The Arkansas Razorbacks and the NCAA Tournament: A Storied History

The Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team, known as the Hogs, represents the University of Arkansas in NCAA Division I men's basketball. Competing in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team plays its home games in Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus. Coached by John Calipari, the Razorbacks boast a rich basketball tradition, marked by impressive statistics and memorable tournament runs.

Program Overview

The Razorbacks are a top-twenty-five program all-time by winning percentage (.641), top-twenty program by NCAA tournament games played, top-twenty program by NCAA Tournament games won, top-fifteen program by Final Four appearances, and despite playing significantly fewer seasons than most programs in major conferences, top-thirty by all-time wins.

Early Years and Southwest Conference Dominance (1923-1974)

Arkansas had a relatively late start in basketball; it did not field its first team until 1923. The early years of the program were shaped by coaches like Francis Schmidt, Charles Bassett, Glen Rose, Eugene Lambert, Presley Askew, Duddy Waller and Lanny Van Eman.

Francis Schmidt Era (1923-1929)

Schmidt oversaw the construction of the gymnasium that was home to the Razorbacks from the inaugural season through the 1936-37 season. The project was headed by Schmidt and Jay Fulbright (father of future United States Senator from Arkansas, J. William Fulbright). Schmidt and Fulbright organized a group of businessmen that facilitated the transfer of a former car showroom to the university to serve as the gym for the Razorbacks. After a difficult first year that resulted in a 17-11 overall record and a 3-9 conference record, Schmidt quickly led the Hogs to success and a dominating run in the Southwest Conference during his tenure. Building off the program's first season, the 1924-25 team finished third in the conference, quickly turning their record around to 9-3 in conference play. This second season laid the groundwork for tremendous success with Schmidt, as the Razorbacks won the conference championship outright in just the third year of the program's existence with a record of 23-2 (11-1). The 1925-26 season kicked off a string of four straight Southwest Conference championships under Schmidt, and five straight overall. Schmidt also coached the Hogs to the first of three perfect SWC seasons in program history in 1927-28, with a conference record of 12-0 and a 15.25-point average margin of victory in conference play. The last couple years of Schmidt's dominant SWC run were marked by serious star power, with future Razorback basketball coaches Eugene Lambert Sr.

Charles Bassett (1929-1933)

In the 1929-30 season, Charles Bassett took over as head coach, leaving the head coaching job at Texas A&M that he held for two years without finding much success, going a paltry 16-18 (5-15) in his two years as head coach in College Station, including a last-place finish in conference play for the 1927-28 Southwest Conference season. Arkansas's success under Bassett was limited to his first season as coach, when the Hogs won the Southwest Conference Championship with multi-sport star and current College Football Hall of Fame member Wear Schoonover garnering Second-Team All-American recognition from College Humor and earning First-Team All-SWC honors for the third straight season. The Razorbacks did not finish above third place in the Southwest Conference standings for the rest of Bassett's tenure.

Read also: Can Arkansas Make a Run?

Glen Rose's First Stint (1933-1942)

Glen Rose took over in the 1933-34 season and returned the program to a competitive position within the SWC. Named a Helms Athletic Foundation First-Team All-American as a Hog in 1928, Rose was the first former player to coach the Razorbacks. Rebuilding the program after the decline under Bassett, Rose's first season as coach produced a .500 conference record (6-6) and a tie for third place in the final SWC standings. The 1935-36 season ended with the Hogs competing for the right to represent the United States in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin for the first year of basketball being an official medal sport. The Razorbacks won the Southwest Conference outright three times and tied for first two more times during this nine-year run. In the 1940-41 season, Rose led Arkansas to its second perfect conference record ever (12-0) en route the NCAA Final Four in the Razorbacks' first NCAA Tournament appearance. The 1940-41 season is also notable for the outstanding play of John "Johnny" Adams, a Helms First-Team All-American who is credited as being one of the players responsible for the proliferation of the jump shot in basketball. Adams set the single-game SWC scoring record that season with 36 points against TCU in Fort Worth on February 21, 1941. Rose finished this nine-year run with a record of 154-47 (.766). Rose went on to coach the football team for the 1944 and 1945 seasons, without much success.

