The Greatest Hog Basketball Team of All-Time #1

10.  1989

9.  1993

8.  1983

7.  1977

6.  1979

5.  1990

4.  1995

3.  1978

2.  1994

1.  1991:  This is the greatest Hog basketball team of all-time and there are reasons for it.  No they didn't win the championship and no they didn't even go to the Final Four.  What they did do is blow a 17 point halftime lead to Kansas, who ended up losing in the championship game that season, in the elite eight.  What they did do is average 99.7 points per game.  Another thing they did was become the first of two number one seeds in Arkansas history.  

This team was loaded.  They had Todd Day a lottery pick. Lee Mayberry and Oliver Miller who were all drafted in the first round.  Then Isiah "Butch" Morris was drafted in the second round of the NBA draft.  So they had four guys that were drafted in the starting lineup.  They won the most games in Razorback basketball history and the even beat Duke who ended up winning the national championship in the preseason NIT.  When it comes down to pound for pound who is the greatest team in Arkansas Razorback basketball history it would be hard to argue against this team.  1991 might have been the greatest year ever in college basketball.  

For the sake of comparison lets take a look at the 1991 team vs. the 1994 team:

1991

1.  Arlyn Bowers

2.  Lee Mayberry (even though he was a point guard too)

3.  Todd Day

4.  Isiah "Butch" Morris

5.  Oliver Miller

1994

1.  Corey Beck

2.  Clint McDaniel

3.  Scotty Thurman

4.  Corliss Williamson

5.  Dwight Stewart

Arlyn Bowers vs. Corey Beck Adv. 1994:  I would give the advantage to the 1994 team in this matchup because Beck was 6'3"  to Bowers being 5'10."  Bowers was tough but Beck was tougher.  Beck was the glue that held the 1994 team together.  It seemed like these two were clones of each other. Beck was actually a bigger Arlyn Bowers.  With the other guys on this team Bowers didn't have to be special all he had to do is play tough hard nosed defense and that's what he did.

Lee Mayberry vs. Clint McDaniel Adv 1991:  Clint McDaniel was supposed to be the new Lee Mayberry as both of these guys came to Arkansas from Tulsa.  As good as Clint was he was no Mayberry.  In fact, if you ranked top 10 players in Arkansas basketball history Lee Mayberry is probably in the top five.  If not he's top 10 without a doubt.  McDaniel was much like what Robert Shepherd was for the Hogs tough hard nosed defender.  Mayberry was an all around superstar.  He ranks in the top five in Arkansas history in points, steals, assists, and three pointers made.  This guy was sick.  

Todd Day vs. Scotty Thurman Adv. 1991:  Yes Scotty Thurman hit the biggest shot in Arkansas history. If there are 10 seconds left in the game you probably give Thurman the advantage, but Day could get it done too.  If we are talking the other 39:50 of the game Day has to have the advantage. He was just better than Thurman there really is not a whole lot more to be said about it.  Day, 1992 first round pick to the Bucks.  Thurman undrafted.  Todd Day is the all-time leading scorer in Arkansas history.  There is one argument against Todd Day being the greatest Arkansas player of all-time and that's Sidney Moncrief.  

Corliss Williamson vs. Isiah "Butch" Morris Adv. 1994:  Morris was one of the greatest juco guys Arkansas has ever signed, but Corliss Williamson is the top three in all-time Arkansas Razorbacks, and the only Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four award winner in Arkansas history.  Morris was good and did a great job of filling the role that he was supposed to but Corliss is the "Big Nasty."  The advantage is not as lopsided as one would think because of sheer talent, but in all fairness Corliss takes this one.  

Dwight Stewart vs. Oliver Miller Adv. 1991:  This advantage is a decided one.  Dwight Stewart was a good player on a great team.  Oliver Miller was a great player on a great team.  Miller dominated the inside in his three years in the SWC and did the same to the SEC as the Hogs transitioned conferences.  Miller did more than hold his own against a guy named Shaquille O'Neal.  You might have heard of him.  In fact, in the last game these guys played in Barnhill Arena LSU looked like they might get a victory against the Hogs, but it was a blocked shot on Shaq by Oliver Miller that sent the game to overtime. The Hogs ended up pulling out the victory.  Oliver Miller could score, block shots, and pass.  He was a key for an Arkansas fast break with his pin point baseball passes.  This guy is probably the most underrated player in Arkansas history.  Stewart could hit the outside shot but other than that he is not even in the league of Oliver Miller.  That's three pretty decided advantages for the 1991 team versus the 1994 team.  That tells you how good this team was.  

Two of the Hogs four losses that season were to Kansas who made the championship game and UNLV, who had they completed that season undefeated would have been considered the greatest college basketball team of all-time.  

Just to give you more evidence of the greatness of the 1991 team look at these scores in the SWC tournament:

Arkansas 108 Texas A&M 61 Arkansas 109 Rice 80 Arkansas 120 Texas 89

That's a wow!  They did have one conference loss and that was at Texas to keep them from going undefeated in conference.  Their only other loss was to Arizona who ended up being a number two seed in the NCAA tournament.  

Arkansas entered the tournament as the number one seed in the Southeast Region and were expected to make a push for the title.  They started the tournament with an easy 117-76 victory over Georgia State. They then took care of Arizona State 97-90.  It was future foe Alabama in the sweet 16 and the Crimson Tide could not matchup to these Hogs Arkansas cruised to a 93-70 victory.  The third seeded Kansas Jayhawks were next.  Arkansas looked to have every advantage and stormed out to a 17 point halftime lead.  The Hogs were rolling the only problem was they forgot there was a second half.  The Jayhawks outscored the Hogs by 29 in the second half and won the game 93-81.  This was a very disappointing outcome to a season that at the very least looked as if it would end in the NCAA championship game.  It should have.  In fairness UNLV had already beaten the Hogs at Barnhill.  Arkansas would have been hard pressed to beat the Runnin Rebels, but the Rebs got knocked off by Duke who Arkansas had already beaten.  It could have been!  

Kind of crazy how one of Arkansas six final four teams was not their best team but you can see why this team was Arkansas greatest.  Arkansas finished (34-4, 15-1)

Oh yeah, by the way the 1991 team actually got to play the 1994 team in an exhibition a couple years after the championship. seriously I am not making this up.  This was a fund raiser.  The 1991 team absolutely ran the 1994 team off the court and you can see why.

This was Day, Mayberry, and Miller's junior years and the 1992 team brought everybody back, but sadly they never put it together. The Hogs came into that season as one of those favorites. But Todd Day that got in trouble and suspended for the first half of the season.  Arkansas never recovered as they could have.  The Day-Mayberry-Miller team is one of the greatest team to never win a national championship in NCAA history.