It was April 2, 1990. Jerry Tarkanian, chewing a towel, was on one bench, with Mike Krzyzewski on the other. The UNLV-Duke showdown in the NCAA championship game in Denver was the headline show on the Strip. But Nevada sports books were banned from posting lines and taking action on the Rebels.
The Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge will be renewed next season. UNLV drew the toughest assignment by getting a Dec. 2 road game against Wichita State, which finished this season with a 30-5 record and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Thirty. That was UNLV’s margin of victory in the 1990 NCAA basketball championship game over Duke in a record-setting 103-73 performance by the Rebels. And it happened 25 years ago today — April 2, 1990. The 30-point win is still an NCAA record for largest margin of victory in a title game.