Eugene Lambert (1942-1949)

Former Razorback and All-American Eugene Lambert took the coaching job starting in the 1942-43 season. Lambert found moderate success in his first season as head coach, posting a winning record and overseeing a first in program history by coaching the first freshman to play for the Razorback varsity squad, Paul Coleman. After winning a share of the Southwest Conference Championship for the 1943-44 season, Lambert and Arkansas were selected for the NCAA tournament for the second time in program history. However, the team was forced to withdraw after tragedy struck when a car accident injured two of their starters, Ben Jones and Deno Nichols, and killed Eugene Norris, a physical education teacher that accompanied the players on their trip. The next year the Hogs earned another tournament berth and advanced to the Final Four, losing to eventual champions Oklahoma A&M. The Razorbacks did not make the tournament again until the 1948-49 season, when the Hogs shared the SWC crown with Baylor and Rice. The Hogs lost in the first round of the regional, but won the third place game. The 1948-49 season was Lambert's last season coaching the Hogs. During Lambert's seven seasons, Arkansas won a share the Southwest Conference Championship twice, with three second-place finishes and never fell lower than third in the conference.

Presley Askew (1949-1952)

Presley Askew took over for the 1949-50 season and coached through the 1951-52 season. Arkansas tied for first place in the Southwest Conference in Askew's first season, but bottomed out in his third and final season, posting the program's first losing record of 10-14 (4-8). The Razorbacks did not make the NCAA Tournament during Askew's tenure. Askew's overall record was 35-37 (.486), the first basketball coach to finish his career at Arkansas with a losing record, despite having a winning conference record of 19-17.

Glen Rose's Second Stint (1952-1966)

Glen Rose returned for the 1952-53 season; his second stint with the Hogs lasted until 1966. For the second time in his career as head coach, Rose oversaw a transition from one home court to another. Eighteen years after the transition from "Schmidt's barn" to the Men's Gymnasium, the Razorbacks began playing their home games in Barnhill Arena (then known as Razorback Fieldhouse) in the 1955-56 season. Rose finished his second run with the Hogs (fourteen seasons) with a record of 171-154 (.526). Rose's overall record for his time at Arkansas (twenty-three seasons) was 325-201 (.618). After Glen Rose's teams continually failed to be competitive in the SWC during his second stint as coach, he retired following the 1965-66 season.

Duddy Waller and Lanny Van Eman (1966-1974)

Duddy Waller became head coach for the 1966-67 season, but only lasted until the 1970-71 season. Waller was replaced by Lanny Van Eman, who coached the Hogs from the 1970-71 season through the 1973-74 season. Van Eman started his career as head coach of the Razorbacks with the worst season in school history, a 5-21 (1-13) campaign that still holds the record for most losses in a season, lowest winning percentage for a season, most SWC losses in a season, and fewest conference wins in a season. Despite such an awful first season, Van Eman did manage to lead Arkansas to its first winning conference record in a decade, when the Hogs finished with a 9-5 record in the SWC for the 1972-73 season and tied for second place in the conference. Despite the major shortcomings of Waller and Van Eman's teams on the court, of note is the fact that these coaches oversaw the gradual integration of African-American players into the basketball program under their leadership. Thomas A. Johnson was the first African-American to play for the Razorbacks on the 1967 team headed by Waller. Following in the footsteps of Johnson were the first African-American stars of Razorback basketball, guard Martin Terry and center Dean Tolson. Playing under Van Eman, Terry and Tolson put up huge numbers and set school records that still stand today, while also collecting All-SWC and All-American recognition. Terry owns the Arkansas records for highest season and career scoring averages, was a two-time First-Team All-SWC selection in 1972 and 1973, and picked up an All-American Honorable Mention nod from Helms in 1973, the same season he was named Southwest Conference Player of the Year. He was taken in the third round of the 1973 NBA draft, the second-highest pick in Arkansas history at the time. Tolson is the school record holder for single-game field goals made and attempted, as well as career rebounding average. Arkansas failed to finish above second place in the Southwest Conference during these eight seasons, posting a winning record only once, and did not receive any invitations to the NCAA Tournament.

