The Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team represents the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkans ...
in
Fayetteville,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
Division I men's basketball competition. The team competes in the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
.
Arkansas plays its home games in
Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus. The Razorbacks are a top-twenty-five program all-time by winning percentage (.642), top-twenty program by
NCAA tournament games played, top-twenty program by NCAA Tournament games won, top-fifteen program by Final Four appearances, and despite playing significantly fewer seasons than most programs in major conferences, top-thirty by all-time wins. Under the coaching leadership of
Nolan Richardson
Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is a former American basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and led the Razorbacks to three F ...
, the Hogs won the national championship in 1994, defeating
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
, and appeared in the
championship game the following year, finishing as runner-up. The Razorbacks have made six NCAA
Final Four appearances (
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...
,
1945,
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
,
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
, and
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
).
History
Early success under Schmidt (1923-29)
Arkansas had a relatively late start in basketball; it did not field its first team until 1923.
Francis Schmidt coached the Razorbacks from the 1923–24 season until the 1928–29 season, while also coaching the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
teams.
Schmidt oversaw the construction of the gymnasium that was home to the Razorbacks from the inaugural season through the 1936–37 season. The project was headed by Schmidt and Jay Fulbright (father of future United States Senator from Arkansas,
J. William Fulbright). Schmidt and Fulbright organized a group of businessmen that facilitated the transfer of a former car showroom to the university to serve as the gym for the Razorbacks. The wooden gym, made out of surplus
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
material and officially named
Schmidt Gymnasium, became known as "Schmidt's barn," in reference to its makeshift nature and lack of accommodations.
After a difficult first year that resulted in a 17-11 overall record and a 3-9 conference record, Schmidt quickly led the Hogs to success and a dominating run in the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
during his tenure. Building off the program's first season, the 1924-25 team finished third in the conference, quickly turning their record around to 9–3 in conference play. This second season laid the groundwork for tremendous success with Schmidt, as the Razorbacks won the conference championship outright in just the third year of the program's existence with a record of 23-2 (11-1). The 1925–26 season kicked off a string of four straight Southwest Conference championships under Schmidt, and five straight overall. Schmidt also coached the Hogs to the first of three perfect SWC seasons in program history in 1927–28, with a conference record of 12-0 and a 15.25-point average margin of victory in conference play. The 1927–28 season also marked the beginning of a school record 31-game winning streak that ran until the last few games of the next season. Schmidt's last four teams at Arkansas went a combined 75-6 (42-4).
The last couple years of Schmidt's dominant SWC run were marked by serious star power, with future Razorback basketball coaches
Eugene Lambert, Sr. and
Glen Rose earning First-Team
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owners ...
All-American recognition during Schmidt's last two seasons (1928–29 and 1927–28, respectively), along with Tom Pickel earning First-Team honors from
College Humor Magazine in Schmidt's final season as coach. Schmidt's Razorbacks had four of the five All-SWC selections in 1928 (Rose, Pickel, Lambert, and
Wear Schoonover
Wear Kibler Schoonover (March 18, 1910 – May 12, 1982) was an American college football player. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
Playing career
He was the first Arkansas Razorback, as well as the first Southwest ...
). During Schmidt's time at Arkansas, the Razorbacks finished first in the SWC four out of six years, and compiled an overall record of 113-22 (.837), the highest winning percentage of any Arkansas coach ever. Schmidt left Arkansas to take the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
jobs at TCU, where he was coach until 1934.
