NCAA Tournament: #3 Oregon - #7 UNLV Sweet 16 Game Preview

What Oregon fans need to know about the Runnin’ Rebels.

This will mark the third all-time meeting between UNLV and Oregon. Salem-News.com SPORTS

LAS VEGAS - After defeating 10th-seeded Georgia Tech, 67-63, on Friday and second-seeded Wisconsin, 74-68, on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament’s first and second rounds in Chicago, the UNLV men’s basketball team will be making its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1991 as it will travel to St. Louis for the Midwest Regional.

UNLV, ranked 19th and 18th, in the AP and Coaches’ polls respectively, is a No. 7 seed and will face third-seeded and 10/12th-ranked Oregon on Friday at approximately 6:40 PM PT (30 minutes after the Florida/Butler game) at the Edward Jones Dome in the regional semifinal.

The winner of the game will face the winner of No. 1-seeded Florida/fifth-seeded Butler on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four in Atlanta on the line.

UNLV has won nine straight games and is 30-6 overall, its best record since finishing the 1990-91 season 34-1.

This year’s UNLV team is just the fifth in school history to win at least 30 games and the 30 wins is the most ever for a Lon Kruger coached team.

THE NO. 19/18 UNLV RUNNIN’ REBELS

UNLV has won nine straight games after its 74-68 win over No. 2 seed Wisconsin in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at the United Center in Chicago.

The Runnin’ Rebels beat No. 10 seed Georgia Tech 67-63 last Friday in the first round. UNLV is 11-1 in its last 12 games and has won 16 of its last 18 overall.

UNLV’s win in the first round of the tournament marked the first for the Runnin’ Rebels since 1991 and their trip to the Sweet 16 is also the first for the program in 16 years.

UNLV earned the Mountain West Conference’s automatic bid by winning the league’s tournament in Las Vegas on March 8th-10th, with wins over Utah, Colorado State and BYU.

Senior guard/forward Wendell White (14.6 ppg), sophomore guard Wink Adams (14.1 ppg) and senior guard Kevin Kruger (13.4 ppg) are all averaging double figures in scoring for UNLV.

White is the team’s leading rebounder with 6.2 rpg, while Kruger leads the team and the MWC in assists with 5.2 apg.

Senior center Joel Anthony leads the team and the MWC in blocks with 108 (3.0 bpg).

UNLV is 19-1 at home, 8-5 on the road and 3-0 in neutral-site games this season.

The Runnin’ Rebels finished second in the MWC at 12-4, one game back of regular-season champion BYU.

In conference play, UNLV was 8-0 at home and 4-4 on the road.

This year marks the third for UNLV Head Coach Lon Kruger with the Rebels.

He has a 64-33 record as head coach at UNLV and is 382-266 over 21 seasons for his career.

SERIES HISTORY

This will mark the third all-time meeting between UNLV and Oregon. The two schools have split the series with each winning once.

The most recent meeting was on Dec. 1ST, 1976 with UNLV winning 78-67 in Las Vegas.

Oregon won the first meeting on Dec. 13TH, 1974 94-77 in Eugene.

This will mark the first neutral-court and NCAA Tournament meeting between the two schools.

UNLV is 25-20 all-time against teams that make up the Pac-10 Conference including 0-1 this season (lost at Arizona).