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The Eddie Sutton Era (1974-1985)

Broyles hired Sutton starting with the 1974-75 season, and the hire proved to be a turning point in the program's history. Sutton's first campaign with the Hogs turned out to be a mildly successful one that put fans on notice, with an 11-3 conference record that was good for second place in the SWC, as high as the program had finished in conference play in seventeen years. Sutton's second team did not perform as strongly in conference play, but improved its overall record. The 1976-77 Razorbacks were the team that established Arkansas as a basketball power in the modern era. Beginning play in a renovated Barnhill Arena with an expanded capacity of 6,200, the Hogs won the SWC with a perfect 16-0 conference record, going 26-1 overall in the regular season and spent more weeks in the AP Poll that season than every season prior, combined, with a peak ranking of #6. The Hogs earned their first tournament invitation in nearly two decades, but fell in the first round, while still finishing ranked in the AP Poll for the first time in school history. The Hogs would follow the 1976-77 season with Sutton's most successful season at Arkansas and one of the best seasons in school history. Barnhill Arena was expanded further prior to the 1977-78 season, this time to a capacity of 9,000. The Hogs started the season ranked #7 by the AP Poll, and lived up to the high expectations of their recent success by winning their first fourteen games and never falling out of the top ten of the AP Poll the whole season. Arkansas ascended to the top spot in the AP Poll for the first time in program history on February 13, 1978. The Hogs received an at-large bid to the tournament after winning a share of the SWC Championship and beat AP #2 UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen before falling to eventual champion, Kentucky, in the Final Four in St. Louis. Sutton's 1978-79 team still managed a great campaign, despite the loss of two of the "Triplets," All-American Brewer and Delph. Repeating with a share of the Southwest Conference crown, the Hogs won the SWC Tournament to clinch the bid to the tournament. Sutton's eleven seasons remain the third longest tenure in Razorback basketball history. During these eleven seasons, Arkansas won or shared the Southwest Conference Championship four times. The Hogs finished ranked seven times, including four top-ten finishes and two top-five finishes. The Razorbacks were invited to the NCAA Tournament during each of the last nine seasons of Sutton's tenure.

The Nolan Richardson Era (1985-2002) and the "40 Minutes of Hell"

Tulsa coach and former Texas Western player Nolan Richardson replaced Sutton beginning with the 1985-86 season. After two years without a winning conference record, Arkansas finished tied for second in the Southwest Conference standings in Richardson's third season. Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference for the 1991-92 season and won the regular season conference championship in 1992 and 1994, also winning the SEC Western Division title in 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995. The Razorbacks also won the 2000 SEC tournament. Arkansas made the NCAA Tournament thirteen times during Richardson's seventeen seasons, and made the Final Four during the 1990, 1994 and 1995 seasons. They won their first national championship in 1994 by beating Duke in the title game. The next season, they returned to the championship game and finished as runner-up, losing to UCLA. Richardson was fired in 2002 after making controversial public statements against the university and then-athletic director Frank Broyles. Assistant coach Mike Anderson coached the rest of the season, going 1-1. Richardson holds the school record for most wins by a head coach, with an overall record of 389-169 (.697). Coach Richardson led Arkansas to four NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances (1990, 1991, 1994 and 1995) and six NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearances (1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996).

1994 Championship Run

Employing a high-tempo, high-pressure style coach Nolan Richardson dubbed “Forty Minutes of Hell,” the Razorbacks overwhelmed the competition, averaging better than 90 points per game on the way to 31 wins and the No. 1 national ranking for 7 weeks of the season. It was a young team, paced by 2 talented freshmen - 6-7, 235-pound All-American Corliss Williamson and 6-6 small forward Scotty Thurman. But its strength was its depth. Eight players averaged at least 7.4 points in 1993-94, with 9 players averaging double-digit minutes. Despite losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament semifinals, Arkansas still earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA’s Midwest Region and breezed through the early rounds to the Final Four in Charlotte, N.C. There, with President and former Arkansas Gov.

The Razorbacks won the 1994 national championship by beating Duke in Charlotte, N.C. That was their third year in the SEC, after coming from the Southwest Conference.

