4 The Battalion Sports
March 3, 1983/Page 11
f'T TT — - ii
•Showdown at Barnhill
DAY:T|
cakes ail
>. Ticket
Houston, Arkansas battle tonight
for share of SWC championship
ill be disc
fy lx
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sitv Lu
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nal is still
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i Bi>\(
)le. I
l itjnited Press International
lied for fAVF.T T’T\ tXE, Ark. —
itle accompaniment of a I nll-
|ted roar that would prob-
)e looked upon as unheal-
ly the Environmental Pro-
Bjln Agency, the Southwest
^■erence will make some bas-
p|ll history tonight.
p.m.inffl||ever before have two bas-
^■ll teams from the SWC l
riONiicled such lofty heights, with
).in.ir,'> Arkansas Razorbacks cur-
fith rated No. 1 in the c ountr\
dlhe Houston Cougars hav-
^^■lade it all the way to No. 1.
And tonight, in a fortress that
file as one of the most impre-
aile anywhere, those two
ims will collide.
I “1 his will be a showcase for
(uthwest Conference basket-
ill'Arkansas coach Eddie Sut-
n s. id. "It has to be the biggest
jiference game ever played in
jr league.
/ '"V\ eare ready for the test and
jr players think they can win.”
J^Brkansas players should cer-
jnl feel they can win since
ev haven’t lost at home for two
ars and have never lost to
Riston in Fayetteville.
But this is not an average
■ coming into Barnhill Are-
’v 1 tonight.
I “Night in and night outSut-
"^■^■said, “Houston is the best
■ in college basketball.”
Houston (2T-2) has reached
.Ini itd 6 h 0- * S P <)1 * n rankings bv
lew mu ‘Hf'Hg 18 straight. The
ouuars last lost on Dec. 16 in
M)U t 75 JU to a Virginia team that
; ofthecr 5 P* a y‘ n g without Ralph
in Ri
wn at
dmiss
endingf ! )S()I '-
^fourteen ot
arc been in
those victories
conference play
Eddie Sutton’s team hasn’t
lost to Cougars in Barnhill
and if the Cougars win tonight
they will capture their first SWC
championship since joining the
league for the 1975-76 cam-
paign.
Arkansas, meanwhile, has
lost only once this season — that
being a 15-point embarassment
that was Sutton’s worst setback
as the Razorbacks’ coach.
But the overriding statistic in
volving this game is the number
of wins Houston has had in
Arkansas — zero.
Houston's first trip to Bar
nhill came in 1976 and the
Cougars suffered the worst loss
in the history of their basketball
program, 92-47. Since then the
Cougars have lost by 11, 19, 20,
3, 15 and 1 in Fayetteville.
Last year, Arkansas center
Scott Hastings hit an 18-foot
jump shot with five seconds to
go to wape out the last of a 10-
point Houston lead and give the
Hogs a 67-66 triumph.
“It’s just a hard place to play
in,” Houston coach Guy Lewis
said. “But that’s pretty evident
since they haven’t lost many
games in there. Coach Sutton
has some great fans up there
that respect and support him
and his program.”
But at least one of Sutton’s
and Lewis’ Southwest Confer
ence competitors thinks this is
the year for Houston to escape
Fayetteville with a victory.
“I think Houston is strong
enough to overcome all of that
this time,” Texas Tech coach
Gerald Myers said. “I just think
they are so much better physical
ly than they have been before.
I’m going to enjoy watching it.”
T he key, as usual, appears to
be Houston’s ability to handle
the pressure defense and the
noise that goes along with it.
“Arkansas scores off its de
fense,” Myers said. “And if those
Houston guards feel the press
ure and short out, then it might
be all over right there.
“But if they can get the ball
downcourt, they are going to be
in good shape. The other way
Arkansas scores is with Darrell
Walker and Joe Kleine getting in
close to the basket. And 1 don’t
think they can score enough
points inside against Houston.
“I look at Akeem Olajuwon
(Houston’s 7-foot center) as one
of the top three or four guys in
the history of college basketball
as far as blocking shots.
“I would rate him right along
with Bill Russell and Wilt Cham
berlain as far as blocking shots.”
was nex!||
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ar shiveiiB
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she gavcijp
The play of Arkansas’
Alvin Robertson, left,
and Houston’s Akeem
Olajuwon, inset, will
be major factors when the
two teams meet tonight.
UMOURS
has it
in
Joe Route
RUMOURS
Bookstore
Post
Office
Large Screen TV
Blue Bell Ice Cream
Dannon Yogurt
Food and Drinks
and
Room to Relax