Every college coach pays lip service to his or her fan base.

There's not a coach in America at a major conference who hasn't said at one time or another that, " We have the greatest fan base in the nation, " Or, at least something to that effect.

Arkansas head basketball coach John Pelphrey went down that road to a degree Sunday after the Razorbacks stemmed the Alabama Crimson Tide, 71-67, in overtime, when he said the Hogs would not have won without the backing of their fans.

" On the road, we lose this game, " he said. " But our fans gave us so much energy when we were fatigued. We were a tired team. Look at the minutes the guys played. Our fans pulled us through. "

And you know something, the Hogs' first-year head coach was absolutely right. When the Razorbacks needed energy to finish off the Crimson Tide, they fed off the electricity generated by the frenzied 19, ™ who filled Bud Walton Arena on Sunday.

The Razorbacks fans were there when the Hogs needed them, but it was a two-way street. If the Razorbacks themselves had not primed the pump by going at Alabama with abandon, Arkansas fans might have been content to just sit and watch rather than get involved.

But every time Charles Thomas or Patrick Beverley hits the deck to dive after a loose ball or Sonny Weems slices in front of a pass for a steal or Steven Hill swats a shot, it juices up the fans.

On Sunday, Hog fans cheered as Darian Townes played perhaps the best post defense of his life working against Alabama's Richard Hendrix and Demetrius Jensen. His thefts of two entry passes to the block is one of the reasons Alabama settled for more jump shots than Tide head coach Mark Gottfried would have wanted in two games.

And what about Beverley ? It wasn't his day to lead in the scoring department, mainly due to foul problems. The sophomore sat out nearly 11 minutes of the second half after picking up his fourth foul, but seconds after re-entering the game with 4: 17 to play, he nailed an icewater 3-pointer to halt a 7-1 Alabama run.

The fans, who were getting a little bit too settled, revved their motors back up for the game's thrilling end.

No Hog fan could stay in his seat during overtime as senior Gary Ervin came through with a clutch 3-pointer and a conventional 3-point play on back-to-back trips down the floor to finally become the late-game hero he has attempted to be throughout his career at Arkansas.

Who knows if Sunday's game will be remembered as a classic in weeks, months and years to come. There have been so many great games in Walton Arena and in the Alabama series itself to make such a quick judgment.

But there is no doubt the Razorbacks and their fans were in the same page Sunday afternoon, and it paid off with a victory. Such a statement couldn't always be made in recent years.

But maybe the Hogs and their fans have reached an understanding.

If one gives the same amount of effort, enthusiasm and emotion as they gave on Sunday, the other will respond in kind.

Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.