1993–94 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team explained

Mode:Basketball
Year:1993–94
Team:Arkansas Razorbacks
Conference:Southeastern Conference
Division:West
Short Conf:SEC
Coachrank:1
Aprank:2
Record:31–3
Conf Record:14–2
Hc Year:9th
Ac2 Year:9th
Asst Coach3:Brad Dunn
Champion:NCAA tournament National Champions
SEC regular season champions
SEC West Division champions
Bowl Result:
W 76-72 vs. Duke

The 1993–94 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas in the 1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was Nolan Richardson's ninth season as head coach at Arkansas. The Razorbacks played their home games at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas as members of the West Division of the Southeastern Conference. Arkansas finished the season 31–3, 14–2 in SEC play to win the West Division and regular season overall championships. The Hogs defeated Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament before losing to Kentucky in the semifinals. The Razorbacks received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, their seventh straight trip to the tournament. Arkansas defeated North Carolina A&T and Georgetown to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth time in five years. There the Razorbacks defeated Tulsa and Michigan to earn a trip to the Final Four. It was Arkansas's fifth trip to the Final Four in program history. In the Final Four, they defeated Arizona before beating Duke in the National Championship game. Thanks to Scotty Thurman's high arching three-point shot with less than a minute to play in the national championship game, the team earned its first national championship in school history. Thurman's shot is known as the "Shot heard 'round Arkansas",[1] and is considered one of the greatest plays in Arkansas Razorbacks sports history. Corliss Williamson was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. 1993-94 is considered the greatest single season in Arkansas' one-hundred-year history of men's basketball.

Previous season

The Razorbacks finished the 1992–93 season 22–9, 10–6 in SEC play to win the SEC West Division championship. Arkansas defeated Georgia before losing in the semifinals of the SEC tournament to Kentucky. The Razorbacks received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the 4 seed in the East Regional. Arkansas defeated Holy Cross and St. John's to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in four years. There they lost to 4th-ranked and eventual national champion North Carolina. This team was dubbed "Richardson's Runts", due to the fact that Dwight Stewart was the tallest player on the team at 6'9".[2]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season|-!colspan=12 style=""|SEC Tournament|-!colspan=12 style=""|NCAA tournament

Sources[3] [4]

Rankings

See main article: 1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. [5]

Awards and honors

Player statistics

Player G GS MP FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
34 34 989
34 34 987
34 0 421
34 34 876
34 27 724
31 13 669
Crawford 30 4 536
27 6 479
34 12 406
Wilson 30 1 287
Biley 18 2 94
Martin 27 0 160
Engskov 9 0 23
Biggers 18 3 178
Merritt 9 0 21
School Totals 34

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year Round Pick Player NBA Team
1995113Corliss WilliamsonSacramento Kings
1996258Darnell RobinsonDallas Mavericks
[7]

Notes and References

  1. News: Thurman fires shot heard 'round Arkansas . D1 . Rick . Warner . . . April 5, 1994 . May 13, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: 'Suffering' Razorbacks meet USC . Thurman is one of seven Razorbacks 6-foot-5 or shorter, thus the team's nickname "Richardson's Runts." Sophomore center Dwight Stewart is the tallest player at 6-9. . David . Newton . . Sports . 1C, 3C . January 9, 1993 . November 5, 2022.
  3. Web site: 1993–94 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results. Sports Reference. March 3, 2018.
  4. Web site: 1993–94 Arkansas Basketball Schedule. hogstats.com. March 3, 2018.
    • Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 1020–1021. 2009. 978-0-345-51392-2.
  5. Web site: Final Four Most Outstanding Players . cbs.sportsline.com . 31 March 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080907123518/http://sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/history/outstandingplayer . 7 September 2008 .
  6. Web site: 1995 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20100317233753/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1995&lg=N . 2010-03-17 . dead . 2009-07-28 .
  7. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/beckco01.html "Corey Beck."
  8. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mcdancl01.html "Clint McDaniel."