COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S FINAL FOUR : Remaining Up Front With Hopes for Title : Game 1: Arkansas has the advantage in size, but Arizona says it won’t be intimidated, even with the President watching.

How big is it?

It’s so big President Clinton is going to quit rafting Whitewater long enough to be here.

It’s bigger than Darnell Robinson’s jersey.

It’s bigger than the initials tattooed on Joseph Blair’s belly.

It’s showdown time here in the Queen City, where fast and beefy Arkansas meets even faster but less beefy Arizona in what is expected to be a bump-and-run semifinal in the Final Four.

Yes, it’s probably going to be physical, especially because the only things higher than the Razorbacks are the prices at the souvenir stands.

But Arizona’s 6-foot-8, 240-pound Blair said the Wildcats have come too far to back down now.

“We’re not going to punk out or anything,” he said.

You have Arizona’s three-point shooting guards and Arkansas’ three-point shooting forwards, the subdued Lute Olson and the volatile Nolan Richardson, Arkansas’ bulk and depth and . . . well, Arizona doesn’t have either of those.

That should be enough to tilt the game in the Razorbacks’ favor; they feature players who spend their free time blotting out the sun.

Chief among them is 6-7, 245-pound Corliss Williamson, who sounded an ominous note Friday at a news conference.

“I’m just looking forward to a real physical basketball game,” he said.

He is not the only Razorback with that idea. Also hoping that the style of game is reminiscent of a compound fracture are the 6-11, 260-pound Robinson, 6-8, 260-pound Dwight Stewart and 6-11, 250-pound Lee Wilson.

The last time anything so big and so fast was in the same place, it was a tractor pull.

The Wildcats have tried their best to put up a brave front, but they know the score. They simply are outnumbered.

Take Arizona’s gunners. Guards Khalid Reeves and Damon Stoudamire scored 53 of Arizona’s 92 points against Missouri in the West Regional final. Meanwhile, Richardson can go nine deep into his Razorback trough.

Reggie Geary said the game will be won defensively, but the Wildcat guard added that the Arizona players are outnumbered offensively.

“We only have two ways to score,” he said. “They have about 10, so that’s going to make our job a little more difficult.”

Stoudamire broke Arizona’s task down into two parts.

“The key for us is to stop their outside game and their inside game,” he said.

For Arkansas to lose, it generally is conceded that the Razorbacks must wilt under Arizona’s defensive pressure, shoot poorly and get into foul trouble.

For all three to happen probably is a stretch, but that’s the hope to which Arizona clings. Blair said that the Wildcats are not going to be intimidated by Arkansas’ size and strength, not to mention their bald heads.

“Hey, it’s Final Four time and I didn’t come this far to go back home chillin’,” he said. “I’ll push you out of my way. Even if I have to push two at a time, I’ll do it.

“People have been comin’ up to me on the streets and telling me, ‘Arkansas is going to kick your butts,’ and when I hear something like that, well, that’s about what you hear just before you get into a fight.”

It might not be a fair fight. Arkansas can throw 6-foot-7 three-point bomber Scotty Thurman at the Wildcats, who can’t match him with anyone up front. Arizona’s guards have an edge, but when big Razorbacks start firing from long distance and assert their influence inside, too, the Wildcats might be in trouble.

Thurman gave Arizona credit, sort of.

“They have the best offensive backcourt in the country and we feel we have the best defensive backcourt in the country,” he said. “We’ll see who has the better night.”

Thurman said he hasn’t seen Arizona’s kind of quickness since the last practice.

“We haven’t faced a team with that much quickness in a game,” Thurman said. “In practice, we face that much quickness every day.”

MATCHUPS, STATISTICS

* ARIZONA ROSTER

STARTERS

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Yr 22 Ray Owes F 6-7 196 Jr 44 Reggie Geary G 6-1 177 So 50 Joseph Blair F-C 6-8 240 So 3K halid Reeves G 6-1 191 Sr 20 Damon Stoudamire G 5-10 156 Jr

*

RESERVES

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Yr 10 Jason Richey G 6-0 160 Fr 11 Dylan Rigdon G 6-3 192 Sr 15 Joe McLean G 6-5 194 So 21 Andy Brown F 6-8 232 Jr 33 Corey Williams F 6-5 192 So 40 Jarvis Kelley F 6-8 205 Fr 51 Kevin Flanagan F 6-9 229 Sr