Bassett years (1929-33)
In the 1929–30 season,
Charles Bassett took over as head coach, leaving the head coaching job at
Texas A&M that he held for two years without finding much success, going a paltry 16-18 (5-15) in his two years as head coach in
College Station, including a last-place finish in conference play for the 1927-28 Southwest Conference season. Arkansas's success under Bassett was limited to his first season as coach, when the Hogs won the Southwest Conference Championship with multi-sport star and current
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...
member
Wear Schoonover
Wear Kibler Schoonover (March 18, 1910 – May 12, 1982) was an American college football player. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
Playing career
He was the first Arkansas Razorback, as well as the first Southwest ...
garnering Second-Team All-American recognition from
College Humor and earning First-Team All-SWC honors for the third straight season. The Razorbacks did not finish above third place in the Southwest Conference standings for the rest of Bassett's tenure. Aside from the SWC Championship in 1930, the other major bright spot in Bassett's tenure came on January 8, 1931, when the Razorbacks defeated rival
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, 29–21, the day
UT dedicated its new
gym. Bassett's last season was the 1932–33 season, when the Razorbacks went 14-7 overall with a 6-6 conference record, the first time since the inaugural 1923–24 season that the Hogs did not finish the year with a winning record in conference play. After four seasons, Bassett's overall record was 62-29 (.681).
First Glen Rose era (1933-42)
Glen Rose took over in the 1933–34 season and returned the program to a competitive position within the SWC. Named a
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owners ...
First-Team All-American as a Hog in 1928, Rose was the first former player to coach the Razorbacks. Rebuilding the program after the decline under Bassett, Rose's first season as coach produced a .500 conference record (6-6) and a tie for third place in the final SWC standings. The Hogs finished with a winning conference record and no lower than second place in the conference standings for the rest of Rose's first stint with Arkansas, save for one season.
The 1935–36 season ended with the Hogs competing for the right to represent the United States in the
1936 Olympic Games in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
for the first year of basketball being an official medal sport. The Razorbacks swept the other NCAA teams they played in the NCAA Olympic Playoffs, but lost in the first round of the U.S. Olympic Trials to the
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...
team that went on to
win the gold medal.
The following season, 1936-37 featured the last game in Schmidt Gymnasium, or "Schmidt's barn." Construction of the new building, (originally known as the Field House) that came to be known as the
Men's Gymnasium was under way in 1936, and was completed in the fall semester of 1937, with a capacity of 2,500. The new home for the Razorbacks was dedicated on February 4, 1938 in a 53–26 win over
TCU. The Men's Gymnasium served as home for the basketball team until
Barnhill Arena was completed in 1954 and the Razorbacks began playing games there in the 1955–56 season.
The Razorbacks won the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
outright three times and tied for first two more times during this nine-year run. In the 1940–41 season, Rose led Arkansas to its second perfect conference record ever (12-0) en route the
NCAA final Four in the Razorbacks' first NCAA Tournament appearance. The 1940–41 season is also notable for the outstanding play of
John "Johnny" Adams, a Helms First-Team All-American who is credited as being one of the players responsible for the proliferation of the
jump shot in basketball. Adams set the single-game SWC scoring record that season with 36 points against TCU in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
on February 21, 1941. Rose finished this nine-year run with a record of 154-47 (.766). Rose went on to coach the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
team for the
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in ...
and
1945 seasons, without much success. Rose returned to coach the basketball team a decade after he left.
Eugene Lambert (1942-49)
Former Razorback and All-American
Eugene Lambert
Eugene Lambert (1928 – 22 February 2010) was an Irish puppeteer and actor from County Sligo. He was owner of the Lambert Puppet Theatre in Monkstown, County Dublin. He was noted for co-starring as O'Brien in the RTÉ television series ''Wan ...
took the coaching job starting in the 1942–43 season. Lambert found moderate success in his first season as head coach, posting a winning record and overseeing a first in program history by coaching the first freshman to play for the Razorback varsity squad, Paul Coleman. After winning a share of the Southwest Conference Championship for the 1943–44 season, Lambert and Arkansas were selected for the
NCAA tournament for the second time in program history. However, the team was forced to withdraw after tragedy struck when a car accident injured two of their starters, Ben Jones and Deno Nichols, and killed Eugene Norris, a physical education teacher that accompanied the players on their trip. The next year the Hogs earned another tournament berth and advanced to the
Final Four, losing to eventual champions
Oklahoma A&M. The Razorbacks did not make the tournament again until the
1948–49 season, when the Hogs shared the SWC crown with
Baylor and
Rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
. The Hogs lost in the first round of the regional, but won the
third place game
A third place match, game for third place, bronze medal game or consolation game is a single match that is included in many sporting knockout tournaments to decide which competitor or team will be credited with finishing third and fourth. The tea ...
