Bruins, Hogs Take Last Dance Tonight’s Final Will Provide Answer To Who’s No. 1: Ucla Or Arkansas?

In the regular season, Arkansas started out ranked No. 1 and UCLA finished No. 1.

Tonight, the two will decide who truly belongs at the top.

UCLA, winner of 18 straight games, and Arkansas, victor of 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament contests, battle for the NCAA championship at 5:40 at the Kingdome.

And now that the last tango of the Big Dance is here, you didn’t really expect the teams to change anything. They’ll dance with who brought them.

For UCLA (30-2), that’s point guard Tyus Edney and sibling wings Ed and Charles O’Bannon.

For defending champion Arkansas (32-6), it’s Corliss “Big Nasty” Williamson, Scotty Thurman, who is honked about his poor play in Saturday’s semifinal win over North Carolina, and a talented supporting cast of eight others.

“I cannot imagine a better ending for a basketball player,” UCLA senior center George Zidek said.

For a coach, the Bruins’ Jim Harrick could have done without watching the Razorbacks on video.

“I went back to my room (after Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State), ordered room service and put the tape in at 8:30 and stayed up til 3,” he said. “If you can figure out what they’re doing you’re Houdini because I can’t.”

“That,” said Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, “is the ultimate compliment, because I haven’t figured it out either.”

The Hogs’ trapping, chaos-inducing defense creates problems, even for teams that normally thrive in up-tempo atmospheres, such as UCLA.

Two of the principles skipped Sunday press conferences. Edney, brilliant to this point of the tourney, had his sprained right wrist X-rayed. Results were negative and he is expected to start. Arkansas counterpart Corey Beck, who is bothered by asthma, has a head cold but he did practice.

The point-guard matchup looms as critical.

“I remember my first practice against him (Edney),” UCLA guard Cameron Dollar said. “We did a drill (without a ball) where you just try to stay in front of him. He blew right by me and I never took a step. (Former Bruin) Shon Tarver said, ‘Don’t worry about it. He does that to everybody.”’

On the interior, Williamson, who devoured North Carolina’s Rasheed Wallace in the second half Saturday, will encounter a combination of bulk (250-pound George Zidek) and athleticism (6-8 Ed O’Bannon and 6-9 freshman J.R. Henderson). UCLA will almost certainly try its 2-3 zone, the defense that ended Oklahoma State’s Bryant Reeves’ tournament run.

Another key factor is depth. That unquestionably sides with Arkansas, which plays 10, including bigbodied Williamson, Dwight Stewart, Elmer Martin and Lee Wilson. UCLA’s rotation is seven-deep.

“We talk about 40 minutes of hell (on defense). A lot of times we don’t get that many minutes in,” Richardson said. “But sometimes 10 minutes of hell is enough.”

It’s been 20 years since UCLA’s last title, which capped the Bruins’ run of 10 championships in 12 years. “I’ve dreamed my whole life, my whole life, to be in a game of this magnitude,” Harrick said.

Standing in the way of a storybook finish for Harrick is Arkansas, which lost its No. 1 ranking against UMass in the season opener. The Hogs have been dominating in their last two games.

And, warns Thurman, “We still haven’t played our best game yet.”