COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Arkansas’ Rout Impresses President

By the time President Clinton got to his seat Tuesday night, top-ranked Arkansas was 31 points in front and on its way to a 129-63 victory over Texas Southern at Fayetteville, Ark.

Eight consecutive points by Al Dillard ended a 28-3 run and gave the Razorbacks (8-0) a 45-14 lead with 4:25 to play before halftime.

Texas Southern (3-7) trailed at the half, 59-22, after making nine of 37 shots in the first 20 minutes. Arkansas made 21 of 41, including eight of 17 from three-point range.

The Razorback ran the lead to 74-24 in slightly more than two minutes and Arkansas wound up making 20 of 36 three-point shots.

Clinton, Arkansas’ former governor, was about 45 minutes late for the opening tip. His flight from Little Rock was diverted to Rogers because of fog in Fayetteville, so he had to drive 25 miles from Rogers.

He came away impressed.

“I’ve been watching this team and I’ve been keeping up with them; they are unbelievable,” he said. “Every time they are on ESPN, I watch them. I’m trying to figure out if there is some way I can pick them up on satellite.”

Said Texas Southern Coach Robert Moreland: “They play like they are the No. 1 team in the country.”

No. 5 Kentucky 110, San Francisco 83--Travis Ford scored 27 points to lead the Wildcats (8-1) over the Dons (7-2) at Lexington, Ky., ending USF’s seven-game winning streak.

No. 7 Michigan 102, Auburn 81--Jimmy King scored 22 points as the Wolverines (7-1) overwhelmed the Tigers (4-3) in the opening round of the Fiesta Bowl Classic at Tucson.

No. 9 Massachusetts 91, Hartford 62--Mike Williams scored 21 to lead the Minutemen (8-1) over the Hawks (1-5) in the opening round of the Abdow’s Hall of Fame Classic at Springfield, Mass.

No. 12 Arizona 111, Fordham 84--Khalid Reeves scored 23 points to lead the Wildcats (9-1) over the Rams (2-5) in the opening round of the Fiesta Bowl Classic at Tucson.

No. 13 Indiana 65, No. 25 Western Kentucky 55--Damon Bailey scored 24 points to help the Hoosiers (7-2) hold off the Hilltoppers (4-3) in the championship game of the Hoosier Classic at Indianapolis.

No. 14 Connecticut 112, Texas Arlington 72--Donyell Marshall scored a career-high 33 points as the Huskies (8-0) overwhelmed the Mavericks (4-6) in the opening round of the Big Island Invitational at Hilo, Hawaii.

Virginia 62, No. 16 Minnesota 57--Junior Burrough scored 22 points to lead the Cavaliers (4-3) over the Gophers (7-3) at Charlottesville, Va.

Florida 74, No. 20 Oklahoma State 69--Demetri Hill scored a career-high 23 points as the Gators (8-1) held off a second-half rally to win in first round of the Rainbow Classic at Honolulu.

New Orleans 63, No. 21 George Washington 60--Melvin Simon had 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Privateers (6-2) held off the Colonials (6-2) in the championship game of the Sugar Bowl tournament at New Orleans.

Fresno State 87, Washington State 79--The Bulldogs (5-4) turned a two-point lead with less than three minutes left into an 80-72 edge during a victory in the Coors Light Classic championship game at Fresno.