QUICK HITS ABOUT UNLV’S NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE

• UNLV moved to an impressive 12-2 all-time in first-round matchups with its 67-63 victory over Georgia Tech last Friday. It was the Runnin’ Rebels’ first NCAA Tournament win since downing Seton Hall 77-65 at the 1991 West Regional Final in Seattle. (UNLV had a first-round bye in 1983)
• This year’s NCAA Tournament marks UNLV’s first since 2000. In 2000 UNLV won its first MWC Tournament championship, but the MWC did not have an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament that season. Seeded 10th that spring in the Big Dance, the Runnin' Rebels lost in the first round to seventh-seeded Tulsa 89-62.
• The Runnin' Rebels have an all-time record of 32-13 (.711) in the Big Dance, which ranks third all-time for the highest NCAA Tournament winning percentage for all schools. UNLV has now made 10 Sweet 16 appearances and four Final Four showings (1977, 1987, 1990, 1991). UNLV won the national championship in 1990.
• UNLV head coach Lon Kruger became the second coach in school history to win an NCAA Tournament game with his 67-63 win over Georgia Tech last Friday. The previous 30 tournament victories in Runnin’ Rebel history came with Jerry Tarkanian as head coach.
• Seeded seventh for the first time ever, it is the highest placement for a Runnin' Rebel squad since the 1990- 91 team was a No. 1. That team lost in the Final Four.
• UNLV is now 2-1 all-time against No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament after beating Wisconsin 74-68 on Sunday. UNLV beat No. 2 seed Iowa in the 1987 West Regional final 84-81 and in 1991 UNLV lost to No. 2 seed Duke 79-77 in the Final Four.
• The Runnin' Rebels are 7-2 this season vs. teams that made the 65-team NCAA Tournament field (including 2-0 in the tournament).
• UNLV is making its 15th NCAA Tournament appearance overall.
• This is head coach Lon Kruger’s 10th career trip to the NCAA and he is the fifth man in college basketball history to take four different schools to the Big Dance. His all-time tournament record is 13-9, which has been compiled at Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV.
• Lon Kruger has become just the fourth coach in NCAA Tournament history to take three different programs to the Sweet 16 (Kansas State, Florida and UNLV) since the field was expanded to 64 teams.
• With last Friday’s win, Kruger is now just one of three coaches in NCAA history to win at least one game in the NCAA Tournament with four different schools. He is the only active coach to do so.
• In his career Kruger is now 3-4 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He was 1-1 at Kansas State, 1-0 at Florida and 0-3 at Illinois.
• Kruger has an all-time Sweet 16 record of 2-0 (Kansas State 1988 and Florida 1994).
• UNLV is now 7-3 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, including winning its last four (89, 90, 91, 07) second-round contests. Prior to Sunday, the last win was a 62-54 win over Georgetown in 1991 and its last loss was in 1988 to Iowa, 104-86.
• UNLV is now 21-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when playing a lower seeded team and 3-5 when playing a higher seed. The tournament was first seeded in 1979.
• Kruger’s first NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach was in 1987 with Kansas State. His Wildcats lost to UNLV in the second round that year, 80-61. UNLV went to the Final Four that year and lost to Indiana.
• As a player, Lon Kruger reached the regional finals as a player twice. In 1972 his Kansas State Wildcats lost to Louisville and in 1973 his team fell to Memphis.
• UNLV is 1-1 all-time against the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In 1989 fourth-seeded UNLV lost to third seeded Seton Hall 84-61 in the West Regional Final in Denver. In 1991 top-seeded UNLV beat third seeded Seton Hall 77-65 in the West Regional Final in Seattle.
  The Runnin' Rebels have never played a three seed in the Sweet 16, and only twice has UNLV played a team higher than a four-seed in the Sweet 16 (lost to top-seeded Georgetown in 1984 and beat top-seeded Arizona 1989).
• UNLV is 1-2 all-time against a No. 1 seed. The Runnin' Rebels first played a one seed in 1984, losing to Georgetown 62-48 in the Sweet 16. UNLV then lost to Indiana 97-93 in the 1987 Final Four but beat Arizona 68-67 in the Sweet 16 in 1989.
• UNLV's last appearance in Sweet 16 was in 1991, when the top-seeded Runnin' Rebels beat fourth-seeded Utah 83-66 in the West Regional in Seattle.
• UNLV is 1-2 all-time against the Pac-10 in the NCAA Tournament, losing to Arizona in 1976, defeating those same Wildcats in 1989 and losing to Arizona State in 1975.
• UNLV has never played an NCAA Tournament game in Missouri.

UNLV's Record in The Remaining Rounds:

• Sweet 16 - 5-4
• Regional Final - 4-1
• National Semifinals - 1-3
• Championship game - 1-0

KRUGER ERA - YEAR THREE

Head Coach Lon Kruger is in his third season with the Runnin’ Rebels and has an overall record of 64-33.

