A look back at the best and worst of Dave Rice era at UNLV

Recruiting successes were not reflected in the win column during Dave Rice's four-plus seasons as UNLV basketball coach. He had no problems luring talent. But a lot of the talent he acquired was squandered.

Anthony Bennett and Rashad Vaughn, Rice recruits out of Findlay Prep, turned into first-round NBA Draft picks. Each player spent one season with the Rebels.

Bennett was the No. 1 overall pick in 2013. UNLV went 25-10 with Bennett, but it lost in the Mountain West tournament title game and was knocked out in its first NCAA Tournament game. Vaughn missed most of the second half of his freshman season with a knee injury, and the Rebels finished 18-15 and seventh in the conference.

Seven-foot freshman Stephen Zimmerman Jr., Rice's big catch last spring, has had a disappointing season. At 9-7 overall and 0-3 in the Mountain West, UNLV was underachieving again, and Rice was fired Sunday.

Rice also lost several players who transferred — Mike Moser, Katin Reinhardt and Goodluck Okonoboh, to name a few high-profile departures — so he faced heavy roster turnover each spring. Rice never could make the puzzle pieces fit, and his run is done with a 98-54 record.

Here's a look back at the best wins and worst losses of the Rice era:

Best five wins:

1. UNLV 90, No. 1 North Carolina 80, Nov. 26, 2011: Rice's signature win was achieved mostly with former coach Lon Kruger's recruits. Chace Stanback scored 28 points as the Rebels knocked off the top-ranked Tar Heels in the Las Vegas Invitational championship at Orleans Arena, where fans stormed the court. Moser had 16 points and 18 rebounds for UNLV, which opened the season 7-0.

"We don't want one game to define our program," Rice said that night. "We want to be judged on our consistency."

2. UNLV 71, No. 3 Arizona 67, Dec. 23, 2014: Chris Wood scored 24 points and Vaughn added 21 to help the Rebels take down the Wildcats at the Thomas & Mack Center, where a court-storming celebrating broke out.

3. UNLV 82, No. 15 San Diego State 75, Jan. 16, 2013: After falling out of the Top 25, the Rebels upset the Aztecs on the road behind Anthony Marshall's 20 points.

4. UNLV 72, No. 14 Indiana 69, Nov. 25, 2015: When two coaches on the hot seat met on the third day of the Maui Invitational, Rice got the best of the Hoosiers' Tom Crean. Patrick McCaw scored 20 points and Ben Carter added 16 to lead the Rebels.

5. UNLV 64, No. 19 Illinois 48, Dec. 17, 2011: Moser's 17 points and 11 rebounds helped the Rebels smother the Fighting Illini, who came in with a 10-0 record, at the United Center in Chicago.

Worst five losses:

1. Wyoming 59, UNLV 57, Saturday: Three days after a last-minute meltdown in a loss at Colorado State, the Rebels blew a 22-5 lead against one of the worst teams in the conference. Rice left Laramie knowing his job was in serious jeopardy, and he was fired about 24 hours later.

2. UNR 64, UNLV 62, Jan. 7, 2015: Two weeks after upsetting Arizona on the same floor, the Rebels were rocked as 10-point favorites. Marqueze Coleman sank an 18-foot jumper with 4.8 seconds remaining for the Wolf Pack's third win in a row in the rivalry.

3. Air Force 75, UNLV 68, Jan. 4, 2014: The Falcons upset the Rebels for the second time in three meetings. It got worse four days later, when UNR upset UNLV 74-71 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Rice started feeling the heat.

4. Arizona State 77, UNLV 55, Dec. 3, 2014: The Rebels raced to a 21-6 lead in the first seven minutes. Vaughn went down with a back injury in the second half, and with a 37-point turnaround the Sun Devils rolled to a blowout win in Tempe.

5. Stanford 89, UNLV 60, Nov. 21, 2014: The Rebels were embarrassed, falling behind 12-0 and 36-10 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn. The Cardinal made 14 of 20 3-pointers. It was the most lopsided loss of the Rice era.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247