COACH: Lute Olson

ARKANSAS ROSTER

STARTERS

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Yr 15 Dwight Stewart C 6-9 260 Jr 34 Corliss Williamson F 6-7 245 So 44 Darnell Robinson C 6-11 260 Fr 14 Corey Beck G 6-2 190 Jr 30 Scotty Thurman G-F 6-6 205 So

*

RESERVES

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Yr 3 Al Dillard G 6-1 170 Jr 12 Clint McDaniel G 6-4 180 Jr 13 John Engskov G 6-3 180 Fr 22 Davor Rimac G 6-7 210 Jr 23 Ken Biley F 6-6 207 Sr 24 Ray Biggers F 6-8 200 Jr 31 Roger Crawford G 6-4 175 Sr 33 Lee Wilson C 6-11 250 Fr 35 Reggie Merritt G 6-1 165 So 40 Elmer Martin F 6-8 220 Sr

COACH: Nolan Richardson

ARIZONA STATISTICS

Player G FGM-FGA Pct FTM-FTA Pct Pts Reb Ast Reeves 34 270-553 .488 203-255 .796 24.4 4.3 2.9 Stoudamire 34 212-460 .461 108-136 .794 18.3 4.4 5.9 Owes 34 171-340 .503 75-118 .636 12.8 8.0 0.7 Blair 33 149-245 .608 37-84 .440 10.2 7.0 0.6 Geary 34 92-203 .453 45-75 .600 7.5 3.7 3.4 Rigdon 33 56-118 .475 82-92 .891 6.6 1.6 1.7 Williams 29 38-81 .469 13-21 .619 3.4 2.5 0.5 McLean 33 37-100 .370 11-19 .579 3.1 1.9 0.6 Kelley 26 23-46 .500 10-15 .667 2.2 1.8 0.1 Flanagan 34 22-43 .512 25-44 .568 2.0 3.4 0.2 Richey 14 5-15 .333 5-7 .714 1.3 0.6 0.1 Brown 14 2-4 .500 1-2 .500 0.4 0.4 0.1 Ariz. total 34 1077-2208 .488 615-868 .709 89.5 41.3 16.6 Opp. total 34 922-2260 .408 416-669 .622 73.9 38.3 14.4

3-point goals--273-755 (Stoudamire 91-252, Reeves 85-215, Geary 27-86, Rigdon 23-56, Owes 17-52, McLean 17-60, Williams 10-27, Richey 3-6, Blair 0-1).

Record--29-5

ARKANSAS STATISTICS

Player G FGM-FGA Pct FTM-FTA Pct Pts Reb Ast Williamson 32 252-394 .640 139-199 .698 20.1 7.5 2.1 Thurman 32 190-403 .471 48-65 .738 15.9 4.4 3.0 Dillard 32 94-228 .412 32-40 .800 9.1 1.1 1.5 Beck 32 81-158 .513 109-161 .677 8.6 3.7 5.0 Stewart 32 101-218 .463 21-32 .656 8.1 4.9 1.4 McDaniel 29 75-184 .408 48-63 .762 8.0 2.8 1.8 Robinson 25 78-170 .459 28-49 .571 7.6 5.0 1.9 Crawford 30 84-151 .556 38-56 .679 7.4 1.9 2.0 Rimac 32 60-130 .462 11-14 .786 5.1 2.0 0.9 Wilson 28 34-71 .479 29-48 .604 3.5 3.0 0.4 Biley 17 19-29 .655 12-18 .667 2.9 2.2 0.2 Engskov 9 5-8 .625 2-5 .400 1.6 1.1 0.2 Martin 27 12-39 .308 9-13 .692 1.3 1.2 0.5 Biggers 18 5-29 .172 7-16 .438 1.1 2.2 0.9 Merritt 9 2-4 .500 3-4 .750 0.9 0.0 0.1 Ark. total 32 1092-2216 .493 536-783 .685 94.0 41.4 20.4 Opp. total 32 838-2089 .401 535-790 .677 75.5 40.1 13.9

3-point goals--289-735 (Thurman 82-188, Dillard 72-172, Stewart 35-87, McDaniel 35-99, Rimac 32-78, Crawford 15-43, Robinson 7-22, Beck 4-9, Engskov 2-5, Biggers 2-15, Martin 2-17, Merritt 1-2).

