Darius Acuff Jr. garnered recognition for his potential at the NBA level after putting up a spectacular performance in Arkansas' win over Hawaii in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Thursday evening.
Acuff went off on the Rainbow Warriors throughout his 36 minutes of action. He finished with a stat line of 24 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and one steal. He shot 9-of-19 from the field, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
CBS Sports analyst BJ Taylor reacted to Cuff's performance after the game. It was there during the postgame reactions segment where he revealed his stance on Acuff's ceiling in the NBA.
“Darius Acuff could be the best player to come out of this draft. In five years from now, we could be looking at Darius Acuff as that. was the best player over [AJ] Dybantsa, over [Darryn] Peterson, over my man, [Cameron] Boozer. Darius Acuff could be the best player to come out of this draft. Watch out. I'm not saying he will be, but he is that darn good,” Taylor said.
"Darius Acuff could be the BEST PLAYER to come out of this draft." @itsbjtaylor 👀 pic.twitter.com/V5mFUcq1nI
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 19, 2026
How Darius Acuff, Arkansas played against Hawaii
Darius Acuff Jr. and Arkansas continue their NCAA Tournament run, dispatching Hawaii and advancing to the second round.
Five players scored in double-digits for Arkansas in the win, including Acuff. Meleek Thomas delivered a strong performance with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block. Trevon Brazile came next with 19 points and six rebounds, Malique Ewin had 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Billy Richmond III provided 10 points and seven rebounds.
Arkansas improved to a 27-8 overall record on the season, having gone 13-5 in its SEC matchups. They finished at second place in the conference standings, coasting to the SEC Championship after beating Vanderbilt in the final.
The Razorbacks will look forward to their next matchup in the second round. They take on the High Point Panthers as the game will take place on March 21.
