N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT; Relentless Arkansas Knocks Down Heaven's Door (original) (raw)
Sports|N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT; Relentless Arkansas Knocks Down Heaven's Door
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N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT
- April 5, 1994
Credit...The New York Times Archives
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April 5, 1994
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Section B, Page
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At long, long last, Nolan Richardson and his Arkansas Razorbacks earned their 40 minutes of heaven.
It may not have felt that way as the Duke Blue Devils took the Razorbacks into the final, taut minutes of the national collegiate championship game. But the hard-earned signature ability of the Razorbacks to operate in the most stressful moments -- a quality forged by the intense effort Richardson once named 40 minutes of something else -- helped Arkansas win its first national championship, 76-72, over Duke tonight at Charlotte Coliseum.
After overcoming a 10-point second-half deficit, the Razorbacks began to feel a title in their grasp when sophomore Scotty Thurman broke a 70-all tie with a 3-point shot with 50.7 seconds to play. Thurman's shot -- with Duke forward Antonio Lang lunging toward him with arms outstretched and the 35-second clock down to a single second -- created a deficit the Blue Devils could not overcome.
Arkansas, 31-3, prevented Duke from winning a third championship in four years and joining U.C.L.A. and Kentucky as the only schools to accomplish that feat. The Blue Devils, 28-6, lost a championship game for the fifth time, the most in the history of the tournament.
The Razorbacks won with a relentless resourcefulness that allowed them to overcome their imperfections at the most important times. It was not so much the creation of cowardice, as Richardson has suggested, that made a difference.
Arkansas succeeded with an effort that adds weight to the arms and legs of opponents, and clouds the mind at instants such as the ones tonight that took their place in the history of the game. Grant Hill, Duke's first-team all-America, was held to 12 points, more than 5 beneath his average. A Hard Fall for Hill
A night that began for Hill with a painful tumble and crash landing on his lower back ended with Hill leading the Blue Devils with 14 rebounds. But a variety of defensive approaches employed by the Razorbacks, including zones, man-to-man and double-teaming, restricted Hill to 4 of 11 shots and helped induce 9 of Duke's 23 turnovers. "They did a good job of getting the ball out of Grant's hands," Lang said.
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