The Night Razorback Basketball was Born

[bphi11ips]

January 21, 1975.  Barnhill Arena.  Arkansas 65 Texas Tech 62. 

I remember it like it was yesterday.  At 6'2" in the 7th grade, my dream was to one day play in Barnhill, where I'd shoot free throws like Ricky Medlock, rebound like Dean Tolson, and score in bunches like Martin Terry.  Early evenings were often spent in Catholic High's gym, where local players like Ignatius Higgins and Sidney Moncrief would gather for pick-up games after high school practice.  Ignatius's little brother, Jonathan, and I couldn't wait to play for Ronnie Tollett and the Rockets.  The older guys tolerated us whenever they needed bodies. 

So, basketball was front and center for me in January, 1975.  The Razorbacks in general had pretty much been that way for as long as I could remember.  The radio in my family's kitchen got a year round workout.  Cardinal games in the Spring and Summer, Razorbacks football in the Fall, and Razorbacks basketball in the Winter.  Jack Buck and Bud Campbell had voices you don't easily forget. The Cardinals and Lou Brock had finished second by a game and a half to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Willie Stargell for the second year in a row, and the football Hogs hadn't been to a bowl game in three years.  The basketball team was coming off a 10-16 season, but Frank Broyles, the new athletic director, promised great things from the young coach he had brought in from Creighton to replace the up tempo loving Lanny Van Eman.  Van Eman's Hogs seemed to score at will.  The problem was the Hogs opponents usually scored more.  Eddie Sutton promised a different style of disciplined basketball learned at the feet of the great Hank Iba at a time when dunking was forbidden and the shot clock was something only NBA point guards had to worry about.  Sutton was coming off an NCAA tournament berth.  Frank Broyles declared that basketball was going to be an emphasis under his watch.  Orville Henry boldly predicted great things to come.

Then the Hogs started off the 1974-75 season 3-6.  Granted, the OOC schedule that year wasn't full of patsies.  The Hogs started off with a promising 75-72 win at Mississippi State but then lost on the road at Western Kentucky and at home to Ole Miss.  A win over Hofstra was followed by a home loss to Tulsa and road losses to Oklahoma City and Centenary (two well respected programs at that time).  The Hogs got a home win in a rematch with Oklahoma City, but the finale of the non-conference season was coming up at perennial power Kansas State.  Arkansas's narrow 73-71 loss to the Wildcats came as a surprise.  Sutton was building his team around Arkansas's 6'7" senior transfer forward from Western Kentucky, rebounding magnet Kent Allison, solid guard play from Rickey Medlock and Robert Birdsong, and strong post play from Jack Schulte and Darryl Saulsberry.  But no one expected the Hogs to defeat pre-season SWC favorite Texas Tech and its burly All-SWC center, Rick Bullock, when Eddie Sutton opened his SWC career against the Red Raiders in Barnhill. 

Eddie Sutton was in high demand after leading Creighton to a Sweet Sixteen berth to close the 1973-74 season.  Arkansas won a bidding war between Oral Roberts (Sutton is a Tulsa native), Duke and Arkansas for Sutton's services.   Broyles promised Sutton he would renovate Barnhill Arena, which doubled, among other things, as a rodeo arena, hence the now famous dirt floor.  The physical renovation was yet to come in early 1975, but Sutton would establish one tradition that has held even through the mostly unremarkable seasons since 2000 - Arkansas became almost impossible to beat at home.  Sutton's first team finished the SWC slate 7-0 in Barnhill on its way to an 11-3 second place tie with Texas Tech.  Only a terrible call on a Daryl Saulsberry layup (waved off as a dunk) at A&M kept the Hogs out of first place.  A&M squeaked by at home with a 62-60 victory and won the conference at 12-2.  (I threw an orange through the kitchen wall during that game.  Radio has a way of building tension.  My parents grounded me.)  Had the Hogs finished first, they would have played in the NCAA tournament in Sutton's first season.  The SWC was one of the last conferences to stage a post-season tournament as a qualifier for the automatic NCAA bid.  Texas Tech would win the first SWC tournament the next year.

