Sweet 16 showdown could reignite fierce Arizona-Arkansas rivalry of the '90s

Hell was the operative word in the intense Arizona-Arkansas rivalry from 1990-95, a period in which the Wildcats and Razorbacks not only met in the Final Four but had four other skirmishes that came off as heavyweight fights.

Coach Nolan Richardson's Razorbacks were famous for their "40 Minutes of Hell" style of play, and Olson and the Wildcats endured a short-lived, five-game series that was as combative as any of UA's nonconference engagements of the last 50 years, including Arizona-Duke and Arizona-Kansas.

And then it all went away, dormant for 30 years, as if Arizona and Arkansas played on different continents.

Well, it's back, baby, reborn for Thursday's Sweet 16 showdown with a new generation of coaches, players and fans who wouldn't know former Arkansas/Arizona combatants Corliss Williamson and Chris Mills from Hog Heaven.

Introductions are in order: The Razorbacks are now coached by John Calipari, who at 67 is in the last act of a remarkable career in which he has coached UMass, Memphis, Kentucky and Arkansas in 1,190 games, but has been a virtual stranger to Tucson and the UA's basketball audience.

Calipari has coached just twice against Arizona: in 2006, Olson's last season, Calipari's Memphis Tigers lost 79-71 at McKale in what was then called the Fiesta Bowl Classic. A year later, interim UA coach Kevin O'Neill completed the home-and-home series, losing 76-63 in Memphis as Calipari rose to fame, ranked No. 2 nationally, en route to his second of six Final Fours.

Now their paths cross again, Calipari and Arizona, in a fully different landscape.

This is just the fourth time Arizona, as a No. 1 seed, has played a No. 4 seed with the Sweet 16 at stake, a chalk game that doesn't always lead to more chalk.

The single most crushing defeat in Arizona basketball history was the 1989 Sweet 16 in which the No. 1 seed Wildcats lost 68-67 to No. 4 seed UNLV when the Rebels' Anderson Hunt hit a crushing 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining to end Sean Elliott's college career and leave a trail of tears from Denver's McNichols Arena all the way back to Tucson.

Arizona is 11-10 in Sweet 16 engagements, losing as a favorite not only to UNLV but on four other occasions:

– 1991, No. 3 seed Seton Hall beat No. 2 seed Arizona 81-77 in Seattle, as Matt Othick's 3-point attempt to tie the game clanged off the rim.

– 2017, No. 11 seed Xavier beat No. 2 seed Arizona 73-71 in San Jose as Dusan Ristic's last-second shot hit the side of the backboard.

– 2022, No. 5 seed Houston beat No. 1 seed Arizona 72-60 as Arizona's Azuolas Tubelis shot 0 for 8.

– 2024, No. 6 seed Clemson beat No. 2 seed Arizona 77-72 in Los Angeles as Caleb Love went 0 for 9 on 3-pointers.

Calipari has coached in 16 Sweet 16s, so disregard any narrative that the Razorbacks will be awed to play the No. 1 seed Wildcats on Thursday.

The fiery Arizona-Arkansas rivalry began appropriately enough at Madison Square Garden in November 1990. No. 3 Arizona stunned the No. 2 Razorbacks 89-77 to win the Preseason NIT. Arkansas coach Richardson and Olson then agreed to a home-and-home series. It didn't go well. That was the day Olson referred to the arena as "Barnhell."

When the No. 2 Wildcats lost at Barnhill Arena 65-59 a year later, Olson was so displeased with the officiating that he did not attend the routine post-game press conference and instead marched out of the old arena to the waiting UA bus. A year later, Arkansas played its part of the agreed series in Tucson, a season-opening game in which it upset the No. 9 Wildcats 86-80.

Olson said there would be no return game to Fayetteville. The series was over.

Alas, the Wildcats and Razorbacks met a year later in the Final Four with Arkansas winning 91-82, and then after both teams signed up to play in the 1995 Preseason at Madison Square Garden, it assigned Arizona to play at Arkansas in a play-in game. In Fayetteville. Olson was furious.

"It's a good thing I didn't get my hands on that (NIT) contract," he said.

But this time, playing before a raucous crowd of 20,104 in the brand new Bud Walton Arena, Arizona won 83-73. The Wildcats went on to beat Michigan and Georgetown to win the NIT.

Arkansas and Arizona then parted ways. We'll soon find if Tommy Lloyd and John Calipari can recreate the old 40 Minutes of Hell that once defined their rivalry. The guess here is yes. Arizona wins 87-83 in 40 minutes of madness.