Arkansas vs. Kansas NCAA Tournament History: A Deep Dive
The Kansas Jayhawks, a perennial powerhouse in college basketball, entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 7 seed in the West region. This marked a significant departure from their usual high seeding, as the program hadn't been seeded outside of the top four in March Madness since the 1999-2000 season when they were No. 8. In that year, the Jayhawks lost to the No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils in the second round. Their first-round opponent was the No. 10-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks.
A Season of Ups and Downs for Kansas
A regular season that began with Kansas as No. 1 in the AP Poll ended with it unranked. The Jayhawks struggled after starting 7-0 and began the tournament with a 21-12 record. Since the start of the century, Kansas has been seeded consistently in March Madness -- never worse than four until this season, resulting in two national championships in 25 years.
Flashback: March 17, 2000
To put this unusual seeding into perspective, let's take a look back at the last time Kansas played a March Madness game as worse than a top-four seed -- March 17, 2000 and what else was happening at that time.
The Yankees' Three-Peat Quest
Major League Baseball's dynasty of the late 1990s carried over into the new millennium. The New York Yankees were coming off back-to-back World Series titles, both of which included sweeps in the final round. No MLB team had won three straight championships since the Oakland Athletics from 1972-74. The Yankees' run for a third title began positively with a 3-2 victory over the then-Anaheim Angels, two weeks after Kansas' first-round matchup. Seven months later, New York outlasted the New York Mets 4-1 in the "Subway Series" to complete the three-peat.
Destiny's Child Ascends the Charts
Destiny's Child landed its first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of March 18, 2000 -- "Say My Name." The track jumped from No. 14 in the previous week. It spent two weeks at No. 1 and 32 overall on the chart. The song won two Grammys at the 43rd annual awards: "Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal" and "Best R&B Song." Other risers on the chart that week included "Bye Bye Bye" by *NSYNC at No. 5, "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely" by the Backstreet Boys at No. 6 and "That's The Way It Is" by Celine Dion.
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Shaq and Kobe's Dominance
While the Yankees were in the midst of concluding their three-peat run, the Los Angeles Lakers were approaching theirs. Led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers had a 54-12 record in mid-March. Los Angeles defeated the Detroit Pistons the day of Kansas' game. O'Neal put together 35 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, while Bryant had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. A second-year player out of Kansas, Paul Pierce also suited up for the Boston Celtics. He had 16 points and five steals in a win against the Chicago Bulls.
Limited Upsets on Day 1
The Jayhawks weren't the only favorable seed to take care of business on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament. Only two schools out of the 16 games that day pulled off upsets -- the No. 10 seed Seton Hall Pirates over the No. 7 seed Oregon Ducks, and No. 11 Pepperdine Waves over No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers. The No. 6-seeded Florida Gators narrowly escaped an upset scare against the No. 12 Butler Bulldogs.
The Arkansas Razorbacks: A Program Overview
The Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team, colloquially known as the Hogs, represents the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The team competes in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by John Calipari. Arkansas plays its home games in Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus.
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. Under the coaching leadership of Nolan Richardson, the Hogs won the national championship in 1994, defeating Duke, and appeared in the championship game the following year, finishing as runner-up to UCLA.
Early Years: Building a Foundation (1923-1941)
Arkansas had a relatively late start in basketball; it did not field its first team until 1923. 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.
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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.
Coaching Changes and Continued Success (1930-1966)
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.
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.
Post-War Era: Lambert and a Final Four Appearance (1942-1952)
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 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 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).
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Stagnation and Integration (1966-1974)
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 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.
The Eddie Sutton Era: A Turning Point (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: National Champions (1985-2002)
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).
Post-Richardson: Struggles and Rebuilding (2002-2011)
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.
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 History: Calipari Era
On March… PROVIDENCE, R.I. The win was Razorback head coach John Calipari’s 58th NCAA Tournament win (58-22 in 24 NCAA appearances). The Hogs took a three-point lead into the half thanks to 16 points from Jonas Aidoo on 8-of-13 shooting. Arkansas then surged to an 11-point lead with an 8-0 run out of the break. The Jayhawks then switched to a zone defense that slowed down the Razorbacks and allowed Kansas to claw back into the game. Trevon Brazile’s jumper with 13:41 on the clock were the team’s only points for nearly a five-minute stretch. The Hogs, however, had the winning run started by a Boogie Fland layup. A pair of free throws from Aidoo put Arkansas back in front for good with 2:14 left in the game. Johnell Davis’ 3-pointer with under two minutes extended the lead to four points. Aidoo was fantastic with a season-best and game-high 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Brazile posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, including five offensive. Davis added 18 points, powered by four 3-pointers, with D.J. Zeki Mayo paced the Jayhawks with 18 points, including four 3-pointers of his own. Arkansas will play #2 seed and 5th-ranked St. John’s in the NCAA Second Round. Arkansas scored first and led for 9:45, compared to 6:53 for Kansas. Thanks to Jonas Aidoo’s 16 points (8-of-13 FG), Arkansas out-scored Kansas 24-12 in the paint. D.J. Wagner added 12 points. Kansas stayed close by making 6-of-11 (54.5%) from 3-point but shot 43.8% from the field overall. The Jayhawks were 10-of-12 at the line in the first half. After going down 11 (55-44), Kansas started chipping away at the lead. They used a 6-0 run to get to with one, 62-61. Trevon Brazile ended the run with an alley-oop dunk. Fland’s points ignited a 7-0 Razorback lead. After Fland’s layup, Jonas Aidoo made two free throws to put the Hogs up one (68-67) and the Hogs held the lead the rest of the way. Leading by two with 1:223 left, Davis made two free throws for a four-point cushion. For the first time this season, Arkansas’ starting lineup was D.J. Wagner, Johnell Davis, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Jonas Aidoo. Arkansas trailed by one with five minutes to play. Arkansas is now 3-12 when trailing with five minutes to play. This was the third NCAA Tournament matchup between Calipari and Kansas coach Bill Self. Self won in the 2008 NCAA Championship game when Kansas def. Memphis, 75-68 OT. Calipari won in the 2012 NCAA Championship game when Kentucky def. Arkansas is 4-1 all-time in Providence at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Razorbacks have played the Providence Friars twice in Providence (1-1). Arkansas lost, 87-81, at Providence on Dec. 23, 1999, and won, 84-72, at Providence in the 2019 NIT First Round. Also, the Razorbacks (the #12 seed) won two games when it played in Providence for the 1996 NCAA East Region 1st and 2nd Rounds to reach the Sweet 16. The Hogs beat #5 seed and 18th-ranked Penn State, 86-80, on Mar. 14, 1996 and beat #4 seed and 20th-ranked Marquette, 65-56, on Mar. John Calipari is 3-0 as head coach when playing in Providence. Also in 1996, while at UMass, Calipari led the Minutemen to 1st & 2nd round wins in the then-called Providence Civic Center over UCF and Stanford, respectively.
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