Pursuit of perfection: San Diego State vs. 1990-91 Runnin’ Rebels

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 | 2 a.m.

San Diego State’s run through the 2019-20 season has been impressive — so impressive, in fact, that if the Aztecs finish the regular season undefeated and go on to win the Mountain West tournament, it might not be completely sacrilegious to compare them to another undefeated team from a non-power conference: the legendary 1990-91 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels.

Coming off a national championship in 1989-90, those Rebels went 27-0 in the regular season, won the Big West tournament and rolled to the Final Four before falling to Duke, 79-77, one win short of the title game. Their final record: 34-1.

San Diego State is 26-0 with just three games remaining in the regular season (including a home game against UNLV today), and the Aztecs will be heavily favored in each of those contests. They’ll also be heavy favorites to claim the conference tourney, so it’s not too early to start thinking about how they might stack up against the '90-91 Rebels historically.

Let’s compare the two teams to see which squad has the edge in their pursuit of perfection (assuming San Diego State closes the deal):

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

UNLV

Befitting a defending champion, UNLV played a bear of a schedule in 1990-91. The slate featured five teams in the Top 25, and on Feb. 10 the top-ranked Rebels went into Fayetteville to take on No. 2 Arkansas in the game of the year. Stacey Augmon poured in 31 points, Anderson Hunt scored 26 and Larry Johnson posted 25 points and 14 rebounds as UNLV won, 112-105, to improve to 20-0. When the regular season wrapped up, the Rebels had beaten their five ranked opponents by an average margin of 19 points.

San Diego State

There are no AP Top 25 teams on SDSU’s schedule, but the Aztecs have taken care of a handful of quality opponents. On Nov. 9 they edged BYU (currently No. 21 in the KenPom.com ratings) by a score of 76-71. Then on Nov. 28 and 29, they dropped Creighton and Iowa (rated No. 15 and No. 22 by KenPom, respectively) on back-to-back nights. The Iowa and BYU victories were modest, but San Diego State’s 83-52 dismantling of Creighton was impressive.

Bottom line: It’s pretty much impossible for a Mountain West team to assemble the kind of schedule that UNLV tore into in 1990-91, so this category will obviously go to the Rebels. San Diego State quietly played a respectable non-conference slate, though. If the Aztecs go undefeated, it won’t be because of an easy schedule. EDGE: UNLV

BEST PLAYER

UNLV

The Rebels were one of the most star-studded squads in college history, but Larry Johnson was clearly a cut above. The physical, athletic forward averaged 22.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, won national player of the year honors and was selected No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft.

San Diego State

Malachi Flynn’s statistics don’t jump off the page — 16.7 points, 5.1 assists, 4.2 rebounds — but he is the obviously the top dog for the Aztecs, and he has yet to falter when his team needs him to come through. In SDSU’s three most impressive wins (BYU, Creighton, Iowa) he averaged 22 points. Flynn will win Mountain West Player of the Year and probably earn some votes for national POY as well.

Bottom line: Flynn is an excellent player and his hard-nosed approach makes him the perfect leader for this San Diego State team, but Larry Johnson was one of the greatest college players of all-time. There is no argument as to which team had more “star power.” EDGE: UNLV

OFFENSE

UNLV

There aren’t many teams worthy of being ranked ahead of the 1990-91 Runnin’ Rebels when it comes to putting points on the board. They scored 100 or more points on 14 separate occasions and averaged 97.7 per game, and in an era when shooting wasn’t as emphasized as it is now, UNLV nailed an incredible 41.3 percent of its 3-pointers (a mark that would rank second in the nation this season). The only weakness was an over-reliance on fast breaks; when the games inevitably slowed down in the NCAA tourney, UNLV averaged 79.6 points over five contests.

San Diego State

The raw numbers aren’t nearly as impressive for SDSU, obviously, as the methodical Aztecs score just 75.9 points per game (59^th in the country). But they take care of the ball (10.8 turnovers per game, 14^th in the nation) and shoot it at a pretty good rate themselves (38.4 3FG%, ninth in the nation). It’s not an explosive attack, but San Diego State runs its offense to perfection.

Bottom line: You can argue that San Diego State’s offensive style is more suited to winning a slugfest in March, but come on — the 1990-91 UNLV offense was the stuff of legends. We’ll never see anything like it again. EDGE: UNLV

DEFENSE

UNLV

As dominant as UNLV was on offense, the Rebels might have been even better at the other end of the court. Forward Stacey Augmon was one of the best and most versatile stoppers in NCAA history, point guard Greg Anthony locked down opposing ball-handlers and the center tandem of George Ackles and Elmore Spencer combined to average 4.7 blocks per game. With that collection of talent swarming the ball in coach Jerry Tarkanian’s “amoeba” defense, the Rebels forced 19.7 turnovers per game (which would rank second nationally this year).