Sutton's first team definitely was made up of overachievers.  There really wasn't a star.  Marvin Delph was a promising freshman with a 42" vertical and deadly aim from the corners, but Sidney Moncrief and Ron Brewer wouldn't join the roster until the following year, when they would together average 41 points per game and begin to make their mark as the nucleus of the team that would go to the Final Four in 1978 and forever be known in Arkansas lore as "The Triplets".  But the 1974-75 version of the Hogs was a blue-collar bunch.  Although Sutton is known for his deliberate style and stifling man defense, his first team averaged 73.5 points per game, shot 53% from the floor, and 71.2% from the line.  They outrebounded their opponents by 4.7 rebounds per game.  Similar shooting percentages and rebounding margin would also become hallmarks of Arkansas under Sutton.  Led by Kent Allison's 17.2 points per game, Arkansas's balance scoring featured three other players averaging double figures, while a fourth, Jack Schulte, averaged 9.8.
 
Excuse me for waxing nostalgic here.  "TLDR" is an acceptable response as always.  Perhaps I'm a bit emotional about the long overdue tribute to Eddie Sutton.  Like many Arkansas coaches during Frank Broyles' tenure as athletic director, Sutton left in a bit of a tiff.  But he delivered, as Orville promised he would.  Boy did he deliver.   I can't imagine Arkansas sports without Eddie Sutton.

The nation may have begun paying attention to Razorbacks basketball on March 16, 1978, but I respectfully suggest the modern era of Razorbacks basketball was born in Barnhill Arena on January 21, 1975:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19750121&id=dwlaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=e0sNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5345,3149618&hl=en       

[Inhogswetrust]

I understand
I grew up loving the Boston Celtics. John Havlicek and Bill Russell are still 2 of my all time favorite players.
I hated when Bird when to Boston. I still liked them, but I didn't love them anymore and haven't since.

You do realize Hogs have played for them don't you?

[Inhogswetrust]

January 21, 1975.  Barnhill Arena.  Arkansas 65 Texas Tech 62. 

I remember it like it was yesterday.  At 6'2" in the 7th grade, my dream was to one day play in Barnhill, where I'd shoot free throws like Ricky Medlock, rebound like Dean Tolson, and score in bunches like Martin Terry.  Early evenings were often spent in Catholic High's gym, where local players like Ignatius Higgins and Sidney Moncrief would gather for pick-up games after high school practice.  Ignatius's little brother, Jonathan, and I couldn't wait to play for Ronnie Tollett and the Rockets.  The older guys tolerated us whenever they needed bodies. 

So, basketball was front and center for me in January, 1975.  The Razorbacks in general had pretty much been that way for as long as I could remember.  The radio in my family's kitchen got a year round workout.  Cardinal games in the Spring and Summer, Razorbacks football in the Fall, and Razorbacks basketball in the Winter.  Jack Buck and Bud Campbell had voices you don't easily forget. The Cardinals and Lou Brock had finished second by a game and a half to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Willie Stargell for the second year in a row, and the football Hogs hadn't been to a bowl game in three years.  The basketball team was coming off a 10-16 season, but Frank Broyles, the new athletic director, promised great things from the young coach he had brought in from Creighton to replace the up tempo loving Lanny Van Eman.  Van Eman's Hogs seemed to score at will.  The problem was the Hogs opponents usually scored more.  Eddie Sutton promised a different style of disciplined basketball learned at the feet of the great Hank Iba at a time when dunking was forbidden and the shot clock was something only NBA point guards had to worry about.  Sutton was coming off an NCAA tournament berth.  Frank Broyles declared that basketball was going to be an emphasis under his watch.  Orville Henry boldly predicted great things to come.

Then the Hogs started off the 1974-75 season 3-6.  Granted, the OOC schedule that year wasn't full of patsies.  The Hogs started off with a promising 75-72 win at Mississippi State but then lost on the road at Western Kentucky and at home to Ole Miss.  A win over Hofstra was followed by a home loss to Tulsa and road losses to Oklahoma City and Centenary (two well respected programs at that time).  The Hogs got a home win in a rematch with Oklahoma City, but the finale of the non-conference season was coming up at perennial power Kansas State.  Arkansas's narrow 73-71 loss to the Wildcats came as a surprise.  Sutton was building his team around Arkansas's 6'7" senior transfer forward from Western Kentucky, rebounding magnet Kent Allison, solid guard play from Rickey Medlock and Robert Birdsong, and strong post play from Jack Schulte and Darryl Saulsberry.  But no one expected the Hogs to defeat pre-season SWC favorite Texas Tech and its burly All-SWC center, Rick Bullock, when Eddie Sutton opened his SWC career against the Red Raiders in Barnhill. 