. The 1948–49 season was Lambert's last season coaching the Hogs. During Lambert's seven seasons, Arkansas won a share the Southwest Conference Championship twice, with three second-place finishes and never fell lower than third in the conference. Lambert's final record was 113-60 (.653).
Presley Askew (1949-52)
Presley Askew took over for the 1949–50 season and coached through the 1951–52 season. Arkansas tied for first place in the Southwest Conference in Askew's first season, but bottomed out in his third and final season, posting the program's first losing record of 10-14 (4-8). The Razorbacks did not make the NCAA Tournament during Askew's tenure. Askew's overall record was 35-37 (.486), the first basketball coach to finish his career at Arkansas with a losing record, despite having a winning conference record of 19–17. Askew's three-season tenure is the shortest in Razorback basketball history.
Second Glen Rose era (1952-66)
Glen Rose returned for the 1952–53 season; his second stint with the Hogs lasted until 1966. Rose did not reach the heights of his previous run, with the only real success being in the
1957–58 season, when Arkansas tied for first place in the Southwest Conference with
SMU and made the
NCAA tournament, losing to an
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, ...
team whose starting point guard,
Eddie Sutton, eventually became head coach of the Razorbacks. Rose's teams in his second spell as head coach posted a winning conference record only five times, to go along with six losing records overall.
For the second time in his career as head coach, Rose oversaw a transition from one home court to another. Eighteen years after the transition from "Schmidt's barn" to the Men's Gymnasium, the Razorbacks began playing their home games in
Barnhill Arena (then known as Razorback Fieldhouse) in the 1955–56 season. With a capacity of 3,500 at the time of the first game, the transition to Razorback Fieldhouse represented more investment and interest in the program, even if the results of Rose's second run with the Hogs were lackluster. Razorback Fieldhouse's capacity was 5,000 once it was fully completed, and remained at that number until 1977. Razorback Fieldhouse would also be the site of the first televised home game for the Hogs, with Rose coaching the Hogs to a 61–57 victory over
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
on January 3, 1959.
Rose finished his second run with the Hogs (fourteen seasons) with a record of 171-154 (.526). Rose's overall record for his time at Arkansas (twenty-three seasons) was 325-201 (.618). Rose's twenty-three seasons as head coach remain the longest tenure of any Razorback basketball coach, and his fourteen continuous seasons as coach from 1952 to 1966 is second only to
Nolan Richardson
Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is a former American basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and led the Razorbacks to three F ...
for longest continuous tenure as Razorback basketball coach.
Decline under Waller and Van Eman (1966-74)
After Glen Rose's teams continually failed to be competitive in the SWC during his second stint as coach, he retired following the 1965–66 season. The next eight years proved to be much worse than the lows experienced under Rose's leadership.
Duddy Waller became head coach for the 1966–67 season, but only lasted until the 1970–71 season. All of Waller's teams posted losing records, including two of the three worst winning percentages for a season in school history and the second most losses in a season in school history. Waller's record during his four seasons was 31–64, which is the worst overall winning percentage (.326) of any Arkansas basketball coach ever.
Waller was replaced by Lanny Van Eman, who coached the Hogs from the 1970–71 season through the 1973–74 season. Van Eman started his career as head coach of the Razorbacks with the worst season in school history, a 5-21 (1-13) campaign that still holds the record for most losses in a season, lowest winning percentage for a season, most SWC losses in a season, and fewest conference wins in a season. Despite such an awful first season, Van Eman did manage to lead Arkansas to its first winning conference record in a decade, when the Hogs finished with a 9–5 record in the SWC for the 1972–73 season and tied for second place in the conference. Van Eman finished his career at Arkansas with a 39–65 record (.375).
