SEATTLE - The expectations have surrounded UCLA for the past 20 years. They have suffocated Arkansas for the past 12 months.
Tonight, UCLA, with a record 10 titles but none since 1975, meets Arkansas, which is trying to become the eighth school to repeat as champion. That these just happen to be the hottest teams in the country makes the 57th national title game even more compelling.
Add in the announced appearance of John Wooden, who coached UCLA to all those titles in 12 years, and the Kingdome becomes the site of history meeting the present.
"The tradition is so great at UCLA and now we have a chance to add to that tradition," UCLA All-America forward Ed O'Bannon said yesterday. "Everyone talks about the teams from the past, and now we have a chance to be one of those teams from the past."
Arkansas (32-6) won its 11th straight NCAA tournament game with a 75-68 victory over North Carolina, a game in which the Razorbacks rallied behind Corliss Williamson and applied a wearing defense for their 15th win their past 16 games.
Top-ranked UCLA (30-2) reached the championship game with a 74-61 victory over Oklahoma State, its 18th straight, with point guard Tyus Edney driving, dishing and leading the way.
Edney sprained his right wrist in the first half when he fell hard. He still scored 21 points and had five assists, but missed Sunday's interviews to receive treatment at the University of Washington. X-rays were negative.
"It's negative but it hurts," UCLA coach Jim Harrick said. "He couldn't shoot his outside jump shot very well in the second half, but it certainly didn't bother his penetration. It might limit what he can do well. He's played with injuries before. If they open the floor, he's a guy that you really need in that situation."
Edney's ballhandling will be critical against the Arkansas backcourt of Corey Beck and Clint McDaniel, the keys to the pressure defense that held North Carolina to one field goal during the final 15 minutes.
"I think we have the two most underrated guards in college basketball," Richardson said. "Those two kids are the reason we are speaking to you today. Because of the style and the way we play, you have to control the guards and I don't know of any two guards in the country that can control a game the way these two young men can."
The starters all returned from last year's championship team, the one cheered in person by President Clinton, who will watch the title game on television this year.
"I think our experience gives us the advantage because of what we have been through and throughout the whole year," McDaniel said. "Every game seemed like a national championship game, so I think our experience is the biggest key at this point."
The UCLA players certainly don't have championship experience. The Bruins' last appearance in a title game was in 1980, their only loss in 11 such games.
Richardson, who has taken the Razorbacks to half the Final Fours in the 1990s, is looking for his second national title. The run to join Duke in 1992 and 1993 as the only repeaters since UCLA's seven-year run ended in 1973 has been marked by close - many say lucky - tournament games.
"Last year things seemed to come a lot easier. It was fun," Williamson said. "It was something we won for the state, for the school, for the fans.
"This year we have been doing it as a team. I think if we win it again, it will mean a lot more to us individually more than winning it for everyone else."
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