Eddie Sutton was in high demand after leading Creighton to a Sweet Sixteen berth to close the 1973-74 season.  Arkansas won a bidding war between Oral Roberts (Sutton is a Tulsa native), Duke and Arkansas for Sutton's services.   Broyles promised Sutton he would renovate Barnhill Arena, which doubled, among other things, as a rodeo arena, hence the now famous dirt floor.  The physical renovation was yet to come in early 1975, but Sutton would establish one tradition that has held even through the mostly unremarkable seasons since 2000 - Arkansas became almost impossible to beat at home.  Sutton's first team finished the SWC slate 7-0 in Barnhill on its way to an 11-3 second place tie with Texas Tech.  Only a terrible call on a Daryl Saulsberry layup (waved off as a dunk) at A&M kept the Hogs out of first place.  A&M squeaked by at home with a 62-60 victory and won the conference at 12-2.  (I threw an orange through the kitchen wall during that game.  Radio has a way of building tension.  My parents grounded me.)  Had the Hogs finished first, they would have played in the NCAA tournament in Sutton's first season.  The SWC was one of the last conferences to stage a post-season tournament as a qualifier for the automatic NCAA bid.  Texas Tech would win the first SWC tournament the next year.

Sutton's first team definitely was made up of overachievers.  There really wasn't a star.  Marvin Delph was a promising freshman with a 42" vertical and deadly aim from the corners, but Sidney Moncrief and Ron Brewer wouldn't join the roster until the following year, when they would together average 41 points per game and begin to make their mark as the nucleus of the team that would go to the Final Four in 1978 and forever be known in Arkansas lore as "The Triplets".  But the 1974-75 version of the Hogs was a blue-collar bunch.  Although Sutton is known for his deliberate style and stifling man defense, his first team averaged 73.5 points per game, shot 53% from the floor, and 71.2% from the line.  They outrebounded their opponents by 4.7 rebounds per game.  Similar shooting percentages and rebounding margin would also become hallmarks of Arkansas under Sutton.  Led by Kent Allison's 17.2 points per game, Arkansas's balance scoring featured three other players averaging double figures, while a fourth, Jack Schulte, averaged 9.8.
 
Excuse me for waxing nostalgic here.  "TLDR" is an acceptable response as always.  Perhaps I'm a bit emotional about the long overdue tribute to Eddie Sutton.  Like many Arkansas coaches during Frank Broyles' tenure as athletic director, Sutton left in a bit of a tiff.  But he delivered, as Orville promised he would.  Boy did he deliver.   I can't imagine Arkansas sports without Eddie Sutton.

The nation may have begun paying attention to Razorbacks basketball on March 16, 1978, but I respectfully suggest the modern era of Razorbacks basketball was born in Barnhill Arena on January 21, 1975:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19750121&id=dwlaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=e0sNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5345,3149618&hl=en       

Actually Eddie is from Kansas. But he played for Iba at Stillwater.

[hoglady]

You do realize Hogs have played for them don't you?

Yes.
But like I said I don't have this love for them I had when I was a kid. It was always hard to root for Bird - loved Parrish, though.

[bphi11ips]

Actually Eddie is from Kansas. But he played for Iba at Stillwater.

You're right.  Sutton was born and raised in Bucklin, Kansas.  He coached at Tulsa Central HS from 1959-66.

[PonderinHog]

You're right.  Sutton was born and raised in Bucklin, Kansas.  He coached at Tulsa Central HS from 1959-66.

Loved that post above, Mr. Phillips!   :razorback:

[Boarmonger]

I am also a Catholic graduate, Class of 75.  I actually started following the Hogs in the late 60s.  I remember Tim Ezzi came through the same grade school I did and Tim's father coached our grade school so when Tim went to UA, that's when I started.  I loved the players already mentioned and really loved the Eddie sutton teams.  What great teams and what fun.  I did not see a game on tv until Eddie's teams.

The UCLA game specifically, I was in a gym on Osan AFB, Korea listening on a transistor radio.  I caught the entire game except for the last minute.  We lost the feed.  I didn't know who'd won for almost a week when I finally saw a score in Stars and Stripes. I think I jumped about six feet in the air when I saw it.  Awesome!

[SuperSid4Ever]

I understand
I grew up loving the Boston Celtics. John Havlicek and Bill Russell are still 2 of my all time favorite players.
I hated when Bird when to Boston. I still liked them, but I didn't love them anymore and haven't since.