Round 1: defeated No. 16 Alcorn State (94-78)
Round 2: defeated No. 9 Tulsa (103-84)
Sweet 16: defeated No. 12 Western Michigan (74-58)
Elite Eight: defeated No. 3 Michigan (76-68)
Final Four: defeated No. 2 Arizona (91-82)
Championship: defeated No. 2 Duke (76-72)

Post-Richardson Era (2002-Present)

The program has seen varying levels of success under coaches Stan Heath, John Pelphrey, and others.

Read also: Hog Hoops Tournament Run

Stan Heath (2002-2007)

Stan Heath coached the Hogs beginning with the 2002-03 season and remained in Fayetteville through the 2006-07 season. During Heath's five seasons, the Razorbacks did not enjoy the success that they achieved under Richardson. They never finished higher than third place in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference. They were invited to the NCAA Tournament in Heath's final two seasons, although they were eliminated in the Round of 64 each trip. Heath's overall record at Arkansas was 82-71 (.536) with a record of 31-49 (.388) in SEC play.

John Pelphrey (2007-2011)

Creighton University head coach, Dana Altman was hired as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks on April 2, 2007. John Pelphrey was hired as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks on Monday, April 9, 2007. Arkansas went 23-12 in Pelphrey's first season, defeating Indiana by 14 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before being put away by overall #1 seed North Carolina in the second round. The Razorbacks had an SEC regular season record of 9-7. In Pelphrey's second year, the Razorbacks struggled in conference play after starting the season 12-1 in non-conference games with two notable wins over the nationally ranked Oklahoma Sooners (#4) and the Texas Longhorns (#7). Conference wins were few and far between giving the Razorbacks a final conference record of 2-14. On March 13, 2011, John Pelphrey was dismissed as the head coach of the Razorbacks after an 18-13 season in which the Hogs missed postseason play for the third consecutive season, despite an impressive incoming recruiting class.

Recent Tournament Appearances

Eric Musselman’s Arkansas Razorbacks heard their name called on Selection Sunday for the third consecutive season, when it was announced that they are set to head to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa to open up the 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournament with a round of 64 game against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The No. 8 seed Razorbacks are scheduled to take on the No. ET on Thursday, March 16, with live coverage provided by TBS. Arkansas enters this year’s tournament as one of only two teams to have been to the Elite 8 in each of the last two years, the other being the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars. Prior to 2021, they hadn’t even been to the Sweet 16 since 1996. An Elite 8 three-peat won’t be easy for the Hogs, who will likely have to go through the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks just to get back to the Sweet 16.

NCAA Tournament Statistics and Records

The Razorbacks have a long and storied history in the NCAA Tournament.

Overall Tournament Record

Arkansas has made a total of 34 trips to the NCAA tournament, with this being their 35th. Their all-time record is 48-34. While their 34-loss total matches their appearance total, they did win a national championship back in 1994 as a No. 1 seed against the Duke Blue Devils. The extra loss came in 1958, when they dropped a regional third place game against the Wyoming Cowboys. Since the tournament expanded in 1985, Arkansas has made 22 appearances.

Round of 64: 16-6
Round of 32: 8-8
Sweet 16: 6-2
Elite 8: 3-3
Final Four: 2-1
National Championship: 1-1
Overall: 36-21

Sweet Sixteen Appearances (Since 1985)

2022 (No. 4): Beat No. 1 Gonzaga, 74-68
2021 (No. 3): Beat No. 15 Oral Roberts, 72-70
1996 (No. 12): Lost to No. 1 Massachusetts, 79-63
1995 (No. 2): Beat No. 6 Memphis, 96-91
1994 (No. 1): Beat No. 12 Tulsa, 103-84
1993 (No. 4): Lost to No. 1 North Carolina, 80-74
1991 (No. 1): Beat No. 4 Alabama, 93-70
1990 (No. 4): Beat No. 8 North Carolina, 96-73

Elite Eight Appearances (Since 1985)

2022 (No. 4): Lost to No. 2 Duke, 78-69
2021 (No. 3): Lost to No. 1 Baylor, 81-72
1995 (No. 2): Beat No. 4 Virginia, 68-61
1994 (No. 1): Beat No. 3 Michigan, 76-68
1991 (No. 1): Lost to No. 3 Kansas, 93-81
1990 (No. 4): Beat No. 10 Texas, 88-85

Final Four Appearances (Since 1985)

1995 (No. 2): Beat No. 2 North Carolina, 75-68
1994 (No. 1): Beat No. 2 Arizona, 91-82
1990 (No. 4): Lost to No. 3 Duke, 97-83

National Championship Game Appearances (Since 1985)

1995 (No. 2): Lost to No. 1 UCLA, 89-78
1994 (No. 1): Beat No. 2 Duke, 76-72

Tournament Record Before 1985

Prior to 1985, they competed in the tournament 12 times.

