M
MarsIncludes UNLV, but not BYU.
1989-90 UNLV basketball
"One of the first rules of sports fandom: Don't boo athletes who aren't getting paid. But given the abundance of circumstantial evidence, you were free to voice full-throated displeasure at this team. Coached by the inimitable, towel-chomping Jerry Tarkanian and starring forward Larry Johnson (pictured), the program was in keeping with the Vegas ethos: Have wild fun now, break some rules and deal with the consequences later. True to their nickname, the Runnin' Rebels ran up the floor and ran up the score with equal enthusiasm -- gloating all the way -- beating their opponents by an average of 27 points, and Duke 103-73 in the championship game. They rebelled, too, bending the NCAA rule book in such a way as to make Cirque du Soleil-style contortionists proud. While the allegations outnumbered the proven violations, suspicions were born out when various players from the 1990 team were photographed cavorting in a hot tub with Richard Perry, a convicted sports fixer. You could argue that this 1990 collective was the best college team ever. You could also argue that the team left as its legacy the culture of corruption that has infected college basketball ever since."