Would have been easy to accept if the loss had come fair and square.  That's not how it was, though.  We were ripped off.  Jim Honochick could have seen that.

[SuperSid4Ever]

Before anyone asks who Jim Honochick was:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8c6Ir2okLY

[ChicoHog]

Wilson-you mentioned the 3 "D's" Sutton preached as "Discipline, Dedication and Defense".  If I remember correctly I think it was actually 4.  Also "Determination".  I used to watch practice sometimes and the players had practice shorts and shirts I think that said the 4 principles Sutton preached.  As much as a football I am and was back then my friends and I probably enjoyed the basketball games even more.  I was there from fall of 79 to spring of 83 and those teams were awesome with Walker, Kleine, Hastings, Roberston and more.  I wish I could have seen the triplets live but I was still in HS then.  Sutton was a fantastic coach and IMO one of the greatest of all time especially in game strategy and adjustments.  Glad to see him honored with a banner. 

[hoglady]

I can remember the exact moment I heard Sutton was going to Kentucky - there are only a few things like that you remember in your life. Heartbroken.

[SuperSid4Ever]

I can remember the exact moment I heard Sutton was going to Kentucky - there are only a few things like that you remember in your life. Heartbroken.

I was on I-30, just about to go over the AR River in Little Rock.  Floored.

[hoglady]

I was on I-30, just about to go over the AR River in Little Rock.  Floored.

I was pulling into the parking lot at my office when it came across the radio. I was shocked. Different world back then - caught most by surprise.

[SuperSid4Ever]

I was pulling into the parking lot at my office when it came across the radio. I was shocked. Different world back then - caught most by surprise.

Yep.  I know I sure wasn't expecting it.

[TexArkHogFan]

 I remember when Reunion Arena was called "Barnhill South" because of the way Hog fans flocked to Dallas for the SWC tournament. The Arena was almost always filled with Hogs. Hog fans will support a winner.  You just have to give them a product worth watching 

[Jackrabbit Hog]

I was 17 when that game was played.  I remember that game - and the others from that tournament run - like it was yesterday.  I watched them all at my girlfriend's house.  We would watch the games, then roll around on the couch during commercials and halftimes because her parents were in another part of the house.  For a 17 year old, it don't get no better than that.

[doctordon51]

You might want to throw in Matt Doherty, Brad Daugherty, Steve Hale and though he was injured Kenny The Jet Smith. That team was loaded and had a mix of veterans and up and coming freshmen.

We played SMU (who had Jon Konkak) the day before, listened to the game on the radio Sat. as an 8th grader while riding to my uncle's house who lived in Pine Bluff. I talked my parents into visiting my uncle that weekend and trying to go get tickets to the North Carolina game. My uncle had connections in Pine Bluff and could usually get tickets to anything at the Convention Center but said there would be no tickets for this one.  Impossible to get in.
My Dad, Mom & I went down Sun. morning and started holding up 3 fingers.  Guy stopped & had 2 tickets on south riser. Dad let me and Mom take them and said he would get in or wait until it was over.  He later got one up in one of the corners.  Didn't know this until we got to our seats, but the risers were in front of the permanent seats.  We were on the 8th row, behind the Razorback Bench, sitting in the same section as Gov. Frank White & nearly directly in front of where Ballentine hit the shot (we were about middle of the lane).  Now know it is not necessarly the thing to do, but we stormed the court that day. Not a bad weekend for an 8th grader from little ole Montgomery County.
I think there were 10 players that went on to play in the NBA at that game. KSmith didn't play, but I think he was on the bench. In the excitement, went & got all the Razorback autographs after the game. Now wish I would have seeked out Jordan also. He was one of the reasons I wanted to go to that particular game{no top 10 on Sportscenter, but they did show highlights esp. dunks} but had no idea then he would be the best ever.  Alvin Robertson blocked 2 of his dunks that day.

[doctordon51]

You might want to throw in Matt Doherty, Brad Daugherty, Steve Hale and though he was injured Kenny The Jet Smith. That team was loaded and had a mix of veterans and up and coming freshmen.

[Biggus Piggus]

For me, the day Razorback basketball was born was January 6, 1976. That was when Arkansas opened its Southwest Conference schedule against new league member Houston.

The Razorbacks entered the game 7-1, improving fast with a lot of new players. Houston had been decent in recent seasons but carried a strong reputation, being the school that had ended UCLA's long winning streak.

