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Arkansas basketball is playing its best basketball at the right time, as John Calipari has this young Razorbacks team peaking in March. Arkansas rolled through the SEC Tournament and collected the conference title before heading into March Madness as a No. 4 seed, and they have not slowed down.
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A comfortable win over Hawai’i in the first round didn’t halt the progress at all for this Arkansas squad, and neither did a close test in the second round against No. 12 seed High Point. However, things are only getting tougher in the Sweet 16, as Arkansas will be faced with a massive challenge in the form of No. 1 seed Arizona.
The Wildcats won the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles and entered the NCAA Tournament on fire as the No. 2 overall seed. They had no problem with Long Island in the first round before swiftly disposing of No. 9 seed Utah State in the second round.
Arizona is arguably the most complete team in the country and is one of the favorites to cut down the nets. However, there is one thing Arkansas can rely on if it wants to pull off the upset in the Sweet 16.
Lean all the way into Darius Acuff Jr., Meleek Thomas
Sometimes, to pull off a stunning upset, you need to exploit a primary weakness on the other team. The problem with that is that Arizona doesn’t have many weaknesses. The Wildcats have a lot of experience all over their roster, so they will not be rattled by such a big moment. Arizona has a ton of size on the interior and rebounds the ball very well, with three bigs that can get the job done in Motiejus Krivas, Tobe Awaka and Koa Peat.
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Despite having all of that size, Arizona does not lack for shooting or athleticism. Brayden Burries and Anthony Dell’Orso can both get hot from beyond the arc, and Peat and Awaka are two of the most athletic bigs left in the tournament.
So what does Arkansas have to do to get the win? The Razorbacks have to lean into their strengths, which come in the form of guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas.
Arkansas does not have a lot of size or depth, especially if forward Nick Pringle is still out with a hamstring injury. During the first weekend with Pringle sidelined, John Calipari was playing just six rotation players.
Simply put, Acuff and Thomas have to be spectacular on the offensive end of the floor if Arkansas wants to get the win. Neither will be mistaken for a lockdown defender, so they have to outproduce that with bucket after bucket on offense.
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If there’s a guard duo that’s capable of doing just that, it’s this one. Acuff and Thomas combine for nearly 39 points per game and can score from all three levels on the floor. Thomas is a great shooter who plays mostly off the ball, and he is more than capable of getting loose if Arizona loses track of him or devotes too much attention to stopping Acuff.
But the story in this game will be Acuff, and seeing whether the superstar freshman can ascend from a great college player into a March Madness legend. The SEC Player of the Year scored 60 points in his first two NCAA Tournament games, including 36 points in a win over High Point where Arkansas needed every single basket.
Acuff finished fourth in the nation in scoring this season at 23.3 points per game, and he has never seen a shot that he didn’t like. You name a way that he can score, and he can get it done for you. Acuff is an incredible 3-point shooter, knocking down 44.6% of his attempts from beyond the arc on almost six attempts per game, with many of those coming off the dribble.
Acuff can also get to the basket, though he does struggle to finish at an efficient clip over bigger bodies. His midrange game is one of the best in the country, making him an impossible guard for just about anybody. Arizona has quality perimeter defenders like Jaden Bradley and Ivan Kharchenkov, but Acuff has dealt with the best defender on opposing team all season long.
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Acuff also has a track record of having some monster games when he gets going early. He has six 30-point games on the season and one 49-point game against Alabama, so Arizona will be keyed in on not letting him get confident early in the game. However, if Arkansas wants to come out on top in this game, Acuff carrying it on the offensive end may be the only way to get that done.
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