Round of 48: 1-1
Round of 32: 4-3
Sweet 16: 2-3
Elite 8: 3-2
Final Four: 0-3
Regional third place game: 1-1
National third place game: 1-0
Overall: 12-13

Notable Players

The Razorbacks have produced some of the best players in college basketball and NBA history.

Lee Mayberry: Mayberry was the engine that drove the Razorbacks’ uptempo offense and helped make Forty Minutes of Hell an Arkansas trademark during the early years of Richardson’s tenure. He was a true playmaking point guard with elite court vision and decision-making skills. He was also a tenacious defender with quick feet and hands. The 6-1 floor leader still ranks second in school history with 729 assists.
Sidney Moncrief: The most accomplished member of The Triplets during Arkansas’ 1978 Final Four run, Moncrief was a smooth, 6-3 scoring machine whose 2,066 career points are the second-most in school history. He was also a tenacious defender and a superior rebounder for a player his size. His 1,015 rebounds are No. 1 on the Razorbacks’ all-time list.
Todd Day: A gifted 6-6 scorer, Day amassed a school-record 2,395 points during his 4 seasons with the Razorbacks from 1988-92. He also holds the Arkansas mark for most points in an SEC game when he hit for 43 against LSU in 1992. Day averaged better than 19 points per game in each of his final 3 seasons. But he was hardly a 1-trick pony. The 1992 All-SEC selection was also a top defender whose 271 career steals are second only to Mayberry’s 291.
Corliss Williamson: Nicknamed “Big Nasty” because of his imposing 6-7, 235-pound stature, his menacing glare and the powerful, competitive with which he played during his 3 seasons, Williamson was the centerpiece of 2 straight Final Four teams, He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1994 Final Four in leading the Razorbacks to their only national championship and was a 2-time SEC Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-American. Williamson would have had a realistic shot at surpassing Day’s school scoring record had he not left after his junior year to become the first-round pick of the Sacramento Kings.
Joe Kleine: The 6-11 Kleine started his career at Notre Dame before transferring to Arkansas before his sophomore season and he made an immediate impact. He helped the Razorbacks advance to the Sweet 16 in his first season of 1983 and back to the Tournament in the 2 following seasons. He used his imposing physical low post presence to record 1,753 points and 806 rebounds, both of which rank among the top 5 in program history.

The Razorbacks have had 15 players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. They are: Anthony Black (2023, Orlando, No. 6 overall), Nick Smith Jr.

Coaching Milestones

Eddie Sutton: Sutton won or shared 4 Southwest Conference championships and his teams were ranked in 7 of his 11 seasons at Arkansas from 1974-85. The highlight of his tenure came in 1977-78 when the trio of Ron Brewer, Marvin Delph and Sidney Moncrief led his Razorbacks to the Final Four before losing to eventual champion Kentucky in the national semifinal.
Nolan Richardson: Richardson became the first Black head coach at a major university in the South when Arkansas hired him following Sutton’s departure to Kentucky in 1985 Though it took 2 seasons for him to recruit the kind of talent necessary to play his high-intensity style, he quickly returned the program back among the national elite. The Razorbacks averaged 27 wins and made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances over the next 15 seasons, culminating with 3 trips to the Final Four, 2 consecutive national championship games and the 1994 title.
John Calipari: Four decades later, the Razorbacks returned the favor by luring Calipari away from their SEC rival after Eric Musselman left to take the job at Southern Cal following a 16-17 season in 2023-24. Calipari is one of the biggest names in college basketball, with a national championship and 6 Final Four appearances to his credit. He signed a 5-year contract worth a reported $7 million per season with incentives.

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