Arkansas looked fantastic before a raucous Barnhill crowd, beating Otis Birdsong and the Cougars 92-47. It was 38-23 at half, then the Hogs outscored the Coogs by 30 in the second half - momentum snowballed. Worst defeat in the history of Houston basketball - and it was their first-ever SWC game.

That game was freshman Sidney Moncrief's first big splash. He scored 17 points to lead the Razorbacks.

You had to be there to know what it was like. Absolutely amazing atmosphere. That's what I miss about Razorback basketball.

[TrueBlue]

I remember when Reunion Arena was called "Barnhill South" because of the way Hog fans flocked to Dallas for the SWC tournament. The Arena was almost always filled with Hogs. Hog fans will support a winner.  You just have to give them a product worth watching 

I went to the SWC tournament each year. It was a annual ritual. And you are right, of the 18,000 or so fans, it always seemed we had 14-15,000 there. Of course as teams were eliminated in the tournament, the more Hog fans would buy up the departing fan's tickets and attended the later games in the tournament. Those were some good times. In the later years, it wasn't a matter if we would win, it was "how much" we would win by - especially when we played Texas....

Spent many of times celebrating in West End Market after games...!

[bphi11ips]

I went to the SWC tournament each year. It was a annual ritual. And you are right, of the 18,000 or so fans, it always seemed we had 14-15,000 there. Of course as teams were eliminated in the tournament, the more Hog fans would buy up the departing fan's tickets and attended the later games in the tournament. Those were some good times. In the later years, it wasn't a matter if we would win, it was "how much" we would win by - especially when we played Texas....

Spent many of times celebrating in West End Market after games...!

Arkansas was the SWC's version of Kentucky.  When the Hogs first joined the SEC, Kentucky fans didn't know what hit them in Atlanta. 

[Locutus_of_Boar]

UCLA 1978 was the symbolic Arkansas BB had arrived.  However Sutton program's "birth" came a year before on December 18. 1976 when the Hogs rallied from 18 point deficit to pull a 67-63 upset in Phog Allen.

[SuperSid4Ever]

Arkansas was the SWC's version of Kentucky.  When the Hogs first joined the SEC, Kentucky fans didn't know what hit them in Atlanta.

They weren't expecting to see another school's fans compete with them for tourney tickets, for sure, but they were very receptive to having a competitive team in conference play.  To that point, it was usually Kentucky and everyone else.  It grew so big at some point that we actually played them on Super Bowl Sunday a few times.  The so-called recruiting scandal which cost us a recruiting class in 1996 really hurt the league.  Had it continued, there is no telling how heated the matchups between the schools would have become.

Man, this stuff is painful to talk about.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

UCLA 1978 was the symbolic Arkansas BB had arrived.  However Sutton program's "birth" came a year before on December 18. 1976 when the Hogs rallied from 18 point deficit to pull a 67-63 upset in Phog Allen.

I've enjoyed this thread because it's reminded me of the many, MANY great victories we had, on a nationwide scale, back then.  One I remember was, I believe in the '77 season but I could be wrong.  Memphis State, led by Dexter Reed from Little Rock, had beaten us the year before in Little Rock.  They had much of their same team coming back but we did too, led of course by the Triplets.  Our family was going somewhere that night so we found the game on the radio.  It was the Memphis State broadcast so I guess we were somewhere in eastern Arkansas or maybe even in Memphis.  But 5 minutes in we were ahead something like 24-2 and the whole game had been Moncrief steal, layup, Delph steal, layup, Brewer steal, layup, etc.  The Memphis State radio guys were almost speechless.  I don't remember the final score; we ended up beating them by a comfortable margin.  But the start of that game epitomized the excitement there was around the team during that era.  Nothing seemed impossible for them, and if not for an over-the-back call on Steve Schall in the final five minutes of the semi-final game against Kentucky, we might have won it all. 

[gmarv]

what a wonderful time that was to be a hog fan,i,m glad I got to experience it.

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

Worst call ever against the hogs. I hate Bird too. The media got the match up they wanted.

This.
Except I hated Bird.  By his 4th or 5th season in the NBA, I couldn't bring myself to despise a guy that hated to lose as badly nd was as clutch as he was.  It didn't hurt that he may be the most skilled player I've seen holistically:  Accurate and long range shooter, rebounder, passer, and jusrt had an immense IQ.  It seemed like he knew wht was gonna happen before it did.

I ended up loving the guy.

