Arizona’s Eugene Edgerson grabs a rebound in a battle with Kentucky’s Nazr Mohammed.

 David Sanders, The Arizona Daily Star

Editor’s note: The following story first appeared in the April 1, 1997 edition of the Arizona Daily Star.

INDIANAPOLIS β€” Donnell Harris had gotten used to the pressure of the NCAA Tournament a week ago in an overtime game against Providence.

Last night, he reveled in it.

β€œI missed a few free throws,” he said, β€œbut I thought I was there for us on the boards. I thought I did my job well in helping break the press. I was loving it out there.”

A 6-foot-11-inch sophomore, Harris played 19 minutes, mostly because starting center A.J. Bramlett fouled out. He rose to the occasion, getting a critical offensive rebound with 2:26 remaining in overtime. Harris was fouled and then made a free throw to put UA up 77-74.

His offensive rebound with 1:08 remaining, and subsequent free throw, not only gave the Wildcats a 80-76 lead, but made it a two-possession game.

β€œDonnell came in and played the (middle) of our game against Kentucky’s press,” said UA assistant coach Phil Johnson. β€œHe got the ball, took care of it all night, and rotated to the right outlet man. The middle of that exchange was very important. Donnell was one of the keys.”

Harris finished with seven rebounds and eight points, and probably more importantly, did not have a turnover.

β€œWe’re No. 1, and how many teams can say that?” Harris said. β€œWe beat the champs to be the champs. There isn’t a better way than that.”

Pressure, what pressure: UA junior forward Bennett Davison said he learned so much about Kentucky’s relentless pressure defense that he wondered what kind of physical condition Kentucky’s players would be in.

β€œAs it turned out,” he said, β€œthey looked more tired than we did. People said no one had more pressure than they did, and it didn’t bother us at all.”

Arizona spends about 20 to 30 minutes a day in practice against pressure offense and pressure defensive situations.

β€œMany teams don’t do that,” Johnson said. β€œBut we do it every day, and that’s why I think Arizona historically has had success against the pressure teams, like Iowa and Arkansas. And now Kentucky.

β€œWe know knew that someday there would come a time for a game like this, that you would face a pressure team. Our philosophy is that you can’t prepare for it all in just two or three days; you’ve got to do it all year long.”

Simon stands out: With 54 points in Arizona’s two Final Four victories, Miles Simon because just the 11th player in NCAA history to have that many in two games.

The record, 87, was established by Princeton’s Bill Bradley in 1965, although one of those games was in the consolation bracket. UCLA’s Gail Goodrich has the record for scoring for a team that reached the championship game. The Bruins guard scored 70 in 1965.

More records: Simon’s 14 free throws has been surpassed only once in the championship game: Goodrich had 18 against Michigan in 1965. Arizona’s 34 made free throws in a title game is a title game record, breaking the mark of 32 by Bradley in 1954.

Mike Bibby’s nine three-point baskets in the Final Four ties for second. Only UNLV’s Freddie Banks, with 10 in 1987, had more.

Overtime champs: Only five previous national championship game had gone into overtime, the most recent being Michigan’s 1989 victory over Seton Hall.

The others: North Carolina defeated Kansas in three overtimes in 1957; Utah beat Dartmouth in 1944; Cincinnati beat Ohio State in 1961; and Loyola of Chicago beat Cincinnati in 1963.

Messing with the hair: As the game ended, Davison raced alongside Lute Olson and vigorously messed up the coach’s hair. Several minutes later, Bobbi Olson, the coach’s wife, combed it.

β€œCoach Olson didn’t show much emotion, so I tried to get him going some,” said Davison. β€œHe’s been waiting for this moment for so long. How long has been coaching? (Twenty-four years in Division I). Maybe now he can let loose.”

Less produces more: Ironically, Olson has had nine teams at Arizona finish with a better record than the 25-9 of this national championship team.

But three national champions had more losses than the Wildcats: the 27-11, sixth-seeded Kansas team of 1988; the 26-10, sixth-seeded North Carolina State team of 1983; and the 25-10, eighth-seeded Villanova team of 1985.

No team has won the national championship with fewer than 25 wins since the 1958 Kentucky team that was 23-6 under Adolph Rupp.

Over-hydration: Jason Terry may have slept in his UA uniform again last night, but he didn’t sleep through the night.

Thanks to his efforts to avoid the dehydration that sent him to a hospital Saturday after Arizona’s 66-58 defeat of North Carolina, Terry was frequently awakened by nature’s beckoning Sunday night and Monday morning.

β€œI went to the bathroom probably every three hours last night,” Terry said. β€œI drank a lot more water last night than normal.”

Two intravenous shots taken yesterday, after the hospital visit, also helped his cause.

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