San Diego State

The Aztecs do the job on defense, and that is the highest of compliments considering their overall game plan. Their rotation of guards and wings excel at stopping the dribble, and their commitment to limiting penetration is one of the reasons they rank so highly in defensive metrics. San Diego State is No. 6 in KenPom’s adjusted defense and No. 4 in points per possession allowed, according to Synergy Sports data.

Bottom line: The Rebels were a bulldozer on defense, but were they too reliant on forcing turnovers against teams that lacked sufficient ball-handling ability outside the point guard position? It’s possible. When they faced a Duke team that had Bobby Hurley at point and Grant Hill as a secondary handler, the result was only 14 turnovers and a 51.8-percent shooting day for the Blue Devils. San Diego State hasn’t been exposed like that, but neither was UNLV in the regular season. Let’s call this a draw for now. EDGE: Even

COACHING

UNLV

Jerry Tarkanian. ‘Nuff said.

San Diego State

Stepping in for a legend isn’t easy, and while some might quibble with bestowing that title upon Steve Fisher, the fact is that he built San Diego State from the ground and was a legendary figure there. There were some who believed that when Fisher retired, the Aztec program would backslide significantly. That hasn’t happened under Brian Dutcher — in fact, this looks like the best SDSU team ever assembled, regardless of whether or not they reach the Sweet 16 as the Kawhi Leonard-led 2010-11 squad did. Dutcher gets full credit for taking the Aztecs to new heights.

Bottom line: Tarkanian is a Hall of Fame coach who already had a national championship under his belt as he steered UNLV through the 1990-91 regular season. He gets the nod over Dutcher in a theoretical tactical matchup. EDGE: UNLV

CLOSE CALLS

UNLV

It seems like any team that threatens to go undefeated (in any sport) has to survive a couple close calls in the regular season, but the 1990-91 Rebels were an exception. They blew out everyone, and I mean ev-er-y-one. UNLV swept Big West rival New Mexico State (ranked in the Top 15), topping the Aggies by 12 points each time. Those were the closest wins aside from a 7-point victory at Arkansas (again, the No. 2 team in the nation). The season was a bloodbath.

San Diego State

The Aztecs have had to sweat out some tight finishes (including a 71-67 win at UNLV on Jan. 26), but the most anxiety-inducing was a 2-point victory over lowly San Jose State on Dec. 8. San Diego State trailed 57-56 with the clock winding down, but Flynn hit a long 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to give the Aztecs a dramatic home win.

Bottom line: UNLV stacked up blowout after blowout, which is great — but did that leave the Rebels untested when tournament time rolled around? The first time UNLV was truly pushed was in the NCAA semifinal against Duke, and the Rebels looked a little frantic in the closing minutes of that 79-77 loss. This San Diego State team has been hardened and knows how to execute when every possession matters. EDGE: San Diego State

CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES

UNLV

Coming up short in the 1991 Final Four is one of the great heartbreaks in Las Vegas history, but in this argument that’s actually a point in UNLV’s favor. It was such a disappointment because the title wasn’t just within reach — it was expected. UNLV had won the previous March, and they went wire to wire as the nation’s No. 1 team in 90-91. Though UNLV didn’t play in a marquee conference, the Rebels were no Cinderella story.

San Diego State

Despite their impressive regular season, there is still a nationwide skepticism toward the Aztecs, probably because they play in a mid-major conference with nary a McDonald’s All-American to be found on the roster. If they complete an undefeated regular season and win the Mountain West tournament, they’ll head to the Big Dance as a No. 1 seed with as good a chance to win it all as any team in the field. San Diego State isn’t a mirage bolstered by a weak schedule — just about every advanced metric says SDSU is a legit contender.

Bottom line: The Aztecs are capable of winning NCAA tournament games, but it's hard to envision an undefeated San Diego State team advancing as far as the title game. And that's what it would take to surpass the 90-91 Rebels. For now, this category goes to UNLV. EDGE: UNLV

THE PERFECT TEAM

What San Diego State is doing this year is amazing and bordering on miraculous, but it will be hard to include them in the same discussion as the 1990-91 UNLV team — unless the Aztecs finish it off by winning the whole thing. San Diego State can’t match the cultural zeitgeist that was the 90-91 Runnin’ Rebels, but if the Aztecs cap off a perfect season with a national championship, they probably won’t care how they stack up against a one-loss team — even if it’s the greatest one-loss team ever. UNLV has the edge as of now (and by a wide margin) but San Diego State has one more month to change that.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.