Record--29-3

DUKE ROSTER

STARTERS

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Yr 33 Grant Hill F 6-8 225 Sr 21 Antonio Lang F 6-8 205 Sr 44 Cherokee Parks C 6-11 235 Jr 5 Jeff Capel G 6-5 195 Fr 20 Chris Collins G 6-3 175 So

*

RESERVES

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Yr 3 Marty Clark G 6-6 205 Sr 30 Tony Moore F 6-8 220 So 31 Stan Brunson F 6-6 210 Jr 34 Carmen Wallace F 6-6 195 Fr 42 Joey Beard F 6-9 225 Fr 52 Eric Meek C 6-10 245 Jr 55 Greg Newton F 6-11 220 Fr

COACH: Mike Krzyzewski

FLORIDA ROSTER

STARTERS

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Yr 55 Andrew DeClercq F 6-10 224 Jr 3 Brian Thompson F 6-6 218 So 35 Dametri Hill C 6-7 290 So 12 Dan Cross G 6-3 193 Jr 4 Craig Brown G 6-3 188 Sr

*

RESERVES

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Yr 5 Jason Anderson G-F 6-4 195 So 10 Greg Williams G 6-3 183 Fr 15 Martti Kuisma F 6-11 236 Sr 21 Joel Reinhart F 6-5 205 Fr 30 Clayton Bates G 6-2 190 So 33 Tony Mickens F 6-5 220 Jr 34 John Griffiths C 6-10 219 Fr 40 Svein Dyrkolbotn C-F 6-8 244 Jr

COACH: Lon Kruger

DUKE STATISTICS

Player G FGM-FGA Pct. FTM-FTA Pct Pts Reb Ast Hill 32 206-448 .460 107-152 .704 17.3 6.7 5.2 Parks 32 175-326 .537 112-144 .778 14.5 8.3 0.9 Lang 32 144-245 .588 109-154 .708 12.4 5.4 1.0 Collins 32 105-260 .404 45-63 .714 10.2 2.1 2.3 Capel 32 100-212 .472 41-63 .651 8.4 2.7 3.3 Clark 31 95-208 .457 50-59 .847 8.3 1.9 1.7 Meek 32 35-63 .556 45-76 .592 3.6 4.2 0.4 Wallace 16 9-16 .563 8-14 .571 1.8 0.6 0.1 Newton 20 8-22 .364 7-13 .538 1.2 1.4 0.5 Beard 17 7-14 .500 7-10 .700 1.2 0.5 0.2 Moore 18 6-10 .600 7-11 .636 1.1 0.8 0.2 Brunson 6 0-0 ---- 0-0 ---- 0.0 0.3 0.2 Duke totals 32 899-1837 .489 541-763 .709 78.0 35.9 15.7 Opp. totals 32 825-1981 .416 362-521 .695 67.1 34.8 12.7

3-point goals--158-437 (Collins 72-191, Hill 35-92, Capel 28-66, Clark 16-59, Parks 3-17, Wallace 2-5, Lang 0-2, Beard 0-2).

Record--27-5

FLORIDA STATISTICS

Player G FGM-FGA Pct FTM-FTA Pct Pts Reb Ast Cross 36 176-357 .493 166-199 .834 15.9 3.8 3.8 Brown 36 188-408 .461 77-93 .828 15.0 4.9 3.1 Hill 36 172-330 .521 109-166 .657 12.6 4.8 0.5 DeClercq 36 122-226 .540 68-102 .667 8.7 7.9 1.5 Anderson 36 86-202 .426 73-117 .624 7.1 3.8 1.5 Thompson 34 83-204 .407 21-44 .477 5.5 3.9 1.3 Kuisma 36 60-163 .368 25-34 .735 4.7 2.4 0.4 Williams 36 19-69 .275 29-37 .784 2.1 0.9 1.2 Dyrkolbotn 36 27-43 .628 16-29 .552 1.9 1.6 0.2 Mickens 28 20-77 .260 8-15 .533 1.9 1.5 0.9 Griffiths 14 4-14 .286 6-9 .667 1.0 1.2 0.1 Bates 12 3-12 .250 0-0 ---- 0.7 0.3 0.3 Fla. totals 36 960-2107 .456 600-847 .708 75.3 39.9 14.2 Opp. totals 36 872-2127 .410 475-724 .656 67.9 33.7 12.8

3-point goals--192-536 (Brown 87-203, Cross 53-119, Kuisma 25-92, Anderson 9-38, Williams 8-30, Mickens 6-31, Bates 2-8, DeClercq 1-2, Thompson 1-11, Hill 0-2).

Record--29-7