[SuperSid4Ever]

One of the most positive lingering memories I have is the last-second shot Moncrief took in Lubbock against Texas Tech.  Gerald Meyer assigned 3 of his guys to guard Moncrief on an inbound play.  Sid double-faked and managed to get both players into the air before he went up and canned the GW shot at the buzzer, clinching a share of the SWC regular season title.  The memory of Paul Eels call on the play STILL gives me goosebumps.

[bphi11ips]

One of the most positive lingering memories I have is the last-second shot Moncrief took in Lubbock against Texas Tech.  Gerald Meyer assigned 3 of his guys to guard Moncrief on an inbound play.  Sid double-faked and managed to get both players into the air before he went up and canned the GW shot at the buzzer, clinching a share of the SWC regular season title.  The memory of Paul Eels call on the play STILL gives me goosebumps.

Didn't we then beat Texas in an epic 39-38 game in the championship of the SWC tournament?  That game was brutal. 

[MikePiazza]

For me, the day Razorback basketball was born was January 6, 1976. That was when Arkansas opened its Southwest Conference schedule against new league member Houston.

The Razorbacks entered the game 7-1, improving fast with a lot of new players. Houston had been decent in recent seasons but carried a strong reputation, being the school that had ended UCLA's long winning streak.

Arkansas looked fantastic before a raucous Barnhill crowd, beating Otis Birdsong and the Cougars 92-47. It was 38-23 at half, then the Hogs outscored the Coogs by 30 in the second half - momentum snowballed. Worst defeat in the history of Houston basketball - and it was their first-ever SWC game.

That game was freshman Sidney Moncrief's first big splash. He scored 17 points to lead the Razorbacks.

You had to be there to know what it was like. Absolutely amazing atmosphere. That's what I miss about Razorback basketball.

You were there?

[DeltaBoy]

Yep the win over UCLA that night put us on the National radar.

[Sivad]

Yep the win over UCLA that night put us on the National radar.

Unfortunately - the Fastest 40 has us on the sonar.

[wildturkey8]

For me, the day Razorback basketball was born was January 6, 1976. That was when Arkansas opened its Southwest Conference schedule against new league member Houston.

The Razorbacks entered the game 7-1, improving fast with a lot of new players. Houston had been decent in recent seasons but carried a strong reputation, being the school that had ended UCLA's long winning streak.

Arkansas looked fantastic before a raucous Barnhill crowd, beating Otis Birdsong and the Cougars 92-47. It was 38-23 at half, then the Hogs outscored the Coogs by 30 in the second half - momentum snowballed. Worst defeat in the history of Houston basketball - and it was their first-ever SWC game.

That game was freshman Sidney Moncrief's first big splash. He scored 17 points to lead the Razorbacks.

You had to be there to know what it was like. Absolutely amazing atmosphere. That's what I miss about Razorback basketball.

Both Biggus and Wilson's have great examples.  How about the victory on the road in 1976 against Kansas and Darnell Valentine.  Listened to that game on the radio we had just cracked the top 20 ( no top 25 then) we never really looked back. 

A game we lost, the 1973 game against Texas Tech (SWC title and NCAA bid were on the line) when the line to buy tickets extended back to Maple St.  Convinced JFB there was a hunger for winning basketball.

[Bogghawg]

Don't remember the year but Scott Hastings missed a last second shot and we lost to Kansas State.  I want to think that was in the tourney, but I'm not sure.

[MikePiazza]

Don't remember the year but Scott Hastings missed a last second shot and we lost to Kansas State.  I want to think that was in the tourney, but I'm not sure.

1982 NCAA's, second round. Lost by one. Associate head coach Tim Jankovich was the point guard for KSU.

[orvillesghost]

Biggus beat me to it but I would agree that Jan. 8, 1976 marked the beginning.

It was on TV, maybe the first Razorback basketball game ever on TV, I don't know..but I remember watching it.

The fact that it was my 16th birthday also made it kind of memorable..LOL

[hamARchy in the USA]

Unfortunately - the Fastest 40 has us on the sonar.

[hamARchy in the USA]

Sutton deserves the accolades.  An important part of what he did with the program was what he did with individual players.  The discipline he brought to Darrell Walker's game has been written about a lot.   What didn't get much notice was how he turned flat-footed, bench-riding, non-athlete Mike Young into a valuable contributor.  That bordered on miracle working.

[Tejano Jawg]

I actually liked the '79 team better than the '78 team was pissed off at Bird for years.