Despite the major shortcomings of Waller and Van Eman's teams on the court, of note is the fact that these coaches oversaw the gradual integration of African-American players into the basketball program under their leadership. Thomas A. Johnson was the first African-American to play for the Razorbacks on the 1967 team headed by Waller. Following in the footsteps of Johnson were the first African-American stars of Razorback basketball, guard Martin Terry and center
Dean Tolson
Byron Dean Tolson (born November 25, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player. Tolson played three seasons for the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arkansas ...
. Playing under Van Eman, Terry and Tolson put up huge numbers and set school records that still stand today, while also collecting All-SWC and All-American recognition. Terry owns the Arkansas records for highest season and career scoring averages, was a two-time First-Team All-SWC selection in 1972 and 1973, and picked up an All-American Honorable Mention nod from Helms in 1973, the same season he was named Southwest Conference Player of the Year. He was taken in the third round of the
1973 NBA draft, the second-highest pick in Arkansas history at the time. Tolson is the school record holder for single-game field goals made and attempted, as well as career rebounding average. Tolson would follow Terry and get drafted in the fifth round of the
1974 NBA draft.
Arkansas failed to finish above second place in the Southwest Conference during these eight seasons, posting a winning record only once, and did not receive any invitations to the NCAA Tournament. The combined overall record of these two coaches was 70-129 (.352) and 39-73 (.348) in conference play.
New heights in the Eddie Sutton era (1974-85)
After coaching at
Creighton for five mostly unremarkable seasons that culminated in an
NCAA tournament bid and a first round victory,
Eddie Sutton found himself on
Frank Broyles's radar, as the longtime head football coach and new athletic director wanted to invest in the basketball program to get it out of the depths of the Waller and Van Eman years.
Broyles hired Sutton starting with the 1974–75 season, and the hire proved to be a turning point in the program's history. Sutton's first campaign with the Hogs turned out to be a mildly successful one that put fans on notice, with an 11-3 conference record that was good for second place in the SWC, as high as the program had finished in conference play in seventeen years. Sutton's second team did not perform as strongly in conference play, but improved its overall record. The excitement behind Razorback basketball was palpable as renovations began on what was then officially
Barnhill Arena after it was renamed in 1973 for former athletic director and head football coach,
John Barnhill. Sutton's second team also had the core players that would elevate the Razorbacks to a national power under his leadership, the famed in-state players known as the "Triplets,"
Ron Brewer Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...
,
Marvin Delph, and
Sidney Moncrief (who later became the first player in program history to have his number retired).
The
1976-77 Razorbacks were the team that established Arkansas as a basketball power in the modern era. Beginning play in a renovated Barnhill Arena with an expanded capacity of 6,200, the Hogs won the SWC with a perfect 16-0 conference record, going 26-1 overall in the regular season and spent more weeks in the
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and br ...
that season than every season prior, combined, with a peak ranking of #6. The Hogs earned their first tournament invitation in nearly two decades, but fell in the
first round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, while still finishing ranked in the AP Poll for the first time in school history. The Hogs would follow the 1976–77 season with Sutton's most successful season at Arkansas and one of the best seasons in school history. Barnhill Arena was expanded further prior to the
1977–78 season, this time to a capacity of 9,000. The Hogs started the season ranked #7 by the AP Poll, and lived up to the high expectations of their recent success by winning their first fourteen games and never falling out of the top ten of the AP Poll the whole season. Arkansas ascended to the top spot in the AP Poll for the first time in program history on February 13, 1978. The Hogs received an at-large bid to the
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
after winning a share of the SWC Championship and beat AP #2
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
in the Sweet Sixteen before falling to eventual champion,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
, in the Final Four in
St. Louis. The fifth-ranked Hogs won the third place game against AP #6
Notre Dame, 71–69.
