# 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. It was Nolan Richardson's ninth season as head coach at Arkansas. The Razorbacks played their home games at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas as members of the West Division of the Southeastern Conference. Arkansas finished the season 31–3, 14–2 in SEC play to win the West Division and regular season overall championships. The Hogs defeated Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament before losing to Kentucky in the semifinals. The Razorbacks received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, their seventh straight trip to the tournament. Arkansas 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's fifth trip to the Final Four in program history. In the Final Four, they defeated 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 is considered the greatest single season in Arkansas' one-hundred-year history of men's basketball.

## Previous season

The Razorbacks finished the 1992–93 season 22–9, 10–6 in SEC play to win the SEC West Division championship. Arkansas 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 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 4th-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".

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 29* 7:05 p.m. | No. 2 | Murray State | W 93–67 | 1–0 | 13 – Tied | 7 – Robinson | 6 – Beck | Bud Walton Arena (20,048) Fayetteville, AR |
| December 2* 8:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | Missouri | W 120–68 | 2–0 | 18 – Thurman | 8 – Robinson | 5 – Beck | Bud Walton Arena (20,212) Fayetteville, AR |
| December 4* 7:05 p.m., Learfield Sports | No. 2 | Northwestern State | W 111–76 | 3–0 | 21 – Dillard | 12 – Williamson | 7 – Crawford | Bud Walton Arena (19,886) Fayetteville, AR |
| December 8* 8:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | at Memphis | W 96–78 | 4–0 | 18 – Williamson | 7 – Wilson | 5 – Beck | Pyramid Arena (20,142) Memphis, TN |
| December 11* 7:05 p.m., Learfield Sports | No. 1 | Delaware State | W 123–66 | 5–0 | 39 – Dillard | 9 – Robinson | 5 – Crawford | Bud Walton Arena (20,184) Fayetteville, AR |
| December 18* 7:05 p.m., Learfield Sports | No. 1 | Jackson State | W 96–80 | 6–0 | 25 – Williamson | 12 – Stewart | 5 – Beck | Bud Walton Arena (20,084) Fayetteville, AR |
| December 23* 7:05 p.m., Learfield Sports | No. 1 | at Tulsa | W 93–91 $^{OT}$ | 7–0 | 27 – Williamson | 9 – Williamson | 5 – McDaniel | Tulsa Convention Center (8,659) Tulsa, OK |
| December 28* 7:05 p.m., Learfield Sports | No. 1 | Texas Southern | W 129–63 | 8–0 | 18 – Rimac | 9 – Stewart | 9 – Beck | Bud Walton Arena (20,098) Fayetteville, AR |
| January 3* 7:05 p.m. | No. 1 | SMU | W 96–70 | 9–0 | 23 – Dillard | 8 – Thurman | 7 – Thurman | Bud Walton Arena (20,008) Fayetteville, AR |
| January 5 7:00 p.m., JP Sports | No. 1 | Ole Miss | W 87–61 | 10–0 (1-0) | 25 – Williamson | 10 – Williamson | 5 – Beck | Bud Walton Arena (20,096) Fayetteville, AR |
| January 8 1:30 p.m. | No. 1 | at Alabama | L 64–66 | 10–1 (1-1) | 14 – Beck | 8 – Williamson | 2 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (15,043) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 11 8:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 4 | LSU | W 84–83 | 11–1 (2-1) | 24 – Williamson | 8 – Williamson | 8 – Beck | Bud Walton Arena (20,208) Fayetteville, AR |
| January 15 1:30 p.m. | No. 4 | at Auburn | W 117–105 | 12-1 (3-1) | 32 – Thurman | 11 – Williamson | 4 – Tied | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (11,236) Auburn, AL |
| January 19 7:30 p.m. | No. 3 | at Mississippi State | L 71–72 | 12-2 (3-2) | 26 – Williamson | 6 – Beck | 3 – Tied | Humphrey Coliseum (9,711) Starkville, MS |
| January 22 1:00 p.m., JP Sports | No. 3 | South Carolina | W 79–53 | 13-2 (4-2) | 27 – Williamson | 9 – Stewart | 7 – Beck | Bud Walton Arena (20,118) Fayetteville, AR |
| January 29 3:00 p.m. | No. 5 | at Tennessee | W 65–64 | 14-2 (5-2) | 15 – Beck | 9 – Tied | 5 – Beck | Thompson-Boling Arena (14,275) Knoxville, TN |