So did Sutton, from the standpoint of having a chance to win it all. Years later, I heard him say this. Sutton believed we matched up so much better against Michigan State. And our D might have slowed down Magic running their O.

That game was a heavyweight fight. Later in the game, Sutton put Sid on Bird. Then the bogus travel call on U.S. And finally, that trash shot by the big dumb whitey to win it. Awful.

[Inhogswetrust]

I remember when Reunion Arena was called "Barnhill South" because of the way Hog fans flocked to Dallas for the SWC tournament. The Arena was almost always filled with Hogs. Hog fans will support a winner.  You just have to give them a product worth watching 

During the SWC tournament when the Hogs came out to watch a little of the game previous to their's a huge Hog call filled the air. Even media mentioned it.

[Inhogswetrust]

1982 NCAA's, second round. Lost by one. Associate head coach Tim Jankovich was the point guard for KSU.

I was there. Unfortunately he didn't have a good game that day. The KSU fans were really giving him a hard time. They didn't like the fact he left the sate of Kansas were he was from to go play elsewhere. Sounds familiar doesn't it.

[Inhogswetrust]

Sutton deserves the accolades.  An important part of what he did with the program was what he did with individual players.  The discipline he brought to Darrell Walker's game has been written about a lot.   What didn't get much notice was how he turned flat-footed, bench-riding, non-athlete Mike Young into a valuable contributor.  That bordered on miracle working.

Mike was a good shooter though.

[hamARchy in the USA]

Mike was a good shooter though.

He sure was.  He was an excellent shooter and Sutton was able to utilize him very effectively despite his athletic limitations.   It seems like Young had knee issues.

[razorbacker3]

Then the Hogs started off the 1974-75 season 3-6.  Granted, the OOC schedule that year wasn't full of patsies.  The Hogs started off with a promising 75-72 win at Mississippi State but then lost on the road at Western Kentucky and at home to Ole Miss.  A win over Hofstra was followed by a home loss to Tulsa and road losses to Oklahoma City and Centenary (two well respected programs at that time).  The Hogs got a home win in a rematch with Oklahoma City, but the finale of the non-conference season was coming up at perennial power Kansas State.  Arkansas's narrow 73-71 loss to the Wildcats came as a surprise.  Sutton was building his team around Arkansas's 6'7" senior transfer forward from Western Kentucky, rebounding magnet Kent Allison, solid guard play from Rickey Medlock and Robert Birdsong, and strong post play from Jack Schulte and Darryl Saulsberry.  But no one expected the Hogs to defeat pre-season SWC favorite Texas Tech and its burly All-SWC center, Rick Bullock, when Eddie Sutton opened his SWC career against the Red Raiders in Barnhill. 

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19750121&id=dwlaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=e0sNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5345,3149618&hl=en       

His name was Robert Birden from from a very small school outside of Pine Bluff. I don't recall the name of the school, but nobody wanted to play them during Birdens time. I believe He and Rickey Medlock finished 1and 2 in the nation in FT %. Medlock was N0.1.

[razorbacker3]

For me, the day Razorback basketball was born was January 6, 1976. That was when Arkansas opened its Southwest Conference schedule against new league member Houston.

The Razorbacks entered the game 7-1, improving fast with a lot of new players. Houston had been decent in recent seasons but carried a strong reputation, being the school that had ended UCLA's long winning streak.

Arkansas looked fantastic before a raucous Barnhill crowd, beating Otis Birdsong and the Cougars 92-47. It was 38-23 at half, then the Hogs outscored the Coogs by 30 in the second half - momentum snowballed. Worst defeat in the history of Houston basketball - and it was their first-ever SWC game.

That game was freshman Sidney Moncrief's first big splash. He scored 17 points to lead the Razorbacks.

You had to be there to know what it was like. Absolutely amazing atmosphere. That's what I miss about Razorback basketball.

Agree 100%
I remember watching that game in my room, home from college, on a 5 inch B&W tv screen. I was hooked on Razorback BB from then on.

[bphi11ips]

His name was Robert Birden from from a very small school outside of Pine Bluff. I don't recall the name of the school, but nobody wanted to play them during Birdens time. I believe He and Rickey Medlock finished 1and 2 in the nation in FT %. Medlock was N0.1.

Good catch.  Mental slip while thinking that, while Sutton's first SWC win was a harbinger, I tend to agree that national attention began when Arkansas welcomed Houston and Otis Birdsong to the SWC with a  92-47 shellacking the following year. 

