Most of the attention is on Arkansas’ search for a new head coach, but Thursday also marks the 25th anniversary of the program’s lone national championship.
In the two and a half decades have since legendary coach Nolan Richardson led them to the 1994 title with a 76-72 win over Duke, the Razorbacks have failed to reach those same heights. However, there have still been some memorable games.
Here is a look at Arkansas basketball’s top 10 moments since its national championship…
10. Wins over Oklahoma, Texas in one week
Coming off its first NCAA Tournament win in nearly a decade, Arkansas got some national attention in the 2008-09 season by ending its non-conference slate with a pair of top-10 wins just a week apart.
First, the Razorbacks knocked off Blake Griffin and No. 4 Oklahoma 96-88. Mike Washington’s double-double (24 points, 11 rebounds) was enough to overcome a 35-point effort by Willie Warren and a double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds) by Griffin, who went on to become the No. 1 overall draft pick that year.
After beating North Texas at Verizon Arena, Arkansas returned to Fayetteville and upset No. 7 Texas with a 22-point performance by Washington. The Longhorns’ leading scorer, A.J. Abrams, was limited to just seven points on 3-of-16 shooting.
Had the Razorbacks built off these two wins and made it back to the big dance, it’d probably be higher on the list. Instead, they went backward, winning just two games in SEC play for their worst conference record since Lanny Van Eman was the head coach and they were in the SWC.
9. Hogs knock off No. 5 Florida in OT on Pargo’s game-winner
Two of Richardson’s final three wins as Arkansas’ head coach were against the fifth-ranked team in the country at Bud Walton Arena. The most dramatic of those upsets was against Florida.
Senior Jannero Pargo came off the bench and poured in 35 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He was perfect on eight attempts from the free throw line and nearly replicated that from distance, making 7 of 8 three-pointers. His biggest shot, though, was a pull-up jumper with 2.7 seconds left in overtime to give the Razorbacks a 94-92 win.
Future NBA champion Udonis Haslem had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Gators.
8. Portis takes over vs. Alabama
Bobby Portis was named the SEC Player of the Year as a sophomore, but his most memorable performance came as a freshman in a 65-68 win over Alabama.
On a night when his teammates couldn’t buy a bucket, the Little Rock native took over and scored a UA freshman-record 35 points, while also contributing nine rebounds and six blocks. Portis was 14 of 17 (82.4 percent) from the floor and made Arkansas’ lone three-pointer of the game.
By comparison, the rest of the team made just 20 percent of their shots (8 of 40).
7. Cinderella run to 1996 Sweet 16
Without its stars from back-to-back championship game appearances, Arkansas snuck into the 1996 NCAA Tournament as one of the final two at-large teams, receiving a No. 12 seed.
Once in the big dance, though, the Razorbacks knocked off No. 18 Penn State and No. 20 Marquette to reach the Sweet 16 before a loss to No. 1 UMass ended their run. It is still the last time Arkansas has made it to the second weekend of the big dance.
6. Fans storm court after blowout of No. 2 Auburn
Just a few days after beating No. 6 Kentucky, Arkansas welcomed No. 2 Auburn to Fayetteville for Senior Night and ran the Tigers off the floor.
Pat Bradley drained 5 of 7 shots beyond the arc to become the SEC’s all-time leading three-point shooter and finish with a team-high 23 points, while fellow seniors Derek Hood (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Kareem Reid (10 points, 10 assists) had double-doubles in the Razorbacks’ 104-88 win.
What made this win over the Tigers particularly memorable is it was the first time fans stormed the court at Bud Walton Arena.
5. Arkansas wins 2000 SEC Tourney championship
Entering the SEC Tournament with a 15-14 record, Richardson’s job was rumored to be jeopardy. However, Arkansas bought him another two years by becoming the first team in conference history to win four games in four days and capture the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
It started with a win over the hometown team, Georgia, and continued with wins over No. 16 Kentucky and No. 10 LSU before concluding with a 75-67 win over Auburn.
Sophomore Brandon Dean played arguably the two best games of his career in the semifinals and championship game, scoring 20 and 22 points off the bench to earn Tournament MVP honors. A freshman named Joe Johnson was also solid, averaging 17.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2 steals during the run.
4. Hogs reach 2008 SEC Tourney finals on Hill’s buzzer beater
Playing inside Georgia Tech’s small Alexander Memorial Coliseum because a tornado had damaged the Georgia Dome the day before, Arkansas stunned No. 4 Tennessee - which had won the regular-season title for the first time in 41 years - to reach the SEC Tournament championship.
In a game that featured 17 lead changes, including five in the final three minutes, an unlikely hero emerged to make the final bucket. Steven Hill, the Razorbacks’ 7-footer known more for his shot blocking than scoring prowess, made a turnaround jump shot from the baseline with 5.3 seconds left to give Arkansas a dramatic 92-91 win.
The Razorbacks lost to Georgia the following day, but earned a No. 9 seed for the NCAA Tournament, where it beat Indiana before getting blown out by North Carolina in the second round.
3. Qualls’ dunk beats Kentucky
This was one of the greatest finishes in Arkansas history. In regulation, Alandise Harris broke a tie with a three-point play with 10 seconds left, but Andrew Harrison answered with a three-pointer with three second left to force overtime.
It seemed like the game was destined for a second overtime when James Young made a three-pointer to tie it up with 12 seconds left, but Michael Qualls had other ideas. When Rashad Madden’s three-point attempt bounced high off the rim, he soared above everyone else to grab the rebound and slammed home the game-winning dunk.
Although two-tenths of a second were put back on the block, Kentucky’s inbounds pass got stuck in the scoreboard and Arkansas hung on for an 87-85 victory.
The Razorbacks also beat the Wildcats in overtime at Rupp Arena later in the year, seemingly clinching a spot in the NCAA Tournament in Mike Anderson’s third season, but they ended the year with a dud and made the NIT instead.
2. Defending the title in 1995
As the defending national champ, nothing came easy for Arkansas in the 1995 NCAA Tournament. Even its first-round game against No. 15 seed Texas Southern was a one-point win and then the Razorbacks had to go to overtime to beat Syracuse and Memphis.
They beat No. 13 Virginia and No. 4 North Carolina by seven points apiece to reach the title game, meaning they won their first five games of the tournament by a total of 22 points.
Had Arkansas been able to finish off the title defense, this would probably take the top spot on this list. However, it ran out of gas in an 89-78 loss to No. 1 UCLA, which got a monster performance from Ed O’Bannon (30 points, 17 rebounds).
1. Thurman, Hogs beat Kentucky on Super Bowl Sunday
Arguably the most exciting game during Arkansas’ regular-season title defense came on Super Bowl Sunday. Playing in front of 20,298 fans - a Bud Walton Arena record at the time - and hundreds of thousands more watching on CBS, the No. 9 Razorbacks beat No. 5 Kentucky 94-92.
Just as he had in the previous season’s national championship game, Scotty Thurman came up clutch by making a long jumper with 10.6 seconds remaining.
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