| February 1 8:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | Vanderbilt | W 89–76 | 15-2 (6-2) | 24 – Williamson | 8 – Thurman | 9 – Beck | Bud Walton Arena (20,246) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 5* 7:05 p.m. | No. 6 | Montevallo | W 131–63 | 16-2 | 21 – Thurman | 9 – Biley | 7 – Tied | Bud Walton Arena (20,034) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 9 7:00 p.m., JP Sports, ESPN2 | No. 3 | at No. 4 Kentucky | W 90–82 | 17–2 (8–2) | 26 – Thurman | 14 – Williamson | 9 – Beck | Rupp Arena (24,236) Lexington, KY |
| February 12 1:00 p.m., JP Sports | No. 3 | No. 20 Florida | W 99–87 | 18–2 (9–2) | 24 – Thurman | 7 – Stewart | 3 – Tied | Bud Walton Arena (20,230) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 16 7:00 p.m., JP Sports | No. 1 | Alabama | W 102–81 | 19–2 (10–2) | 20 – Williamson | 6 – Stewart | 5 – Thurman | Bud Walton Arena (20,262) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 19 7:35 p.m. | No. 1 | vs. Ole Miss | W 90–73 | 20–2 (11–2) | 21 – Williamson | 9 – Wilson | 5 – Tied | The Pyramid (20,142) Memphis, TN |
| February 22 8:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | at Georgia | W 74–65 | 21–2 (12–2) | 25 – Thurman | 8 – Tied | 3 – Beck | Stegeman Coliseum (8,458) Athens, GA |
| February 26 7:05 p.m. | No. 1 | Auburn | W 91–81 | 22–2 (12–2) | 21 – Thurman | 11 – Williamson | 4 – Robinson | Bud Walton Arena (20,208) Fayetteville, AR |
| March 2 7:00 p.m., JP Sports | No. 1 | at LSU | W 108–105 $^{OT}$ | 23–2 (13–2) | 27 – Thurman | 9 – Beck | 8 – Beck | Maravich Assembly Center (11,712) Baton Rouge, LA |
| March 5 3:00 p.m., JP Sports | No. 1 | Mississippi State | W 80–62 | 24–2 (14–2) | 27 – Williamson | 9 – Williamson | 4 – Tied | Bud Walton Arena (20,224) Fayetteville, AR |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 11* 2:15 p.m., JP Sports | (W1) No. 1 | vs. (E4) Georgia Quarterfinal | W 95–83 | 25–2 | 30 – Williamson | 8 – Williamson | 6 – Beck | Pyramid Arena (20,218) Memphis, TN |
| March 12* 2:30 p.m., JP Sports | (W1) No. 1 | vs. (E2) No. 10 Kentucky Semifinal | L 78–90 | 25–3 | 23 – Williamson | 16 – Williamson | 3 – Tied | Pyramid Arena (20,431) Memphis, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18* 9:38 p.m., CBS | (MW1) No. 2 | vs. (MW16) North Carolina A&T First Round | W 94–79 | 26–3 | 24 – Williamson | 7 – Williamson | 9 – Thurman | Myriad Convention Center (13,366) Oklahoma City, OK |
| March 20* 3:55 p.m., CBS | (MW1) No. 2 | vs. (MW9) Georgetown Second Round | W 85–73 | 27–3 | 21 – Williamson | 8 – Beck | 5 – Williason | Myriad Convention Center (13,376) Oklahoma City, OK |
| March 25* 7:02 p.m., CBS | (MW1) No. 2 | vs. (MW12) Tulsa Sweet Sixteen | W 103–84 | 28–3 | 21 – Tied | 9 – Williamson | 8 – Wilson | Reunion Arena (16,297) Dallas, TX |
| March 27* 3:00 p.m., CBS | (MW1) No. 2 | vs. (MW3) No. 11 Michigan Elite Eight | W 76–68 | 29–3 | 20 – Thurman | 7 – McDaniel | 5 – Beck | Reunion Arena (16,297) Dallas, TX |
| April 2* 4:42 p.m., CBS | (MW1) No. 2 | vs. (W2) No. 9 Arizona Final Four | W 91–82 | 30–3 | 29 – Williamson | 14 – Williamson | 5 – Tied | Charlotte Coliseum (23,674) Charlotte, NC |
| April 4* 8:22 p.m., CBS | (MW1) No. 2 | vs. (SE2) No. 6 Duke National Championship | W 76–72 | 31–3 | 23 – Williamson | 10 – Beck | 4 – Tied | Charlotte Coliseum (23,674) Charlotte, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. |||||||||
Sources

## 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
* 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

## Player statistics

| Player | G | GS | MP |
| Williamson | 34 | 34 | 989 |
| Thurman | 34 | 34 | 987 |
| Dillard | 34 | 0 | 421 |
| Beck | 34 | 34 | 876 |
| Stewart | 34 | 27 | 724 |
| McDaniel | 31 | 13 | 669 |
| Crawford | 30 | 4 | 536 |
| Robinson | 27 | 6 | 479 |
| Rimac | 34 | 12 | 406 |
| Wilson | 30 | 1 | 287 |
| Biley | 18 | 2 | 94 |
| Martin | 27 | 0 | 160 |
| Engskov | 9 | 0 | 23 |
| Biggers | 18 | 3 | 178 |
| Merritt | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| School Totals | 34 | | |

## 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.