Tar Heels Not Exactly Dragging : Midwest Regional: North Carolina in an unusual role of spoiler against Arkansas.

Part of Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson’s preparation for facing North Carolina in the semifinals of the NCAA’s Midwest Regional here involved reminding his players that they will not--repeat, not--be playing a team that has anything to do with those Air Jordan posters they have on their dormitory walls.

“We’ve talked to our players about playing North Carolina players, not North Carolina,” Richardson said. “Rice and Fox are not Jordan and Daugherty.”

Not that the Razorbacks should need a lecture to know that nobody resembling Michael Jordan will be on the floor for the Tar Heels (21-12) tonight at Reunion Arena.

North Carolina’s 12 losses this season mark the first time a Tar Heel team has lost that many games since 1964. The Tar Heels’ lone marquee name, Phil Ford, sits at the end of the bench--once an All-American point guard, now an assistant coach. They ended the regular season unranked and, in some quarters, unloved.

The Tar Heels, the No. 8 seeded team in the Midwest, reached the NCAA’s Sweet 16 by stunning top-ranked Oklahoma, the top-seeded team in the region, in the tournament’s second round on Rick Fox’s last-second shot. Should they get past the Razorbacks (28-4), the region’s fourth-seeded team, the result might be considered even more surprising.

For one thing, Arkansas fans, known for their unswerving loyalty as well as those funny looking hog hats, are expected to make up 75% of the crowd tonight in Reunion, a building in which the Razorbacks have won two consecutive Southwest Conference tournament titles.

On top of that, North Carolina will be without forward Kevin Madden, who tore a ligament in his right knee during a one-on-one drill Monday.

Playing the role of tournament spoiler is something new for the Tar Heels. In 29 seasons as North Carolina coach, Dean Smith has put 20 teams into the NCAA tournament and seven of them have advanced to the Final Four.

But, last week aside, this season has been one of inconsistency in Chapel Hill.

Smith puts some of the blame on himself for “over-scheduling” early in the season, when the Tar Heels were beaten by Missouri, Alabama, Georgetown, Iowa and Colorado State.

“I object when people say a team should do this or that,” he said Wednesday. “Take that schedule, let your favorite team play it and see if it doesn’t have a few losses.”

Much of the heat has been directed at King Rice, the Tar Heels’ junior point guard, a 40% shooter during the regular season. Against Oklahoma, Rice made five of eight shots and didn’t cave in against the Sooners’ defensive pressure. But he must perform at a comparable level against an Arkansas team that is just as quick as Oklahoma.

“The key to the game is King Rice’s performance,” Arkansas forward Todd Day said. “If we get after him, cause a lot of turnovers or fatigue, they don’t have too many other point guards to go to.”

Said Razorback point guard Lee Mayberry: “King Rice plays a lot of minutes. Maybe we can get him tired. Maybe they’ll get sloppy down the stretch.”

Again, Smith would like to object to all the Rice-bashing.

“No. 1, Dick Vitale said that King would be the next whatever,” he said. “He also said (former North Carolina guard) Jeff Lebo would be the next Jerry West. King has never come under criticism from us because he has done so much of everything we expected from him when we tried so hard to recruit him.”

The strength of this North Carolina team lies with its front-court players--6-11 Scott Williams and 6-9 Pete Chilcutt in particular--and, according to Rice, the Tar Heels struggled early because they didn’t play to that strength.

“Guys on the team have just realized their roles a lot better,” he said. “Our strong point is getting the ball inside. Once we realized our roles, we really pulled through. Then a guy like Kevin Madden, who had big, big numbers last season sacrifices those for the team.”

Madden, a senior who averaged 14.6 points a year ago and 10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds this season, was a quiet force for the Tar Heels, playing good defense and making plays in pressure situations.

Although the impact of Madden’s injury remains to be seen--”You really lose your chemistry when you lose that type of role player,” Smith said--Madden, for one, remains upbeat.

He is in Dallas and attending all team functions with a massive brace on his right leg.

Surgery?

“Whenever we finish the season,” he said. “So, hopefully, that will be in two weeks.”