIME WITH @sportsguychris - MARCH MADNESS CLASSICS - 1990
Welcome back all! In a normal year, under normal conditions I'd be bouncing off the walls with excitement for the NCAA Tournament getting under way just like many of you. Sadly, of course, we won't have March Madness this year, but I'm still doing my best to keep March Madness alive. Tomorrow I'll be simulating the first round games from my Official 2020 March Madness NCAA Tournament Bracket that I revealed on Saturday. In the meantime, however, I'm back with another edition of "Back In Time with @sportsguychris" March Madness Classics. In today's post we are going to go back 30 years, and visit 1990 & one of the most intriguing NCAA Tournaments from yesteryear. - The UNLV Runn'in Rebels were known for their talented starting 5 and ability to score with ease while running teams into the ground. In fact, the 1989-90 UNLV squad scored 100 points or more in a game on 16 occasions during the season, including 3 times in the NCAA Tournament. They boasted a quintet of talented players unparalleled to any other at that time in Larry Johnson (20.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game), Anderson Hunt (15.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists), Stacey Augmon (14.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 assists), Greg Anthony (11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 2.7 steals), and David Butler (15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals). UNLV came into the tournament as one of the favorites, and they did not disappoint as they went on an eventful run to the Final Four. More on the Rebels in the moment. - While UNLV came into the tournament on fire, having won 15 of their last 16, most of which were in dominant fashion, another team in the West Region came in reeling from a tragic loss. Loyola-Marymount was one of the big story-lines during the 1989-90 college basketball season, as they sported one of the most dynamic and explosive players in the nation in Hank Gathers. Gathers had led the nation in both rebounding & scoring the year prior in 1989. The Lions had another successful season in 1990, but Gathers was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat during the season and missed some time, eventually returning. In a devastating and shocking tragedy, Gathers collapsed near mid-court and died during the Lions Semfinal game in the West Coast Conference Tournament. It was an incredibly shocking and painful event, and the WCC canceled the remainder of the tournament and awarded the Lions, who had been the regular season Conference Champion, the leagues automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. LMU was given an 11-seed in the West Region and became an inspiration and one of the great stories of the 1990 tournament. First, behind Gathers' childhood friend & teammate Bo Kimble, the Lions knocked off New Mexico State, 111-92. Next up were the defending National Champions in the Michigan Wolverines, who decided they would attempt to match LMU's high-octane, high-scoring style of offense, and were promptly blown out of the arena in a 149-114 complete demolition. - Alabama was next up, and the Crimson Tide decided they wanted no part of the high-flying style of play that the Lions preferred, and instead decided they would slow the game down and hold the ball as much as possible. While the strategy worked in keeping the game close, and limiting LMU's intense offense, it still resulted in a 62-60 defeat that sent the Lions all the way to the Elite 8. - Waiting for them were - you guessed it, the 1-seed in the West, the UNLV Runn'in Rebels. In a highly anticipated showdown between high-scoring teams, UNLV finally put the Lions' magical run to an end in a 131-101 victory. While LMU's run had come to an end, they had captivated the nation with their epic run through the bracket. That 1990 LMU team is still the greatest of all-time in terms of scoring, setting the NCAA record for points per game for a season with a sizzling & insane 122.1 points per contest. A mark that hasn't been approached since. - While UNLV was on their run to the Final Four, there was another notable team in the West Region that made a run of their own. 12-seed Ball State faced off with 5th-seeded Oregon State in the opening game, and pulled out a narrow 54-53 upset. The Cardinals then snuck past 4-seed Louisville 62-60 in a battle of the Cardinals in the second round before squaring off with UNLV. They ended up giving them by far their toughest test of the tournament, falling by a single bucket, 69-67, while holding the Runn'in Rebels to their lowest point total of the tournament. Another noteworthy upset came out of the Southeast Region where 4-seed Georgia Tech knocked off 1-seed Michigan State in a terrific 81-80 overtime thriller. Yellow Jackets guard (and future NBA player) Kenny Anderson hit a shot at the buzzer, that at first glance appeared to be a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired in regulation, but after review sent the game to overtime where Georgia Tech prevailed by 1. There's been debate in the years since as to whether that shot should have counted in the first place, but it did. The Yellow Jackets made the most of their fortunate upset and went on to knock off Minnesota 93-91 in another excellent game in the Elite 8 to advance to the Final Four. - Joining UNLV and Georgia Tech in the Final Four was another 4-seed, this time from the Midwest Region, as Arkansas won several close games, including an 88-85 victory over 10th-seeded Texas in the Elite 8. The RazorBacks were making their 4th Final Four appearance. - That leads us to last of the Final Four participants, and one that is a familiar name to most - the Duke Blue Devils. Coach Mike Kryzewski had built a successful program in Durham, N.C. leading the Dukies' to the Final Four in 1989. Duke was also in the Final Four in 1986, falling in the Title game that year. With the Final Four set, UNLV got past Georgia Tech, 90-81, and Duke breezed past Arkansas, 97-83, setting up a highly-anticipated Title Game between Duke's talented roster of future NBA talent, and UNLV's roster also littered with future NBA talent. Instead of the classic showdown everyone expected, what they got was an impressive annihilation from the Runn'in Rebels as they put an emphatic exclamation point on their 1989-90 season. They set the NCAA record for points scored in a title, becoming the first - and to date, only - team to score 100 points or more in the Championship game (103). The 103-73 spanking also set the NCAA mark for margin of victory in a Title game (30). Hunt poured in 29 in the Title game, and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player (MOP), while Johnson added 11 rebounds. - These two would meet again the following season in the Final Four, but that is another story for another day. As always, I appreciate the support, and would love to get your thoughts in the comments section below. Where do you rank the 1990 UNLV Runn'in Rebels in terms of college basketball's all-time great teams? ---- I'll be back again tomorrow keeping March Madness alive the best I can with my simulated results to my Official March Madness 2020 NCAA Tournament Bracket! - Be sure to checkout today's video on the NFL free agency QB carrousel!: - https://youtu.be/J2P9i0tiOb8 - Chris Elgersma - Find me on Instagram & Youtube: @sportsguychris
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