The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the men's basketball team that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Mountain West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); it plays at the Thomas & Mack Center on campus.

[2] One year after the establishment of Nevada Southern University, the fledgling school began playing basketball at a municipal gym in downtown Las Vegas.

In 1969, UNLV joined the West Coast Athletic Conference, coached by Rolland Todd before he left to helm the expansion Portland Trail Blazers.

The massive arena, clad with red seats and lined with luxury suites, became famous for its extravagance relative to the rest of college basketball at the time.

Games were regularly televised in Nevada and Southern California, with Los Angeles radio icons Chick Hearn and Ross Porter handling play-by-play duties.

He told the Los Angeles Times that the NCAA would "get so upset at UCLA, they'll put Northridge on two years probation," implying that the regulating body favored established programs over smaller schools.

NCAA executive director Walter Byers said "Tark's black players play a fast city-lot basketball without much style.

[7] The last Rebel squad coached by Tarkanian won their tenth consecutive Big West Conference regular season title.

He was an excellent recruiter, bringing in future NBA talent including Shawn Marion, Tyrone Nesby, and Keon Clark.

After narrowly beating Georgia Tech, the Rebels shocked 2nd seeded Wisconsin, sending them to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in over 15 seasons.

They were denied a third consecutive Mountain West Conference tournament Championship when they lost to the rival San Diego State Aztecs 71–57, on March 12, 2009.

Rice played for the Rebels when they won the 1990 national title, and promised to bring back the up–tempo offense that was a trademark of the team prior to Kruger's hiring.

Despite losing to Wichita State on the road a little over a week later, UNLV then avenged last years lost to Illinois, which was also ranked in the top 25, in convincing fashion.

Despite falling to the SDSU Aztecs in their conference opener in a very close game, the Runnin' Rebels responded with soundly defeating New Mexico, the preseason Mountain West favorite, at home in front of a sold out crowd as well as blowing out an up–and–coming Colorado State club that easily beat that at UNLV the previous year.

This set up numerous road losses down the stretch, but still finished a respectable 9–5 in conference play and 3rd seed in the tournament, where they lost in the semifinals to New Mexico.

Granted a six seed in the 2012 NCAA tournament, the Runnin' Rebels were upset in the opening round to Colorado despite trimming a 21–second point deficit to 2 in a 68–64 loss.

Despite the loss in the tournament and losing three starters, as well as two key reserves from the 2011–12 team, Dave Rice brought a highly touted recruiting class for the 2012–13 season.

Yet, the UNLV Rebels were upset once again to Fresno State at home, but responded to avenge the Air Force loss in the Mountain West tourney and advance the title game where they lost to New Mexico.

Led by Freddie Banks, Jarvis Basnight, Armon Gilliam, Gerald Paddio and Mark Wade, the Rebels ran through the Pacific Coast Athletic Association with a perfect record of 18–0.

Future NBA star Larry Johnson transferred from Odessa College, joining Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, David Butler and Anderson Hunt.

In NCAA Tournament play, the Rebels toughest game came in the third round at Oakland, Calif., when Ball State hung tough before falling 69–67.

The Rebels rolled through regional play with wins over Montana, Georgetown, Utah and Seton Hall before a showdown with Duke in the Final Four at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, and Christian Laettner kept the Rebels in check all evening and ended UNLV's dreams of back–to–back championships and the first perfect season since Indiana in 1976.

[19][20] The intensity of the rivalry between SDSU and UNLV grew exponentially during the Lon Kruger and Dave Rice years but has cooled down since Marvin Menzies took over in 2016.

The arena, which opened in 1983, is named after prominent Nevada bankers E. Parry Thomas and Jerome Mack, who donated the original fund for the feasibility and land studies.

During a game against in–state rival, Nevada, in November 2005, the court at the Thomas & Mack Center was renamed in honor of former head coach Jerry Tarkanian, who posted a 509–105 record in his 19 seasons, including leading UNLV to 11 conference championships, 12 NCAA tournament berths, and a national title in 1990.

Banners hang in the arena rafters all around the arena that honor former Runnin' Rebel greats (including Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson), regular season and conference tournament championships, appearances in NCAA and NIT tournaments, advancements to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Fours, and a prominent banner representing the 1990 National Championship team.

1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in front of a sold-out crowd in November 2011, which resulted in Rebel fans storming the court.

The NSU Gymnasium was developed into a natural history museum at UNLV and was renamed in 1989 to honor Marjorie Barrick, a longstanding benefactor of the university.

Since there were only two buildings on the "campus", the team practiced at a nearby junior high and home games were played at the Dula Memorial Gymnasium (off Bonanza Road) for the first two seasons.