Miami Versus Arkansas Preview
March 15, 2000
GAME: No. 11 Arkansas (19-14) vs. No. 6 Miami (21-10), South Regional, FirstRound.
TIME: Friday, approximately 10:30 p.m. EST.
SITE: Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
The young Arkansas Razorbacks seem to have matured at just the right time asthey face Miami in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The 11th-seeded Razorbacks had a improbable route to secure a bid and a gameagainst the sixth-seeded Hurricanes.
In four consecutive days, the Razorbacks beat Georgia, Kentucky, LSU andAuburn to become just the second team to win four successive games in theconference tournament.
“I have tried to pride myself … (in that) my teams are better at the latestages … than they would be in the real early stages,” Arkansas coach NolanRichardson said.
Richardson’s roster has just one senior (Chris Walker) and one junior(Brandon Davis). The top scorer is freshman Joe Johnson, who was not eligibleuntil after the first semester ended. Johnson led the Razorbacks with 16.3points per game.
Sophomore T.J. Cleveland, probably the Razorbacks’ best defender, missedmore than a half-dozen games at the end of the season with a bad ankle butreturned for the SEC tournament.
Richardson knows that his Razorbacks will be facing a tough test in Miami.
“Miami is very good,” he said. “Leonard Hamilton has done a tremendousjob with that program. They’ve won some big games this year. We will have ourwork cut out for us.”
Miami, which earned a share of the Big East regular season title, lost toSt. John’s in the conference tournament semifinals on some last-second freethrows, but may have learned a valuable lesson.
“We put ourselves in a position to win and we were right there,” Hamiltonsaid. “We’ll learn from it. I can’t fault our kids. It’s part of the growingprocess.”
PROBABLE STARTERS: Arkansas – F Johnson (16.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), F Alonzo Lane(8.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg), C Carl Baker (4.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg), G Walker (11.3 ppg, 4.7rpg), G Blake Eddins (3.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg). Miami – F John Salmons (9.3 ppg, 5.4rpg), F Elton Tyler (9.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg), C Mario Bland (12.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg), GVernon Jennings (8.1 ppg, 6.6 apg), G Johnny Helmsley (18.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Arkansas – Automatic bid, Southeastern Conferencetournament champion. Miami – At-large bid, Big East Conference.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Arkansas – 39-24, 24 years. Miami – 1-3, 3years.
