The Arkansas Razorbacks punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament following their 86-75 win against Vanderbilt to claim the SEC Tournament championship. Leading the way for Arkansas as he has all season was star freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. who has seen his NBA Draft stock shoot through the roof this month.
Darius Acuff is expected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and that belief only intensified after he exploded for 30 points in 37 minutes to lead Arkansas to the SEC Tournament title. He also added three rebounds and 11 assists while shooting 9-of-20 from the field, 5-of-8 from the 3-point line and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
With Selection Sunday officially here, Arkansas will await their bracket fates for the NCAA Tournament. With a star point guard like Acuff on their side, they have to feel good about their chances for a March Madness run.
Acuff has appeared in 32 games as a freshman, at just about 35 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 22.7 points which is leading the SEC this year. He’s also averaging 3.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists with splits of 48.7 percent shooting from the field, 43.7 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 80.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
There are several good guard prospects expected to be in the 2026 NBA Draft, including Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., Illinois’ Keaton Wagler and Arizona’s Brayden Burries. Acuff is firmly in that mix and expected to be a top 5-10 pick.
This is John Calipari’s second season at the helm as Arkansas head coach, and he’s now led the Razorbacks to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
