1976–77 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 1976–77 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1976–77 season. The team was led by head coach Jerry Tarkanian and played its home games in the Las Vegas Convention Center. This season marked the school's first appearance in the Final Four. The Rebels finished with an overall record of 29–3 and were ranked No. 4 in the final AP poll.

1976–77 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Final Four
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 4
Record	29–3
Head coach	Jerry Tarkanian (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Al Menendez Ralph Readout George McQuarn
Home arena	Las Vegas Convention Center
Seasons ← 1975–76 1977–78 →

1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 UNLV		–			–			29	–	3		.906
No. 6 Syracuse		–			–			26	–	4		.867
No. 12 Detroit		–			–			25	–	4		.862
Old Dominion		–			–			25	–	4		.862
Providence		–			–			24	–	5		.828
Holy Cross		–			–			23	–	6		.793
St. Bonaventure		–			–			23	–	6		.793
No. 7 Marquette		–			–			25	–	7		.781
North Texas State		–			–			21	–	6		.778
Illinois State		–			–			22	–	7		.759
No. 10 Notre Dame		–			–			22	–	7		.759
Oral Roberts		–			–			21	–	7		.750
Army		–			–			20	–	8		.714
Milwaukee		–			–			19	–	8		.704
Georgetown		–			–			19	–	9		.679
Virginia Tech		–			–			19	–	10		.655
James Madison		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Northwestern State		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Texas–Pan American		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Connecticut		–			–			17	–	10		.630
UNC Wilmington		–			–			16	–	10		.615
Portland State		–			–			16	–	10		.615
Iona		–			–			15	–	10		.600
Dayton		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Fairfield		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Georgia Southern		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Richmond		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Saint Francis (PA)		–			–			15	–	11		.577
DePaul		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Northeast Louisiana		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Stetson		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Utah State		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Colgate		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Navy		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Oklahoma City		–			–			14	–	12		.538
South Carolina		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Valparaiso		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Catholic		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Fairleigh Dickinson		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Loyola (IL)		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Maine		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Niagara		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Rhode Island		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Saint Peter's		–			–			13	–	13		.500
VCU		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Butler		–			–			13	–	14		.481
New Hampshire		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Northeastern		–			–			12	–	14		.462
St. Francis (NY)		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Air Force		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Denver		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Southern Mississippi		–			–			11	–	16		.407
Siena		–			–			9	–	15		.375
Cleveland State		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Xavier		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Centenary (LA)		–			–			11	–	19		.367
Long Island		–			–			9	–	16		.360
Hawaii		–			–			9	–	18		.333
Vermont		–			–			8	–	17		.320
Boston College		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Charleston Southern		–			–			8	–	19		.296
Boston University		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Robert Morris		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Samford		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Mercer		–			–			6	–	19		.240
Hardin–Simmons		–			–			6	–	21		.222
Houston Baptist		–			–			6	–	23		.207
Buffalo		–			–			5	–	21		.192
Wagner		–			–			3	–	21		.125
Canisius		–			–			3	–	22		.120
Rankings from AP Poll

This team, nicknamed the Hardway Eight, is credited with paving the way in establishing UNLV as a national contender from the late 1970s through the early 1990s.^[1]

Roster

1976–77 UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 10 Robert Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Los Angeles, California F 11 Eddie Owens 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Houston, Texas G 22 Tony Smith — — G 23 Reggie Theus 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Inglewood, California C 24 Lewis Brown 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Los Angeles, California G/F 25 Glen Gondrezick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Boulder, Colorado G 40 Sam Smith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Las Vegas, Nevada F 42 Larry Moffett 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Gary, Indiana	Head coach Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State) Assistant coach(es) Ralph Readout (Ohio) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