This is UNLV’s first NCAA Tournament appearance under Kruger.

His squad recorded an overall mark of 17-13 last year (2005-06) and turned in a 17-14 overall mark in his first season (2004-05) as UNLV’s head coach.

His first team was invited to the National Invitation Tournament where it advanced to the second round.

He came to UNLV after a four-year stint in the NBA where he was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks (2000-03) and was an assistant with the New York Knicks (2003-04).

Prior to making the jump from the college ranks to the NBA, Kruger spent 18 seasons as a head coach at Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State (1986-90), Florida (1990-96) and Illinois (1996-2000). With this season’s 30 wins at UNLV, Kruger has led all five of the college programs he has coached to 20-win seasons.

He has also become just the fifth coach in NCAA history to take four different schools to the NCAA Tournament (one of two active) and is one of just three coaches in NCAA history to win an NCAA Tournament game with four different schools (only active coach).

Additionally, Kruger is one of just four coaches to lead three different schools to Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Kruger has now led his teams to the postseason on 13 different occasions, with 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and three in the NIT.

He has compiled eight 20+ victory seasons, was a two-time SEC Coach of the Year (1992 and 1994) and led his 1993-94 Florida squad to the NCAA Final Four.

He is in his 21st season overall as a collegiate head coach and has a career record of 382-266.

A SELECT SWEET-16 GROUP

With the Runnin' Rebels advancing to the Sweet 16, head coach Lon Kruger has become just the fourth coach to take three different teams to the Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament history since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Rick Pitino (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville), Bill Self (Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas) and Tubby Smith (Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky) are the other three.

Kruger reached his first Sweet 16 with Kansas State, coaching his alma mater all the way to the Elite Eight in 1987-88.

Next was a Final Four trip with Florida in 1993-94 before he guided the Runnin' Rebels to this year's Midwest Regional with victories over Georgia Tech (67-63) and Wisconsin (74-68).

ALL-TIME COACHES LEADING THREE TEAMS TO THE SWEET 16 (since field expanded to 64 teams)

• Lon Kruger * (Kansas State, Florida and UNLV)
• Rick Pitino * (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville)
• Bill Self * (Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas)
• Tubby Smith * (Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky)

KRUGER REACHES 30 WINS

For the first time in his coaching career, UNLV head coach Lon Kruger has reached the 30-win plateau following his team's 74-68 win over second-seeded Wisconsin in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kruger's previous season-high win total came during the 1993-94 season when Florida advanced to the Final Four and finished with an overall record of 29-8.

30 SOMETHING

UNLV's 74-68 victory over second-seeded Wisconsin in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the United Center moved the Runnin' Rebels' record to 30-6 on the year, the fifth time in school history that the program has reached the 30-win mark.

It is the first time since the 1990-91 squad won its first 34 games before falling in the Final Four that a Runnin' Rebel team has won at least 30 games in a season.

UNLV’S 30+ WIN TEAMS

• 1985-86 - 33-5 (NCAA 3rd Round)
• 1986-87 - 37-2 (Final Four)
• 1989-90 - 35-5 (NCAA Champion)
• 1990-91 - 34-1 (Final Four)
• 2006-07 - 30-6 (NCAA 3rd Round)

UNLV'S RECORD RANKS AMONG NATION'S BEST

With a 30-6 mark entering the Midwest Regional semifinal on Friday, the Runnin' Rebels are tied for fifth in the nation for overall victories with 30.

Six of the seven teams with at least 30 wins are still alive in the NCAA tournament.

This is the fifth time in school history that a UNLV team has reached the mark.

NATION’S BEST RECORDS

1. Ohio State 32-3
2. Kansas 32-4
3. Memphis 32-3
4. Florida 31-5
5. UNLV 30-6
6. North Carolina 30-6
7. Wisconsin 30-6

ANOTHER UNLV FATHER-SON COMBO IN THE SWEET 16

UNLV head coach Lon Kruger and his son, point guard Kevin Kruger, are the second father-son combo to reach the Sweet 16 with the Runnin' Rebels.

