Hogs Put No. 1 Umass In Oven Pressure’s Off, Arkansas Proclaims

Here at the oversized crock pot known as the Georgia Dome, Arkansas gave onlookers a view of its pressure-cooker brand of basketball Wednesday in a grueling, intense, emotional practice. Then the Razorbacks left the court confident about their chances of knocking off the No. 1 team in the country.

“The pressure is on Massachusetts to continue to be the No. 1 team in the country,” said coach Nolan Richardson, whose 12th-seeded Razorbacks (20-12) meet top-seeded UMass (33-1) in the NCAA East Regional semifinals tonight, approximately 30 minutes after second-seeded Georgetown faces third-seeded Texas Tech.

“Massachusetts is going to need a peak-level performance to beat us. When I think of a team I wouldn’t want to face if I were the No. 1 team in the nation, it would be Arkansas.

”(UMass coach John) Calipari has to win this game. I want to win the game, but I don’t have to win. I feel much more comfortable this year than I had been in the previous year.”

When asked about Richardson’s remarks, Calipari said, “The good thing about it is, Nolan doesn’t know me well enough to know those comments don’t have an effect on me.”

But the big question is, how will the teams’ remarkably similar styles, particularly on defense, affect each other?

That will be determined by the output of several key players - particularly the guards. UMass’ Carmelo Travieso bruised his lower back and gluteus maximus in a fall off the interview platform before a press conference Wednesday. Trainer Ron Laham said Travieso had the areas iced and will probably still be sore tonight.

After being swarmed by a horde of reporters, Travieso joined his team in a free-throw shooting drill at practice. He clearly wasn’t following through at the start and hit just two of his first seven free throws. But he loosened up and finished 7 for 14 in the drill, then shot 3-pointers.

“He’s fine,” said Donta Bright. “(Tonight) he’ll be hitting 3-pointers.”

UMass held a shootaround at the Georgia Dome, having practiced earlier at an undisclosed location.

Travieso’s outside shooting will be key in the contest. UMass’ perimeter shooting helps open up the interior and prevents defenses from camping out on center Marcus Camby. The junior from Hartford, Conn., should expect another physical game down low.

“Teams have been playing me physically all season long,” said Camby, who rebounded from a late-season slump to post his best numbers in five games - 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting, seven blocks - against Stanford in the second round.

The contest is also a rematch between Camby and Razorbacks junior Darnell Robinson.

In last season’s Tip-Off Classic, Camby had 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the floor and 13 rebounds, while Robinson had eight points on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor and two boards as UMass knocked off the defending national champions.

Then there’s the matchup at point guard. Arkansas’ Kareem Reid - one of three freshmen in the starting lineup - is averaging 6.6 assists, highest in school history. He set a school record with 211 assists this season and has scored 20 points or more six times, including 21 against Penn State in the East Regional first round.

UMass’ Edgar Padilla is one of the quickest and most confident guards in college basketball. He needs four steals to become the first player in Atlantic 10 history to register 100 for a season.

Add forwards Dana Dingle and Bright into the mix and UMass has more experience at each starting position. The Razorbacks will have to rely on quality team play to pull off the biggest upset of the tournament.