Sutton's
1978-79 team still managed a great campaign, despite the loss of two of the "Triplets," All-American Brewer and Delph. Repeating with a share of the Southwest Conference crown, the Hogs won the
SWC tournament to clinch the bid to the tournament. The Razorbacks advanced to the
Elite Eight
In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...
, where they lost a close game marred by a controversial last-minute missed tripping call to
Larry Bird and undefeated
Indiana State, 73–71.
While Sutton's other teams would not be as high achieving as the 1977–78 and 1978-79 squads, he would still coach the Razorbacks to successful seasons, never finishing lower than second in the Southwest Conference standings after his second season, while also producing highlights ranging from
U.S. Reed's game-winning, last-second half court shot against defending champions
Louisville in the second round of the
1981 NCAA tournament, ending back-to-back national runner-up
Houston's
Houston's Restaurant is part of a group of upscale American casual dining restaurants, owned by Hillstone Restaurant Group, whose main corporate headquarters is in Phoenix, Arizona. There are 44 Hillstone locations in 12 states.
Company profile
...
thirty-nine game SWC winning streak, having a player drafted in the first round of the
NBA draft three straight years from 1983 to 1985 (
Darrell Walker,
Alvin Robertson, and
Joe Kleine), and the Razorbacks' first win over an AP #1 team against
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
and
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
in
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the eleventh-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combin ...
on February 12, 1984.
Sutton's eleven seasons remain the third longest tenure in Razorback basketball history. During these eleven seasons, Arkansas won or shared the Southwest Conference Championship four times. The Hogs finished ranked seven times, including four top-ten finishes and two top-five finishes. The Razorbacks were invited to the NCAA Tournament during each of the last nine seasons of Sutton's tenure. Sutton finished with a 260-75 (.776) overall record at Arkansas, including nine NCAA Tournament appearances, four Sweet Sixteen appearances, two Elite Eight appearances, and one Final Four berth.
Nolan Richardson Era and a National Championship (1985-2002)
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...
coach and former
Texas Western
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American s ...
player
Nolan Richardson
Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is a former American basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and led the Razorbacks to three F ...
replaced Sutton beginning with the
1985–86 season. After two years without a winning conference record, Arkansas finished tied for second in the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
standings in Richardson's
third season. The Razorbacks won the SWC regular season and tournament titles each of its last three seasons in the SWC (
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
, and
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
). Arkansas joined the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
for the
1991–92 season and won the regular season conference championship in 1992 and 1994, also winning the SEC Western Division title in 1992,
1993, 1994, and
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
. The Razorbacks also won the
2000 SEC tournament. Arkansas made the NCAA Tournament thirteen times during Richardson's seventeen seasons, and made the Final Four during the 1990, 1994 and 1995 seasons. They won their first
national championship in 1994 by beating Duke in the title game. The next season, they returned to the
championship game and finished as runner-up, losing to
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
. Richardson was fired in 2002 after making controversial public statements against the university and then-athletic director
Frank Broyles. Assistant coach
Mike Anderson coached the rest of the season, going 1-1. Richardson holds the school record for most wins by a head coach, with an overall record of 389-169 (.697). Coach Richardson led Arkansas to four NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances (1990, 1991, 1994 and 1995) and six NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearances (1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996). Between the 1989–90 and 1995–96 seasons, Arkansas won more games than any other school in the nation.
Stan Heath years (2002-07)
Stan Heath
Stanley Heath III (born December 17, 1964) is an American basketball coach currently serving as the head coach for Eastern Michigan. Heath formerly served as head coach at the University of South Florida, the University of Arkansas and Kent Sta ...
coached the Hogs beginning with the 2002–03 season and remained in Fayetteville through the 2006–07 season. During Heath's five seasons, the Razorbacks did not enjoy the success that they achieved under Richardson. They never finished higher than third place in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference. They were invited to the NCAA Tournament in Heath's final two seasons, although they were eliminated in the Round of 64 each trip. Heath's final record was 82-71 (.536).
Dana Altman (2007)
Dana Altman
Dana Dean Altman (born June 16, 1958) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Oregon Ducks men's team. Previously he was head coach at Creighton, Kansas State and Marshall. Altman has won conference coach of the y ...
was hired as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks on April 2, 2007. However, Altman had a change of heart, resigning the next day to return to
Creighton, where he had coached since 1994.
John Pelphrey (2007–11)
John Pelphrey was hired as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks on Monday, April 9, 2007. Pelphrey was hired after
Dana Altman
Dana Dean Altman (born June 16, 1958) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Oregon Ducks men's team. Previously he was head coach at Creighton, Kansas State and Marshall. Altman has won conference coach of the y ...
accepted the job and resigned within a day. Arkansas went 23–12 in Pelphrey's first season, defeating
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
by 14 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before being put away by overall #1 seed
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
in the second round. The Razorbacks had an SEC regular season record of 9–7. In Pelphrey's second year, the Razorbacks struggled in conference play after starting the season 12–1 in non-conference games with two notable wins over the nationally ranked
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early part ...
(#4) and the
Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
(#7). Conference wins were few and far between giving the Razorbacks a final conference record of 2-14. On March 13, 2011 John Pelphrey was dismissed as the head coach of the Razorbacks after an 18–13 season in which the Hogs missed postseason play for the third consecutive season, despite an impressive incoming recruiting class. Pelphrey finished his career at Arkansas with a record of 69-59 (.539).
Mike Anderson (2011–19)
On March 23, 2011,
Mike Anderson signed a 7-year contract with Arkansas. Anderson previously coached the
UAB Blazers and
Missouri Tigers
The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...
, and had already been an assistant coach at Arkansas under coach
Nolan Richardson
Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is a former American basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and led the Razorbacks to three F ...
for 17 years. On March 26, 2011, Anderson was introduced in front of 5,000 fans in
Bud Walton Arena. Anderson made three NCAA tournaments in his eight seasons, including a 27-win season in 2014-15 that resulted in a 5 seed in the
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
, the program's highest since 1999. The Razorbacks made another tournament two years later but lost to top-seeded
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, the eventual national champion, in the second round. The following year saw them make the tournament for the final time in Anderson's tenure at Arkansas, but a loss to Butler ended the Hogs' season in the
first round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
. Following an up-and-down 2018-19 campaign that culminated in an
NIT berth, new athletic director Hunter Yurachek relieved Anderson of his duties on March 26 a little over a week after Arkansas lost to Indiana in the second round of the NIT. Anderson finished his career at Arkansas with a record of 170-103 (.623), including his 1-1 record as interim coach in 2002.
Eric Musselman Era and a Return to National Prominence (2019–present)
On April 7, 2019, Yurachek announced the hiring of
Eric Musselman
Eric Musselman (born November 19, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas. He is the former head coach of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors of the ...
, then the four-year head coach at
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, who had previous experience as head coach in the
NBA with the
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
(where he was runner up for the
NBA Coach of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who le ...
) and the
Sacramento Kings, as well as college assistant coaching stops at
Arizona State and
LSU. Musselman's
first Arkansas team finished the season with a record of 20–12, with Musselman becoming only the second coach in school history to finish his first season with at least 20 wins and the first since
John Pelphrey in
2007-08. Musselman was also only the second head coach at Arkansas to finish his debut season with a winning percentage above 61% since
Gene Lambert during the 1942-43 season. After Arkansas beat
Vanderbilt in the first round of the
2020 SEC men's basketball tournament
The 2020 SEC men's basketball tournament, Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the Southeastern Conference at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, scheduled for March 11–15 ...