[Hog75]

For me, the day Razorback basketball was born was January 6, 1976. That was when Arkansas opened its Southwest Conference schedule against new league member Houston.

The Razorbacks entered the game 7-1, improving fast with a lot of new players. Houston had been decent in recent seasons but carried a strong reputation, being the school that had ended UCLA's long winning streak.

Arkansas looked fantastic before a raucous Barnhill crowd, beating Otis Birdsong and the Cougars 92-47. It was 38-23 at half, then the Hogs outscored the Coogs by 30 in the second half - momentum snowballed. Worst defeat in the history of Houston basketball - and it was their first-ever SWC game.

That game was freshman Sidney Moncrief's first big splash. He scored 17 points to lead the Razorbacks.

You had to be there to know what it was like. Absolutely amazing atmosphere. That's what I miss about Razorback basketball.

Not to quibble because Houston did at one time end UCLA's winning streak of 47 games in the Astrodome in 1968 (only to have the Bruins destroy them and Elvin Hayes in the Final Four semis), but the NCAA record 88 game win streak by the Bruins was ended in South Bend in 1974 by Notre Dame.  Agree that the Houston win was very significant.  I was living in Brentwood when the triplets took down the Bruins in Albuquerque and will never forget the Los Angeles Herald Examiner's full page banner headline in red the following day - HOGWASH!!!

Will also never forget the Cal State Fullerton player dribbling up the court in the closing seconds
In the regional finals with the clock ticking down the Hogs leading 59-58 and Al McQuire screaming "I believe!!!"  Then we stole the ball and ended the game with a lay up - 61-58.  Glory days indeed.

[Biggus Piggus]

Not to quibble because Houston did at one time end UCLA's winning streak of 47 games in the Astrodome in 1968 (only to have the Bruins destroy them and Elvin Hayes in the Final Four semis), but the NCAA record 88 game win streak by the Bruins was ended in South Bend in 1974 by Notre Dame.

The former was the game I saw on TV when I was a kid, so it was important at the time + burnished Houston's reputation for a long time.

[Birminghog]

I went to the SWC tournament each year. It was a annual ritual. And you are right, of the 18,000 or so fans, it always seemed we had 14-15,000 there. Of course as teams were eliminated in the tournament, the more Hog fans would buy up the departing fan's tickets and attended the later games in the tournament. Those were some good times. In the later years, it wasn't a matter if we would win, it was "how much" we would win by - especially when we played Texas....

Spent many of times celebrating in West End Market after games...!

Circling the concourse inside Reunion Arena, en masse, calling the Hogs all the way. Yeah, buddy. We owned that joint.

[Jim Harris]

March 16, 1978, against the UCLA Bruins in the West Regional semi-final in Albequerque, New Mexico.

The Bruins were still the royalty of college basketball. They came into the game 25-2, undefeated in the Pac-8. They had some great players, guys like David Greenwood, James Wilkes, and Kiki Vandeweghe. We had Eddie Sutton and the "Triplets" - Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer, and Marvin Delph. All Arkansas boys. We came in 26-3, not to bad either.

That was back when only 32 teams made the NCAA Tournament, before ESPN, before it became all about money and "Plays of the Day." The game tipped late, 10:30 back here. I was 15 at the time, and I remember watching it by myself and crying when we upset the Bruins, 74-70.

Brewer and Delph each played 40 minutes; never left the floor. Moncrief and Jimmy Counce each played 39 minutes. Only seven Razorbacks got in the game, including U.S. Reed's one minute on the floor. Sutton preached "discipline, dedication, and defense."

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i17Wy6Fdz0E

I'm pretty sure the game ended around 10:30 back here, not started at that time. There was another game out there after Arkansas-UCLA, it was Cal State Fullerton vs. San Francisco. USF had bumped out North Carolina the weekend before, and Fullerton shocked New Mexico, or the Lobos would have been playing on their home court, when the NCAA allowed such a thing.

Anyway, typical start times for regional semifinal games are 6:15-6:30 local time and it's been that way for decades.

[WizardofhOgZ]

yes he is the greatest hog in my mind also.we will most likely never see the likes of our famed triplets in a hog uniform again.that was a special time.

I was going to mention that.  The only bad part of an otherwise great game for Hog fans.  I thought it was a dirty play.  It was a breakaway and UCLA's great All-everything . . . David Greenwood, I believe . . . virtually tackled Moncrief.  He was on the floor for some time.