January_1989

The first big win of the Mayberry-Day-Miller era. The young Hogs had looked good in close road losses to Virginia and Missouri, but were still underdogs when they traveled to Texas to take on Tom Penders’ first Longhorn squad. Penders—or “Sweet Tom,” as Nolan would later derisively label him—had guided Rhode Island to a surprise appearance in the Sweet 16 the year before, and there was a lot of hype surrounding his taking the reigns of a talented Texas team.

By the end of the afternoon, however, the Razorbacks had served notice that they were putting the struggles of the past few seasons behind them. This win was a strong indication that, after a slow and often painful start, the Nolan Richardson era was finally ready to take off.