Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 3, 1995 TAG: 9504040053
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SEATTLE LENGTH: Long
In the 57th NCAA basketball championship game, legacy will get you nowhere.
So say the defending champions. Arkansas will try tonight at the Kingdome to become the seventh school to win consecutive national titles against one of the six others, UCLA, in an 8:40 tip-off (WDBJ, Channel 7; WFIR, 960 AM).
The Bruins are 10-time titlists, but they haven't won one since John Wooden walked off with his rolled-up program and the trophy 20 years ago, then retired.
``None of these UCLA players was on those teams,'' said Arkansas perimeter star Scotty Thurman, who clinched last year's title with a late rainbow jumper over Duke.
``The last time UCLA won one was about right when I was born,'' said Razorbacks star Corliss Williamson - who was 3 months old when Wooden's 10th title in 12 years came over Kentucky.
What concerns the sixth-ranked Arkansas (32-6) more is UCLA's 18-game winning streak, as well as its top ranking, its quickness and its Division I-best marksmanship (.514).
The question to be answered by the Bruins (30-2) is whether point guard Tyus Edney can do, with help, what other teams haven't in the past two postseasons. Can UCLA cope with the Razorbacks' relentless pressure and trapping?
In what some figure has a chance to be the highest-scoring title game in NCAA history - Kentucky's 94-88 triumph over Duke in 1988 is the record - the Bruins are two-point favorites. Each team averages more than 87 points per game.
Wooden will attend the game and may give a pregame talk to the Bruins, but he won't be able to dribble his team through the Razorbacks as he did as an All-America player at Purdue.
Edney has 38 assists and only nine turnovers in UCLA's five NCAA victories and beat Missouri in the second round with a length-of-the-floor, buzzer-beating drive. The 5-foot-10 point guard's play has been impressive and inspiring.
But it isn't just giveaways that turn things Hoggish. It's a wear-them-down philosophy and superior depth as much as thievery that works for coach Nolan Richardson's team.
``It's all in how hard you play,'' said Richardson, whose teams are 21-4 in NCAA play in the 1990s. ``If you play a half-court game, you don't need more than six people.
``People always talk about getting a lot of good looks at the basket against us. Well, sometimes, that's fool's gold, because if you don't do something with those good looks, what do you have?
``If I need more players to play the way I want to play, then it stands to reason that you'll need more players to play the way I want to play. People talk about Razorbacks basketball being 40 minutes of hell. Sometimes, 10 minutes of hell is enough.''
After Arkansas survived a one-pointer with Texas Southern and overtimes against Syracuse and Memphis in the tournament, five minutes was enough against Virginia and 15 minutes of awful shooting - despite great looks - beat North Carolina in Saturday's Final Four semifinal.
Edney also will be playing with a sprained wrist suffered in Saturday's victory over Oklahoma State. The Bruins' point guard missed Sunday's interview session. Tonight, he will tested by the vise-like defense of Corey Beck and Clint McDaniel.
After the victory over the Cowboys, Edney was asked if anybody could guard him. Teammate Ed O'Bannon answered for Edney:
``No.''
Asked if he had been successfully guarded in any game this season, Edney said: ``Not really. I've usually found that I've been able to get into the lane and cause problems for a lot of teams. Hopefully, that will remain the case. If I can keep getting in the lane and causing problems, that's what I'm going to keep doing.''
If he does it against the Razorbacks, Richardson's biggest problem may be keeping Williamson out of foul trouble. With slashing brothers Ed and Charles O'Bannon coming at him, Williamson will be facing greater defensive responsibilities.
``We realize the team we are playing,'' said UCLA coach Jim Harrick, like his predecessors dogged by UCLA memories of Wooden's wizardry in a bygone era. ``Arkansas is a great team with back-to-back 30-win seasons, an unbelievable accomplishment.
``It's impressive to see a team that won it come back with the focus and desire and hunger to win it again. And rarely, if you have noticed, has anybody in the NCAA done that since Coach Wooden retired.''
Duke (1991-92) has the only back-to-back NCAA titles since UCLA won in 1964-65 and seven in a row from 1967-73. The other consecutive champs were Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State, 1945-46), Kentucky (1948-49), San Francisco (1955-56) and Cincinnati (1961-62).
Arkansas has won 15 of its past 16 games, falling only to Kentucky in the SEC tournament championship game. The Bruins' losses were to Oregon and California.
``I think our experience gives us an advantage,'' McDaniel said. ``The way people played against us this year, every game has been like a national championship game.''
by CNB