, the SEC Tournament, as well as the entire
NCAA tournament, was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, making this the final
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
men's basketball game of the 2019–2020 season. Arkansas junior guard
Mason Jones was named the SEC Co-Player of the Year by the AP.
In only his second year, Musselman led the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight of the
NCAA tournament, losing to eventual champion
Baylor. This was Arkansas's deepest postseason run since their
1995 title game appearance. The team finished the
2021 season with a record of 25-7 (.781), and a conference record of 13-4 (.765). Freshman guard
Moses Moody
Moses Josiah Moody (born May 31, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Moody was drafted 14th over ...
was named the SEC Freshman of the Year, and became the first "one-and-done" player in program history when he was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the 2021 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. Arkansas advanced further in the NCAA Tournament than any other
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
team, and finished with an overall ranking of #6 in the
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
Coaches Poll. In his
third year
Third year, also known as S3, is the third year of schooling in Scottish secondary schools, and is roughly equivalent to Year 10 in England and Wales and Year 11 in Northern Ireland. Most pupils are 14 or 15 years old at the end of S3. Tradition ...
, Musselman led the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight again, losing to the
Duke Blue Devils
The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...
. Arkansas finished the 2022 season with a record of 28-9 (.757), and a conference record of 13-5 (.722). Again, Arkansas advanced further in the
NCAA tournament than any other
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
team, and finished with a ranking of #8 in the Coaches Poll, the highest in the SEC.
Arkansas also won the early season
Hall of Fame Classic tournament championship.
Postseason
NCAA tournament results
The Razorbacks have appeared in the
NCAA tournament 34 times. Their combined record is 48–34. They were National Champions in 1994.
NIT results
The Razorbacks have appeared in the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York Cit ...
(NIT) four times. Their combined record is 6–5.
Current coaching staff
*
Eric Musselman
Eric Musselman (born November 19, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas. He is the former head coach of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors of the ...
– Head Coach (San Diego, 1987)
*Anthony Ruta — Assistant Coach (Arizona State, 2014)
*
Gus Argenal – Assistant Coach (UC Davis, 2004)
*
Keith Smart – Assistant Coach (Indiana, 1995)
Arkansas's All-Americans
Retired numbers
The University of Arkansas athletic department has seen fit to retire only two jersey numbers in honor of former outstanding players:
Moncrief (6'4" 190 lbs.) led the Razorbacks to the 1978 Final Four and is, so far, Arkansas' only Consensus 1st team All-American player (1979). Moncrief also led the Hogs to three straight Southwest Conference regular season titles from 1977 to 1979, as well as the 1977 and 1979 SWC Tournament championships. He was a three-time All-SWC performer, and was also the SWC Player of the Year in 1979. Moncrief finished his career as the school's all-time leading scorer, until his record was broken in 1992.
Williamson (6'7" 245 lbs.) led Arkansas to the
1994 National Championship and a runner-up finish in the 1995 Final Four. Corliss also lead Arkansas to three straight SEC West Division championships from 1993 to 1995, plus the 1994 SEC regular season title. Williamson was a two-time All-SEC performer, was the 1994 and 1995 SEC Player of the Year, and was named Consensus 2nd team All-American in both seasons.
Razorbacks after the University of Arkansas
NBA
Other professional leagues
Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
Olympians
*
Gordon Carpenter
Gordon "Shorty" Carpenter (September 24, 1919 – March 8, 1988) was an American basketball player, and part of gold medal winning American basketball team at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Born in Ash Flat, Arkansas and nicknamed ''Shorty'' despite ...
*
Joe Kleine
*
R. C. Pitts
Robert C. Pitts (June 23, 1919 – October 29, 2011) was an American basketball player who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Pitts played collegiately for the Arkansas Razorbacks, University of Arkansas, making All-Southwest Conference ...
*
Alvin Robertson
See also
*
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (o ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkansas Razorbacks Men's Basketball