^[2]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 26, 1976*	No. 7	at Nevada	W 102–87	1–0	Centennial Coliseum (6,274) Reno, Nevada
Dec 1, 1976*	No. 6	Oregon	W 78–67	2–0	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 4, 1976*	No. 6	Iowa State	W 115–80	3–0	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 7, 1976*	No. 4	at Utah	L 96–100	3–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,230) Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 11, 1976*	No. 12	at San Diego State	W 118–113	4–1	San Diego Sports Arena (5,221) San Diego, California
Dec 17, 1976*	No. 12	North Dakota State	W 112–81	5–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 18, 1976*	No. 12	Idaho	W 135–78	6–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 21, 1976*	No. 12	Murray State Las Vegas Rebel Roundup	W 104–77	7–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,005) Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 22, 1976*	No. 12	Oklahoma Las Vegas Rebel Roundup	W 100–89	8–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 28, 1976*	No. 11	Eastern Michigan Las Vegas Holiday Classic	W 109–85	9–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 29, 1976*	No. 11	Saint Mary's Las Vegas Holiday Classic	W 104–81	10–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 3, 1977*	No. 11	Colorado	W 113–91	11–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 7, 1977*	No. 9	New Mexico	W 121–96	12–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 8, 1977*	No. 9	Cal State Northridge	W 112–72	13–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 11, 1977*	No. 8	Northern Arizona	W 132–90	14–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 21, 1977*	No. 7	UC Santa Barbara	W 113–69	15–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 22, 1977*	No. 7	Pepperdine	W 85–80	16–1	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 1, 1977*	No. 4	at Bradley	W 107–106	17–1	Robertson Memorial Field House (7,300) Peoria, Illinois
Feb 3, 1977*	No. 4	at Illinois State	L 84–88	17–2	Horton Field House (8,000) Normal, Illinois
Feb 5, 1977*	No. 4	vs. Rutgers	W 89–88^[3]	18–2	Spectrum (7,506) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 10, 1977*	No. 10	Denver	W 106–84	19–2	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 12, 1977*	No. 10	No. 6 Louisville	W 99–96	20–2	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,457) Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 17, 1977*	No. 6	Texas-Rio Grande Valley	W 135–106	21–2	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 19, 1977*	No. 6	Portland State	W 112–96	22–2	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,257) Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 24, 1977*	No. 6	at Denver	W 99–82	23–2	DU Fieldhouse (2,316) Denver, Colorado
Mar 1, 1977*	No. 5	Hawaii	W 124–84	24–2	Las Vegas Convention Center (6,307) Las Vegas, Nevada
Mar 5, 1977*	No. 5	at Pepperdine	W 117–94	25–2	Firestone Fieldhouse (3,500) Malibu, California
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1977*	No. 5	vs. No. 3 San Francisco West Regional Quarterfinal	W 121–95	26–2	McKale Center (14,438) Tucson, Arizona
Mar 17, 1977*	No. 4	vs. No. 14 Utah West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 88–83^[4]	27–2	Marriott Center (22,783) Provo, Utah
Mar 19, 1977*	No. 4	vs. Idaho State West Regional final – Elite Eight	W 107–90	28–2	Marriott Center (22,783) Provo, Utah
Mar 26, 1977*	No. 4	vs. No. 5 North Carolina National semifinal – Final Four	L 83–84^[5]^[6]	28–3	The Omni (16,086) Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 28, 1977*	No. 4	vs. No. 17 UNC Charlotte National 3rd-place game	W 106–94	29–3	The Omni (16,086) Atlanta, Georgia
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

Source:[1]

^[7]

Rankings

Main article: 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	7	6	5	12	12	11	9	8	7	5	4	10	6	4	5	5	4
Coaches	7	7	4	11	11	9	9	7	6	5	3	8	7	4	6	6	Not released

^[8]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Main article: 1977 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
2	26	Glen Gondrezick	New York Knicks
2	31	Eddie Owens	Kansas City Kings
2	34	Larry Moffett	Houston Rockets
3	48	Sam Smith	Atlanta Hawks
3	65	Robert Smith	Denver Nuggets
4	69	Lewis Brown	Milwaukee Bucks

^[9]

See also

• UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
• 1977 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

References

1. "Rebels' first Final Four team deserves to be remembered". Las Vegas Sun. March 28, 1997. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
2. "1977 NCAA Final Four program". March 1977. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
3. "Cool Smith Provides One-Point Reb Win". Las Vegas Sun. February 6, 1977. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
4. "Rebels Advance But Bruins Don't". Las Vegas Sun. March 18, 1977. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
5. "Super Season Over: Tar Heels Stop Runnin' Rebels". Las Vegas Sun. March 27, 1977. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
6. "Stars from 1977 UNLV team remember their Final Four game against North Carolina". Las Vegas Sun. December 27, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
7. "1976–77 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.
8. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 836–837. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
9. "1977 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.

External links

• UNLV Runnin' Rebels Official site 2010-03-03 at the Wayback Machine