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Arkansas Basketball History: NCAA Tournament Champions, Best Players and Coaches
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Arkansas got off to a late start compared to some of the nation’s other power programs.
The Razorbacks didn’t field their first team until 1923. But they wasted little time playing catchup. By 1945, they’d already made it to 2 Final Fours. And since 1974 and the arrival of Eddie Sutton, the first of 3 Hall of Fame coaches to lead the team, they’ve produced some of college basketball’s most iconic players and moments.
It’s a star-studded lineup that includes “The Triplets” – the trio of Ron Brewer, Marvin Delph and Sidney Moncrief who led the Razorbacks to the Final Four in 1978 – U.S. Reed, whose halfcourt buzzer-beater beat Louisville in the 1981 NCAA Tournament, and Scotty Thurman, who clinched Arkansas’ 1994 national championship with a tie-breaking 3-pointer in the final minute against Duke.
It’s a legacy that entered a new era in 2025 when John Calipari arrived in Fayetteville to add onto the already solid foundation set by Sutton and fellow Hall of Famer Nolan Richardson.
Let’s take a deeper look into the Razorbacks’ storied history.
How Many Times Has Arkansas Won The NCAA Tournament?
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. Entering the 2024-25 season, it’s their only title.
How Many Times Have The Razorbacks Been to The Final Four?
Six, tied with several teams for the eighth-most all-time entering the 2025 March Madness. The Hogs got there in 1941 and 1945 under former Arkansas All-American Eugene Lambert. They returned again in 1978 under Sutton and 3 times on Richardson’s watch: 1990, 1994 and 1995.
Arkansas’ National Championship Team
Here’s a brief look at the Razorbacks’ 1994 NCAA Tournament championship team and how they conquered March Madness.
1994: 31-3, NCAA champion
1994 NCAA Tournament path: Arkansas was the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region.
- Round 1: defeated No. 16 seed North Carolina A&T 94-79
- Round 2: defeated No. 9 seed Georgetown 85-73
- Sweet 16: defeated No. 12 seed Tulsa 103-84
- Elite Eight: defeated No. 3 seed Michigan 76-68
- Final Four: defeated No. 9 Arizona 91-82
- Championship: defeated No. 6 Duke 76-72
Season in review: 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. Bill Clinton in attendance, the Razorbacks used their pressure defense to wear Duke down, force 23 turnovers and rally from a 10-point deficit to win on a clutch tie-breaking 3-pointer by Thurman with just under a minute remaining.
Arkansas’ Hall of Fame Coaches
Eddie Sutton
Record at Arkansas: 260-75
Overall record: 804-328
NCAA Tournament titles: 0
Notable: 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. The team returned to the Elite Eight the following season, missing out on a second straight Final Four in a 2-point loss to Larry Bird and Indiana State.
Nolan Richardson
Record at Arkansas: 389-169
Overall record: 508-206
NCAA Tournament titles: 1
Notable: 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. The winningest coach in Arkansas history, Richardson is also the coach man to win national championships at the NCAA and junior college level, along with an NIT title.
John Calipari
Record at Arkansas: 20-13
Overall record: 833-274
NCAA Tournament titles: 1
Notable: Arkansas lost its first Hall of Fame coach, Sutton, when he left to take the job at Kentucky. 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. Despite having to replace his entire roster, Calipari got Arkansas into the NCAA Tournament in his first season in Fayetteville.
Arkansas’ First-Round NBA Draft Picks
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. (2023, Charlotte, 27), Moses Moody (2021, Golden State, 14), Bobby Portis (2015, Chicago, 22), Ronnie Brewer (2006, Utah, 14), Joe Johnson (2001, Boston, 10), Corliss Williamson (1995, Sacramento, 13), Todd Day (1992, Milwaukee, 8), Oliver Miller (1992, Phoenix, 22), Lee Mayberry (1992, Milwaukee, 23), Joe Kleine (1985, Sacramento, 6), Alvin Robertson (1984, San Antonio, 7), Darrell Walker (1983, New York, 12), Sidney Moncrief (1979, Milwaukee, 5), Ron Brewer (1978, Portland, 7).
All-Time Starting Five
The Razorbacks have produced some of the best players in college basketball and NBA history. These 5 are the best of the best.
Point guard: 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. He’s also Arkansas’ all-time leader in steals with 291 while averaging 14 points per game during his 4 college seasons before being drafted in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Shooting guard: 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. After averaging a double-double and earning consensus first-team All-American honors during his senior season of 1978-79, he went on to a successful NBA career and induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Small forward: 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. As with the other 4 players on this list, he was a first-round NBA Draft pick who played multiple seasons in the league.
Power forward: 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. As it is, he still finished in the top 10 with 1,728 points.
Center: 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. He capped his career by averaging 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds as a senior to earn first-team All-America recognition before going on to earn an Olympic gold medal while playing 15 seasons in the NBA.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
