Arkansas
Arkansas basketball vs. Vanderbilt: Scouting report for SEC Tournament first round matchup
Arkansas basketball needs to win five games in five days to play in the NCAA Tournament, and any dream run will begin with a victory over Vanderbilt.
The No. 12 Razorbacks (15-16) will face the No. 13 Commodores (9-22) on Wednesday evening in the first round of the SEC Basketball Tournament. The winner will face No. 5 South Carolina in Thursday’s second round.
More: Arkansas basketball SEC Tournament prediction: How far will the Razorbacks go?
More: Arkansas basketball senior Khalif Battle hints he could return to Razorbacks next season
Vanderbilt beat Arkansas in the teams’ matchup earlier this year. The Commodores erased an early 10-point deficit and then hung on at the end to stun the Razorbacks in Fayetteville.
Here are two things to watch and a prediction for the Arkansas-Vanderbilt rematch in the SEC Basketball Tournament.
Arkansas basketball’s make-or-miss simplicity
Can the Razorbacks convert open shots? It sounds elementary, but the answer will be a huge factor in whether Arkansas advances to Thursday’s second round or watches its season come to a close in the first round.
Vanderbilt gifted Arkansas good looks at three in the teams’ previous meeting. The Hogs began the game 4-of-20 from three, which led to a double-digit Vanderbilt lead. Arkansas finished the game by making six of its final 10 attempts, leading to a furious comeback that fell just short.
Khalif Battle, Jeremiah Davenport and Tramon Mark must capitalize if Vanderbilt employs a similar scheme in the SEC Tournament. The Hogs have scored at least 80 points in five straight games, but they’ve only shot 33.3% from three in that span.
Hogs must fare better again Ven-Allen Lubin
Vanderbilt’s center scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds during the Commodores victory inside Bud Walton Arena. He shot 9-for-10 from the field and made a real difference with five offensive rebounds.
The Commodores consistently have good guard play from the likes of Ezra Manjon and Tywin Lawrence, who both scored more than 20 points in the earlier meeting. Arkansas can’t let Lubin make it a big three.
Prediction: Arkansas 83, Vanderbilt 77
The Razorbacks will play just enough defense to knock off the Commodores and face South Carolina on Thursday. Look for Trevon Brazile to be an X-factor. The stretch-four is coming off arguably his best SEC game of the season in the loss to Alabama over the weekend.
High Point Panthers (31-4, 18-1 Big South) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (27-8, 16-5 SEC)
Portland, Oregon; Saturday, 9:45 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Razorbacks -11.5; over/under is 168.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 14 Arkansas takes on High Point in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Razorbacks’ record in SEC play is 16-5, and their record is 11-3 against non-conference opponents. Arkansas has a 25-8 record against teams above .500.
The Panthers are 18-1 in Big South play. High Point ranks fifth in the Big South with 23.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Cam’Ron Fletcher averaging 5.3.
Arkansas’ average of 8.2 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.7 more made shots on average than the 7.5 per game High Point gives up. High Point scores 9.8 more points per game (89.8) than Arkansas gives up (80.0).
TOP PERFORMERS: Darius Acuff Jr. is shooting 48.6% and averaging 23.0 points for the Razorbacks. Meleek Thomas is averaging 16.7 points over the last 10 games.
Terry Anderson is averaging 16 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the Panthers. Chase Johnston is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Razorbacks: 8-2, averaging 93.6 points, 33.6 rebounds, 17.2 assists, 7.1 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 88.9 points per game.
Panthers: 10-0, averaging 86.5 points, 34.3 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 9.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.0 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Arkansas basketball is sticking around in the Pacific Northwest.
In order to clinch a berth in the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive season, the Hogs must take down an underdog brimming with confidence.
The No. 4 Razorbacks (27-8) knocked off No. 13 Hawaii 97-78 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 19. Arkansas began the game with an 11-0 run and never looked back, leading for 39:38 of a 40-minute contest.
Their next opponent is No. 12 High Point (30-4), who kickstarted the beautiful disruption of March Madness with an 83-82 victory over No. 5 Wisconsin just before the Hogs took the floor inside the Moda Center. Razorbacks coach John Calipari knows his team is in for a stiff test against a talented mid-major opponent.
“I’ll be walking the streets of Portland tonight enjoying this, but I’ve got three tapes that I got to watch of High Point,” Calipari said. “They’re good. Wisconsin found out they are good, and they’re not afraid.”
There might not be a hotter team in the country than the Panthers. They’re riding a 15-game winning streak into Saturday’s matchup, and coach Flynn Clayman delivered a fiery, confident statement after High Point stunned the Badgers.
“Looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors early in the season. Because they said we didn’t play nobody. We played somebody now,” Clayman told CBS Sports.
Calipari admitted he does have some familiarity with the High Point roster. Fifth-year senior Cam’Ron Fletcher began his career at Kentucky for the 2020-21 season before transferring to Florida State. There was a pit stop at Xavier, and now Fletcher is averaging 12.7 points and 6.9 rebounds with the Panthers.
The Panthers are led by a a pair of seniors in explosive wing Terry Anderson and veteran point guard Rob Martin. Anderson (16 ppg) has nine games this season with at least 20 points, while Martin (15.3 ppg) boasts an assist-to-turnover ratio better than 2-to-1.
After the Arkansas win, freshman point guard Darius Acuff Jr. said he didn’t pay attention to High Point’s upset against Wisconsin.
The SEC Player of the Year was following instructions from his Hall of Fame coach.
“I’ve been telling these guys, ‘You’re going to look and you’re worried about somebody in front of you, and they get beat. Then you’re playing somebody else,’” Calipari said. “That’s why you don’t even need to watch games. Just stay in the moment. Let’s stay in the five-minute segments. Let’s stay locked in.”
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
March Madness is underway and today’s college stars have a chance to cement themselves in this summer’s NBA draft class. The 2026 draft is expected to take place in late June. In USA TODAY’s latest mock draft, Arkansas’s Darius Acuff Jr. is expected to go in the first round.
Here’s how USA TODAY currently projects the guard’s draft night will play out.
Darius Acuff Jr. 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 6 overall, Dallas Mavericks
All picks based on Tankathon lottery projection
Kalbrosky’s Analysis:
Now led by Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks need to find players who can help Dallas stay competitive on offense and Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. can do exactly that. The SEC Player of the Year is excellently efficient at operating ball screens or in isolation. He leads freshmen for points created per 40 minutes (43.1) either by himself or through an assist, per CBB Analytics. He can score well from either side of the court and is among the freshmen leaders in both alley-oop assists (15) and field goals made in transition (62) this season. There is a reason rival coach Sean Miller thinks this generational guard should have his name in the mix at No. 1 overall.
See USA TODAY’s full mock draft here
Darius Acuff Jr. player profile
(all stats as of March 15)
- Position: Guard
- Current Team: Arkansas
- 22.9 points per game
- 3.2 rebounds per game
- 6.5 assists per game
- 48.6% field goal percentage
- 44.5% three-point field goal percentage
Dallas Mavericks 2026 projected draft picks
- No. 6, No. 30 (via OKC) and No. 50 (via PHX)
All picks based on Tankathon lottery projection
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