1993–94 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team
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. Their head coach was Nolan Richardson in his ninth season at Arkansas. They played their home games at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas as members of the West Division of the Southeastern Conference. The Razorbacks finished the season 31–3, 14–2 in SEC play to win the West Division and regular season overall championships. They defeated Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament before losing to Kentucky in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No.1 seed in the Midwest Regional, their seventh straight trip to the tournament. They 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' fifth trip to the Final Four in program history. In the Final Four, they defeated No. 9-ranked 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," 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 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball | |
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NCAA Tournament National Champions NCAA Tournament Final Four NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Champions SEC regular season champions SEC West Division champions | |
Conference | Southeastern Conference |
West | |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 2 |
1993–94 record | 31–3 (14–2 SEC) |
Head coach | Nolan Richardson (9th season) |
Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | Bud Walton Arena |
1993–94 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 14 Florida | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 29 | – | 8 | .784 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 7 Kentucky † | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 27 | – | 7 | .794 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vanderbilt | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 20 | – | 12 | .625 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 14 | – | 16 | .467 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South Carolina | 4 | – | 12 | .250 | 9 | – | 19 | .321 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee | 2 | – | 14 | .125 | 5 | – | 22 | .185 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Arkansas | 14 | – | 2 | .875 | 31 | – | 3 | .912 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alabama | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 20 | – | 10 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mississippi State | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 18 | – | 11 | .621 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ole Miss | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 14 | – | 13 | .519 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LSU | 5 | – | 11 | .313 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Auburn | 3 | – | 13 | .188 | 11 | – | 17 | .393 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† 1994 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1] |
Previous season
The Razorbacks finished the 1992–93 season 22–9, 10–6 in SEC play to win the SEC West Division championship. They 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 No. 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 No. 4-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".
Roster
1993–94 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
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Regular season | |||||||||||
Nov 29, 1993* |
No. 2 | Murray State | W 93–67 | 1–0 |
Bud Walton Arena (20,048) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Dec 2, 1993* |
No. 2 | Missouri | W 120–68 | 2–0 |
Bud Walton Arena (20,212) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Dec 4, 1993* |
No. 2 | Northwestern State | W 111–76 | 3–0 |
Bud Walton Arena (19,886) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Dec 8, 1993* |
No. 1 | at Memphis | W 96–78 | 4–0 |
Pyramid Arena (20,142) Memphis, TN | ||||||
Dec 11, 1993* |
No. 1 | Delaware State | W 123-66 | 5–0 |
Bud Walton Arena (20,184) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Dec 18, 1993* |
No. 1 | Jackson State | W 123-66 | 5–0 |
Bud Walton Arena (20,084) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Dec 23, 1993* |
No. 1 | at Tulsa | W 93-91 | 7–0 |
Tulsa Convention Center (8,659) Tulsa, OK | ||||||
Dec 29, 1993* |
No. 1 | Texas Southern | W 129-63 | 8–0 |
Bud Walton Arena (20,098) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Jan 2, 1994* |
No. 1 | SMU | W 96-70 | 9–0 |
Bud Walton Arena (20,008) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Jan 5, 1994 |
No. 1 | Ole Miss | W 87-61 | 10–0 (1-0) |
