COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME : Edney’s Injury Called a Sprain, Bruins Rest Easy : Tonight’s game: No broken bones for point guard, so UCLA feels ready for Arkansas.

On the eve of UCLA’s chance to re-climb the summit it left 20 years ago, all the reminiscing and reverie about destiny and dynasties was replaced by anxiety, then cautious relief Sunday.

X-rays taken Sunday afternoon on point guard Tyus Edney’s right wrist showed no broken bones--his injury was diagnosed as a sprain--and Edney is expected to start tonight against defending champion Arkansas in the national title game at the Kingdome.

Edney, the dominant player during UCLA’s five-victory journey through the NCAA tournament, slammed his wrist against the floor with 12:52 left in the first half of Saturday’s victory over Oklahoma State after fouling guard Randy Rutherford.

Edney, who led UCLA with 21 points, returned to the game quickly and knifed through the Cowboy defense several crucial times late in the game, flicking in two layups with his extended right hand.

It was only late Saturday that the possibility of a serious injury arose, and, when Edney did not attend UCLA’s media conference Sunday, even his teammates seemed worried that they would be facing their national title moment against Arkansas’ famous pressure defense either without, or with a severely limited, floor leader.

“It would be hard to take,” senior forward Ed O’Bannon said Sunday. “It would be sad if he doesn’t play, but we’re going to do the best that we can.”

Could this be another break for a veteran Razorback team that has flitted from crisis to crisis this tournament, only to be rescued by a combination of opponent errors, strange calls and grace under pressure?

But about 30 minutes after the interviews were over, after answering tersely that he hadn’t received the X-ray results from the University of Washington training room, UCLA Coach Jim Harrick left the Kingdome looking far less tense.

“He sprained his wrist, (the X-ray) is negative, but it hurts,” Harrick said after getting the report. “It’s his right wrist; he couldn’t shoot his outside jump shot very well in the second half, but it certainly didn’t bother his penetration.”

During Saturday’s game, Edney, who has had ankle, knee and back problems the last two years and sat out a game against USC this season because of flu, was zero for three from the outside, though he was nine for 11 from the free-throw line.

Interestingly, Edney was limping on a sore ankle the day before UCLA’s second-round game with Missouri, and went on to produce the most thrilling play in recent Bruin history--his end-to-end dribble-drive for the winning basket.

“The wrist’s a long way from the heart,” Harrick said. “So I don’t think that there’ll be a possibility that he couldn’t go. It might limit what he can do well, probably will.

“He’s played with injuries before, and has played poorly with them sometimes, so it depends. (But) this is the kind of game, where if they open the floor, he’s the guy you really need. Because this is a tailor-made game for him.”

If Edney, who has 38 assists in UCLA’s five tournament victories, is at all limited, the Bruins (30-2) understand that, especially in a game against deep and fast-paced Arkansas (32-6), other ballhandlers will have to emerge against the Razorbacks’ tournament-hardened perimeter platoon, led by 6-foot-2 defensive ace Corey Beck.

“We’ve got guards that can break the press,” freshman guard Toby Bailey said. “Cameron (Dollar) can break the press, J.R. (Henderson) can break the press, I can break the press.

“I think different people will step up and take on the different responsibilities he’s put on himself. That’s been happening all year, people have been stepping up, and that’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Against USC, backup Dollar got the start and played effectively enough for the Bruins to win, but UCLA never got its fast break rolling and looked off-balance without Edney.

“If you would take Tyus away, we’d be a totally different team,” sophomore forward Charles O’Bannon said. “He’s the key to our ignition, and if you don’t have the key, you don’t start the car. Without Tyus, our team wouldn’t start--we’d need jumper cables.”

Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson, for his part, downplayed the part Edney’s injury would have on the game, comparing it to the fuss made over Duke center Cherokee Parks’ knee injury before last year’s national title game.

“He played the entire basketball game, almost never limped, never did anything,” Richardson said of Parks. “To answer your question, (Edney) will play. He’ll be there, just like Cherokee Parks was.”

Beyond the Edney concerns, the Bruins said they were approaching the Razorbacks and the shot at a national title without fear or apprehension.

Center George Zidek probably will get the first shot at defending against power player Corliss Williamson, who is averaging 22.6 points and 9.6 rebounds in the tournament and was the Final Four most valuable player last year.

And Harrick is clearly counting on freshmen Bailey and Henderson, in Monday’s expected high-speed pace, to score more than their combined four points against slow-it-down Oklahoma State.

“We haven’t had tension all year long; we’ve played with reckless abandon all year long, so it doesn’t bother us,” Harrick said. “I don’t think this game will, either.

“(Pressure) is the way they play every game. They’re not changing, we’re not changing. It’ll be a lot of fun if we play to our abilities.”

Though both teams play at a high speed, there is one vast difference--UCLA has made 116 three-point shots this year, while Arkansas has made 351, including 12 in its victory over North Carolina Saturday.

North Carolina got into a long-distance war with the Razorbacks, and got scorched doing so. The Tar Heels were only 10 for 28 from behind the arc, and shot only 37.5% overall from the field.

“If we have an open three, we’re going to take it, but we’re not just going to pull up on a break and start pulling threes,” Bailey said. “We know that’s not what got us here.

“If they can make threes consistently and beat us, they deserve to win the game. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ARKANSAS VS. UCLA

A thumbnail look at the key statistics for the main players in tonight’s NCAA championship game.

KEY PLAYERS

REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENT No. Frontline HT. WT. RPG PPG RPG PPG 34 Williamson-F 6-7 245 7.6 19.9 9.8 22.6 12 McDaniel-F 6-4 180 3.1 11.3 3.8 8.2 40 Martin-C 6-8 220 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.4 No. Backcourt HT. WT. APG PPG APG PPG 14 Beck-G 6-2 190 5.4 7.8 4.6 7.0 30 Thurman-G 6-6 210 2.3 15.7 2.8 15.6 15 Stewart-F 6-9 265 4.7 7.2 5.0 9.8 44 Robinson-C 6-11 270 3.8 6.4 3.0 1.8 31 E. O’Bannon-F 6-8 217 8.1 20.1 7.4 17.0 13 C. O’Bannon-F 6-6 1/2 205 6.0 13.7 4.4 15.2 25 Zidek-C 7-0 250 5.4 10.5 2.6 8.6 No. Backcourt HT. WT. APG PPG APG PPG 11 Edney-G 5-10 152 7.0 14.7 7.6 15.2 12 Bailey-G 6-5 185 1.9 10.0 1.4 11.2 No. Key reserves HT. WT. RPG PPG RPG PPG 52 Henderson-F 6-9 215 4.3 9.5 3.2 11.0 5 Dollar-G 6-1 173 1.8 3.3 3.4 3.8