A Bittersweet Anniversary

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It's been exactly a year since my friend Steve died of cancer.

As I observed on that occasion, it was 19 years exactly since Steve's — and my — beloved Arkansas Razorbacks won their Sweet Sixteen encounter with Tulsa in the 1994 NCAA Tournament here in Dallas.

That day on the calendar has come around again. It is a year since Steve died, and it is now 20 years since the Razorbacks won that game and advanced to the Elite Eight for only the third time in 15 years. They beat Michigan two days later to earn a spot in that year's Final Four, where they would defeat Arizona in the national semifinals and then Duke in the national championship.

That is something that will live in Razorback fans' minds and hearts forever, and my guess is that Steve would prefer that his friends remember that — and not think of this day last year.

Today I am thinking of both. I miss Steve, and I am sorry he is gone. If he could somehow come back today, I would want him to know that he was not forgotten. The Razorbacks are part of that memory. I watched many Razorback games with Steve, including a Cotton Bowl that he and I and a mutual friend, Mike, attended together.

The Tulsa game was one part of a memory that I cherish and always will. That game is often the forgotten piece of the puzzle for Razorback fans, though. Victories over Georgetown, Michigan, Arizona and Duke get more attention, probably because those basketball programs have enjoyed more success over the years.

But Arkansas and Tulsa are natural rivals. The campuses are only about 100 miles apart. When I was growing up, the football teams met every year. Arkansas usually got the best of Tulsa — but not always.

To top it off, Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson coached at Tulsa before he went to Arkansas. The game was loaded with regional significance. Frankly, I was hoping for a classic game. Most Arkansas fans probably hoped for the same thing. We all hoped Arkansas would win, of course, but we hoped Tulsa would make it memorable.

Twenty years ago tonight, the game wasn't competitive. Arkansas simply outclassed Tulsa. The Razorbacks led by 15 at intermission and won by nearly 20.

This year, the Razorbacks made it back to the postseason — NIT this time, not the NCAA Tournament — for the first time since 2008. Last night, they played in the second round against California.

Unfortunately, the Razorbacks lost that game. They fell behind early and, even though they made a few runs at the Bears, they still lost. Ironically, if they had won, their next game would have been here in Dallas — against old Southwest Conference foe SMU.

Steve and I didn't watch that Tulsa game together 20 years ago, and I'm sorry about that. I was living in Oklahoma at the time, and he was back in Little Rock. I'm sorry he didn't live to see the 20th anniversary of that national championship. It probably would have pleased him to reminisce about those days. If I live another two weeks — and I certainly expect to live another two weeks — I will get to do that.

And I will raise a glass to Steve when I toast the Razorbacks of '94.

Oooops

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Tomorrow, the Michigan Wolverines will make their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four in 20 years.

They had a chance to return to the Final Four the following year, but they lost to my alma mater, the University of Arkansas. They haven't been back since.

A lot of attention has been paid this week to Wichita State, which is back in the Final Four for the first time in nearly half a century. Having the spotlight shine on someone else might be something of a relief for Michigan, given what happened the last time the Wolverines played in the Final Four.

On this night two decades ago, Michigan faced North Carolina in the championship game in New Orleans. It was a close game, competitive, definitely entertaining for the fans, but it is almost certainly remembered for a single moment in the final seconds.

Michigan's Chris Webber had the ball and tried to call a timeout. Unfortunately for him, Michigan was out of timeouts. That meant a technical foul was assessed against Michigan. Game over.

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Until that point, Webber had been having a pretty decent game. He led all Michigan players in scoring with 23 points, and he was second only to North Carolina's Donald Williams (by two points) among all players.

And, in the end, he was named to the All–Tournament Team along with Williams and two other North Carolina players.

But then it was learned that he had received under–the–table payments from a booster, and Michigan had to vacate its entire 1992–93 season.

And the Wolverines haven't been seen in the Final Four since that night — well, until now.

It was the last gasp of Michigan's Fab Five, the nickname given to the 1991 recruiting class that took the program to consecutive national championship games in 1992 and 1993.

The memory that lingers from the '92 tournament has nothing to do with Michigan. That tournament is remembered for the epic East Regional final between Duke and Kentucky, won in overtime by Duke. Duke went on to beat Michigan in the championship game.

The '93 tournament is remembered mostly for Webber's faux pas. The two are so closely linked that my guess is Webber's mistake will be mentioned in the first paragraph of his obituary.

Ooooops.

Hail to the Victors

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It was with mixed emotions last night that I watched Michigan defeat Kansas to earn a trip to the South Regional final against Florida, winner over bracket–buster Florida Gulf Coast, on Sunday.

Ironically, I suppose, I was thinking earlier this week about Michigan's last trip to the Elite Eight. Michigan faced my alma mater, the University of Arkansas, in one of the regional finals in 1994. The Razorbacks won the game and went on to face first Arizona and then Duke en route to the national championship.

The Wolverines haven't been this close to the Final Four since.

But I started thinking about that Arkansas–Michigan game this week because its 19th anniversary was Monday — and it happened that an old friend of mine in Arkansas, Steve, died of cancer that morning.

Had he known about that, I suspect it would have appealed to Steve. He was a diehard Razorback fan, and the victory over the Wolverines on March 25, 1994, surely ranks as one of the great moments in Arkansas basketball history.

That game was played during the "Fab Five" era. Until now, that was the most recent highlight for Michigan basketball, and it is a virtual certainty that none of the players on Michigan's current roster was old enough to remember it.

Tomorrow, the Wolverines will have an opportunity to go farther than any Michigan team has in 20 years. In 1993, Michigan went all the way to the national championship game but lost to North Carolina when Chris Webber tried to call a timeout in the final seconds. Unfortunately, the Wolverines no longer had one, which resulted in a technical being assessed against Webber.

Ultimately, the Wolverines lost the game — and then had to vacate their entire season when it was revealed that Webber had received payments from a booster.

No doubt the Wolverines would rather re–live the 1989 NCAA Tournament, when assistant Steve Fisher took over as head coach when Bill Frieder was fired after announcing just prior to the tournament that he had agreed to coach Arizona State the following season.

In spite of the instability, the Wolverines went on to win it all in a thrilling overtime triumph over Seton Hall.

That game was played in Seattle. This year's Final Four will be played across the continent — in Atlanta.

Nevertheless, will history repeat itself?

And, if so, how? By winning it all, a la 1989? Or blowing the opportunity, as was the case in 1993?

Or will the Wolverines come up short in the regional final, as they did 19 years ago?

All or part of the answer should be revealed tomorrow.