Bud Walton Arena (20,096) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Jan 8, 1994 |
No. 1 | at Alabama | L 64-66 | 10–1 (1-1) |
Coleman Coliseum (15,043) Tuscaloosa, AL | ||||||
Jan 11, 1994 |
No. 4 | LSU | W 84-83 | 11–1 (2-1) |
Bud Walton Arena (20,208) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Jan 15, 1994 |
No. 4 | at Auburn | W 117-105 | 12-1 (3-1) |
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (11,236) Auburn, AL | ||||||
Jan 19, 1994 |
No. 3 | at Mississippi State | L 71-72 | 12-2 (3-2) |
Humphrey Coliseum (9,711) Starkville, MS | ||||||
Jan 22, 1994 |
No. 3 | South Carolina | W 79-53 | 13-2 (4-2) |
Bud Walton Arena (20,118) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Jan 29, 1994 |
No. 5 | at Tennessee | W 65-64 | 14-2 (5-2) |
Thompson-Boling Arena (14,275) Knoxville, TN | ||||||
Feb 1, 1994 |
No. 6 | Vanderbilt | W 89-76 | 15-2 (6-2) |
Bud Walton Arena (20,246) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Feb 5, 1994* |
No. 6 | Montevallo | W 131-63 | 16-2 |
Bud Walton Arena (20,034) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Feb 9, 1994 |
No. 3 | at No. 4 Kentucky | W 90–82 | 17–2 (8–2) |
Rupp Arena (24,236) Lexington, KY | ||||||
Feb 12, 1994 |
No. 3 | No. 20 Florida | W 99-87 | 18–2 (9–2) |
Bud Walton Arena (20,230) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Feb 16, 1994 |
No. 1 | Alabama | W 102-81 | 19–2 (10–2) |
Bud Walton Arena (20,262) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Feb 19, 1994 |
No. 1 | vs. Ole Miss | W 90–73 | 20–2 (11–2) |
The Pyramid (20,142) Memphis, TN | ||||||
Feb 22, 1994 |
No. 1 | at Georgia | W 74-65 | 21–2 (12–2) |
Stegeman Coliseum (8,458) Athens, GA | ||||||
Feb 26, 1994 |
No. 1 | Auburn | W 91-81 | 22–2 (12–2) |
Bud Walton Arena (20,208) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
Mar 2, 1994 |
No. 1 | at LSU | W 108-105 | 23–2 (13–2) |
Maravich Assembly Center (11,712) Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
Mar 5, 1994 |
No. 1 | Mississippi State | W 80-62 | 24–2 (14–2) |
Bud Walton Arena (20,224) Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
SEC Tournament | |||||||||||
Mar 11, 1994* |
No. 1 | vs. Georgia Quarterfinal |
W 95–83 | 25–2 |
Pyramid Arena (20,218) Memphis, TN | ||||||
Mar 12, 1994* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 10 Kentucky Semifinal |
L 78–90 | 25–3 |
Pyramid Arena (20,431) Memphis, TN | ||||||
NCAA Tournament | |||||||||||
Mar 18, 1994* CBS |
(MW1) No. 2 | vs. (MW16) North Carolina A&T First Round |
W 94–79 | 26–3 |
Myriad Convention Center (13,366) Oklahoma City, OK | ||||||
Mar 20, 1994* CBS |
(MW1) No. 2 | vs. (MW9) Georgetown Second Round |
W 85–73 | 27–3 |
Myriad Convention Center (13,376) Oklahoma City, OK | ||||||
Mar 25, 1994* CBS |
(MW1) No. 2 | vs. (MW12) Tulsa Sweet Sixteen |
W 103–84 | 28–3 |
Reunion Arena (16,297) Dallas, TX | ||||||
Mar 27, 1994* CBS |
(MW1) No. 2 | vs. (MW3) No. 11 Michigan Elite Eight |
W 76–68 | 29–3 |
Reunion Arena (16,297) Dallas, TX | ||||||
Apr 2, 1994* CBS |
(MW1) No. 2 | vs. (W2) No. 9 Arizona Final Four |
W 91–82 | 30–3 |
Charlotte Coliseum (23,674) Charlotte, NC | ||||||
Apr 4, 1994* CBS |
(MW1) No. 2 | vs. (SE2) No. 6 Duke National Championship |
W 76–72 | 31–3 |
Charlotte Coliseum (23,674) Charlotte, NC | ||||||
Rankings
Awards and honors
- Nolan Richardson, Naismith College Coach of the Year
- Nolan Richardson, SEC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year
- Corliss Williamson, NCAA Men's MOP Award[4]
- Corliss Williamson, Second Team, 1994 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
- Corliss Williamson, SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year
- Corliss Williamson, 1st team All-SEC
- Scotty Thurman, Honorable Mention, 1994 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
- Scotty Thurman, 1st team All-SEC
Team players drafted into the NBA
Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
1995 | 1 | 13 | Corliss Williamson | Sacramento Kings |
1996 | 2 | 58 | Darnell Robinson | Dallas Mavericks |
- Corey Beck and Clint McDaniel played in the NBA as undrafted free agents.[6][7]
References
- sports-reference.com 1993-94 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
- "1993–94 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- "1993–94 Arkansas Basketball Schedule". hogstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
- "1995 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on 2009-07-30. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
- "Corey Beck." www.basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
- "Clint McDaniel." www.basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2014.