The first duo was legendary head coach Jerry Tarkanian and his son, Danny, who was also a point guard.

The Tarkanians reached the Sweet 16 together during the 1983-84 season, playing Georgetown and losing 62-48 in the West Regional in Los Angeles.

KRUGER JOINS THE CLUB

UNLV head coach Lon Kruger is the fifth man in college basketball history to take four different schools to

the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

Kruger is making his 10th career trip to the Big Dance

and holds an all-time record of 13-9 in the NCAA Tournament.

He was 4-4 in the NCAA event while coaching his alma mater Kansas State; 4-2 at Florida, which included a trip to the 1994 Final Four; 3-3 at Illinois.

UNLV’S 2006-07 RECORD WHEN IT...

• plays at home 19-1
• plays on the road 8-5
• plays at a neutral site 3-0
• plays a conference game 12-4
• plays a home conference game 8-0
• plays a road conference game 4-4
• plays during the morning 1-0
• plays during the afternoon 4-2
• plays at night 25-4
• plays vs. an Atlantic Coast Conference team 1-0
• plays vs. a Big 12 Conference team 1-0
• plays vs. a Big East Conference team 1-0
• plays vs. a Big Sky Conference team 2-0
• plays vs. a Big Ten Conference team 2-0
• plays vs. a Big West Conference team 0-1
• plays vs. a Conference USA team 1-0
• plays vs. a Division II team 1-0
• plays vs. a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team 1-0
• plays vs. a Pac-10 Conference team 0-1
• plays vs. a Southland Conference team 1-0
• plays vs. a West Coast Conference team 1-0
• plays vs. a Western Athletic Conference team 3-0
• leads at halftime 23-1
• trails at halftime 5-5
• is tied at halftime 2-0
• is in an overtime game 2-1
• shoots a higher FG% than opp 21-1
• shoots a lower FG% than opp 9-5
• shoots the same FG% as opp 0-0
• takes more shots than opp 21-4
• takes less shots than opp 8-2
• takes the same number of shots as opp 1-0
• shoots 50% or better from field 8-0
• shoots less than 50% from field 22-6
• shoots a higher 3pt% than opp 19-0
• shoots a lower 3pt% than opp 11-6
• shoots the same 3pt% as opp 0-0
• takes more 3pters than opp 19-4
• takes less 3pters than opp 9-2
• takes the same number of 3pters as opp 2-0
• shoots a higher FT% than opp 19-2
• shoots a lower FT% than opp 11-4
• shoots the same FT% as opp 0-0
• takes more FT than opp 17-1
• takes less FT than opp 12-5
• takes the same number of FT as opp 1-0
• has more rebounds than opp 13-4
• has less rebounds than opp 16-2
• has the same number of rebounds as opp 1-0
• has more assists than opp 22-1
• has less assists than opp 6-4
• has the same number of assists as opp 2-1
• has more turnovers than opp 6-3
• has less turnovers than opp 24-2
• has the same number of turnovers as opp 0-1
• has more fouls than opp 10-4
• has less fouls than opp 14-2
• has the same number of fouls as opp 6-0
• has more blocks than opp 24-1
• has less blocks than opp 5-3
• has the same number of blocks as opp 1-2
• has more steals than opp 24-1
• has less steals than opp 6-5
• has the same number of steals as opp 0-0
• scores 100 or more points 1-0
• scores 90-99 points 3-0
• scores 80-89 points 8-0
• scores 70-79 points 10-3
• scores 60-69 points 7-1
• scores 59 or fewer points 1-2
• allows 100 or more points 0-0
• allows 90-99 points 1-1
• allows 80-89 points 2-2
• allows 70-79 points 6-1
• allows 60-69 points 7-1
• allows 59 or fewer points 14-1
• has a game decided by 1 point 0-0
• has a game decided by 2 or 3 points 4-1
• has a game decided by 4-9 points 11-1
• has a game decided by 10-19 points 11-3
• has a game decided by 20-29 points 2-1
• has a game decided by 30 or more points 2-0

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