Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 1, 1995 TAG: 9504030075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SEATTLE LENGTH: Long
``It's a battle of champions,'' said North Carolina's sophomore center.
The 6-foot-10 All-American was talking about the Tar Heels' NCAA semifinal date tonight at the sold-out Kingdome with defending champ Arkansas. He could have been discussing the other game, too.
UCLA, Oklahoma State, UNC and Arkansas have combined for 16 of the previous 56 NCAA titles and now 37 Final Four berths.
``You think tradition in college basketball, you think UCLA and North Carolina,'' said Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton, who has taken the other two in this field to Final Fours.
Oklahoma State (27-9), which emerged from the East Region as a No.4 seed, meets the top-ranked Bruins (29-2) in the 5:42 p.m. opener (WDBJ, Channel 7). Fourth-ranked North Carolina (28-5) is a two-point favorite over the Razorbacks (31-6).
The opener will be a contest of tempo. The nightcap, a matchup of the past two NCAA titlists, will answer whether the Tar Heels - in coach Dean Smith's 10th Final Four trip in 29 seasons - can handle Arkansas' relentless pressure.
The Razorbacks wore out one of UNC's ACC brethren, Virginia, six days ago in the Midwest Region final. If the Heels have a worry besides the Hogs' style, it's that point guard Jeff McInnis is playing with a groin pull.
He is Carolina's primary ballhandler, and sixth-ranked Arkansas bumped and ground UVa point guard Harold Deane into weariness. McInnis is going to need some handling help from somewhere other than UNC's underestimated but still short bench.
``I think they're playing extremely well,'' Smith said of the Razorbacks, who have won 14 of their past 15 games, but have stretched their NCAA win streak to 10 by simply surviving. ``Anyone who saw the game against Virginia saw they're very athletic, very active defensively.''
UNC ``didn't look like we were really great against the press'' in beating Kentucky in the Southeast Regional final a week ago, Smith acknowledged.
And in the NCAA first round, Murray State - coached by former Arkansas assistant Scott Edgar - troubled the Heels with the same sort of pressure the defending champs employ.
``Arkansas is the best team I've seen since I started watching tapes this season,'' Smith said.
In what's expected to be a high-scoring game - Arkansas averages 88.2 points, UNC 84.9 - Smith said he won't quibble if it's something less, as long as the Heels return for the final Monday night.
``We beat Duke 102-100 in double overtime,'' Smith said. `` Maybe we win 85-82. I'd love that. I'd love winning 39-38 or 21-20. If they press us, we'll take it through. If we get an easy one, we'll take it. If not, we'll wait until we get a good one.''
Besides the Razorbacks' depth and pressure, the Carolina concern is Corliss Williamson. The 6-7, 250-pounder will be the defensive assignment for Wallace, who can ill afford to get into foul trouble.
Again, the Tar Heels found a comparison in their ACC neighbors to the north.
``Corliss reminds me of [UVa star] Junior Burrough because Junior has that bulk on him and he knows how to muscle,'' Wallace said. ``I just have to play the same way I do against Junior. ... If Arkansas goes outside for the 3-[pointer], it won't always happen.''
Each of the nightcap foes is making its third Final Four appearance in the '90s. Carolina ousted Arkansas in the 1993 regional semifinal round en route to the national title.
``This Arkansas team is better,'' said UNC guard Donald Williams, the Most Outstanding Player in the '93 Final Four. ``This team has more size than the one in '93.''
UCLA brings the nation's longest Division I men's winning streak, 17 games, into its first Final Four since 1980. The Bruins are favored by 41/2 points tonight and also are the oddsmakers' choice to win a title they once dominated but haven't won since coach John Wooden retired two decades ago.
Oklahoma State hasn't been in a Final Four since another coaching legend, Henry Iba, brought the Cowboys to four in seven years ending in 1951. The Cowboys are rare Big Eight Conference tournament champions who have fared well in the following weeks.
Sutton, who played at Oklahoma State for Iba, followed his former coach's credo of ``Defense, Discipline and Dedication'' in upsetting Wake Forest and Massachusetts in the East Regional in East Rutherford, N.J.
In four tournament games, the Cowboys' ``D's'' have been incredible. They've limited opponents to 32.2 percent shooting and 55.3 points per game.
``I think we can force them to play our game by pressuring them defensively,'' said UCLA guard Tyus Edney, the last-second hero of the Bruins' second-round survival against Missouri. ``We have to full-court press them a bit.''
The Bruins are averaging 88.8 points in four NCAA triumphs and if the Pacific-10 Conference champs get to that scoreboard country again, then Oklahoma State's ``Big Country'' - 7-foot Bryant Reeves - will be going home to go fishin'.
``We can play at that tempo, but I don't think we'll be very successful,'' said Sutton, the only coach in history to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament. ``I think UCLA is the best transition team I've seen all year long.
``I think they're great in their ability to fast break. Edney makes great decisions in broken situations, too. The biggest keys are how we defend their running game and get a half-court game. We can't get into a pingpong game.''
The winners meet at 8:40 p.m. Monday for a trophy even today's losers already have on their campuses.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB