Hogs’ 1990 Final Four Team to be Honored at Saturday’s Game
Hogs’ 1990 Final Four Team to be Honored at Saturday’s Game
Hall of Fame coach Nolan Richardson’s first Final Four team, arguably the most talented Razorbacks ever, will be honored at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday.
They’ll be celebrated at halftime of Arkansas’ 7 p.m. game against the No. 15-ranked Missouri Tigers. The game, and hopefully part of the ceremony, will be televised by ESPN2.
A special poster commemorating the 1990 season will be available for fans at Saturday’s game.
That 1990 version of Richardson’s Razorbacks set the school record for points with a 95.6 average while posting a 30-5 record, the first of four 30+ win seasons over a six-year span.
Three stars of the ’90 team — shooting guard Todd Day, point guard Lee Mayberry and center Oliver Miller — were back the next season and broke their own scoring record with a startling 99.5 average as they ran roughshod over most opponents. The ’91 squad was 34-4, 15-1 in the Southwest Conference and lost in the Elite Eight
Day, the Hogs’ all-time leading career scorer, led the 1990 team in scoring (19.5 points, 5.4 rebounds). Next were Mayberry (14.5, team-high 5.2 assists), senior forward Lenzie Howell (13.9, 5.4 rebounds), Miller (11.1, team-best 6.3 boards), junior guard Ron Huery (10.0), senior forward Mario Credit (9.4) and junior guard Arlyn Bowers (5.5), a defensive stalwart.
That balanced, high-octane attack thrilled fans at always-packed and rowdy Barnhill Arena, the most feared building in the league and perhaps the country, and frustrated overmatched opponents.
They were the team that prominently brought Arkansas back into the national spotlight. Those Hogs won the Southwest Conference regular-season title with a 14-2 mark, losing consecutive late-season road games at Baylor and TCU.
They easily added the SWC Tournament championship to their resume by winning three straight games in Dallas’ Reunion Arena, known as Barnhill South, by an average of 25 points.
They also exacted a measure of revenge against Baylor for that regular season setback by embarrassing the Bears to the tune of a 125-75 rout in the tournament semifinals.
Richardson led the team with his typical bravado and energy that epitomized the aggressive defense and racehorse style of offense he loved and coached.
The Hogs needed every bit of grit and determination to fight their way through the 1990 NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed.
In Austin, Texas, they nipped No. 13 seed Princeton and its patient, cutting offense 68-64. They edged No. 12 Dayton, an upset winner in the first round, 86-84.
They moved north to Dallas for the Sweet 16 and routed No. 8 North Carolina 96-73; the Tar Heels had upset Oklahoma, the Midwest’s No. 1 seed. Arkansas then nipped Texas, which had upended No. 2 seed Purdue, by an 88-85 score.
That sent the Hogs to the Final Four for the first time since coach Eddie Sutton’s “Triplets” of Sidney Moncreif, Ron Brewer and Marvin Delph got there in 1978.
Duke, a No. 3 seed led by collegiate legends Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, beat the Razorbacks 97-83. Duke lost the title tilt by a record 30 points to juggernaut UNLV.
Duke got revenge the next season by upsetting unbeaten UNLV in the national semifinals. The Blue Devils won the national title in 1991 and ’92.
Following the 1992 season, Day was drafted No. 8 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. Miller went 22nd to the Phoenix Suns and Mayberry 23rd to the Bucks. Isaiah “Butch” Morris was drafted in the second round, 37th overall, by the Miami Heat.
According to the University of Arkansas’ website, approximately 20 former players, coaches and support staff are expected to be present Saturday. That includes Richardson and Day.
“We are excited to welcome Coach Nolan Richardson and his 1990 Razorbacks back to campus on the (35th) anniversary of their Final Four run,” Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said.
“This is the team that helped lay the foundation for the ‘Forty Minutes of Hell’ brand of basketball that brought unprecedented success to our program in the 1990s and built momentum that eventually led to the construction of Bud Walton Arena. We look forward to celebrating this historic team this weekend.”
