I saw both of them in person. Both were magical fun.
UNLV only managed one title. At least it was a destruction of Duke. And throughout the following season the only team I feared was Duke. Other Las Vegans were laughing at Duke, based on the title game blowout the year prior. But I trusted Jerry Tarkanian's big picture judgment. After the 103-73 rout of Duke in 1990 a reporter raved about UNLV's defense. He asked Tarkanian who was the second best defense in the country. Without hesitation, Tarkanian said Duke. The reporter was flabbergasted. After all, UNLV just score 103 on Duke. Tarkanian didn't care about one game.
During that 1991 season the hype was toward Arkansas as UNLV's most dangerous matchup. I just wanted to avoid Duke. UNLV was -8.5 points in the semifinal game, the Final Four rematch with Duke. Based on Tarkanian's words I was scared as heck. It played out that way. The Canes Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State in 2002 was identical because Ohio State was the nightmare opponent, the team I feared all season.