Arkansas

How Auburn could beat Arkansas while noting edge Hogs bring to town

Published

1 year ago

September 20, 2024

How Auburn could beat Arkansas while noting edge Hogs bring to town

It’s been a while since Auburn beat a power-conference team.

The date was Nov. 11, 2023 and the momentum was positive for Hugh Freeze’s first Tiger team. Having beaten Mississippi State and Vanderbilt in the previous two weeks consecutively, the 48-10 demolition at Arkansas had that ship pointed in the right direction.

All the Tigers had to do was take care of New Mexico State and ride some momentum into the Iron Bowl.

About 10 months later, we know how it all collapsed from there.

So, the reunion of that lopsided evening in Fayetteville comes with a much different tone. Arkansas looked solid early this season with coach Sam Pittman’s job in question. It blew a huge opportunity to steal a road win at ranked Oklahoma State then looked mediocre last week in a sloppy win over UAB.

Auburn’s been all over the place too, so this one’s about as hard to predict as any Week 4 game.

Best case scenario: Hank Brown takes next step, Auburn keeps balance

Two weeks ago, the Auburn QB situation was in shambles. Payton Thorne threw four interceptions in the Week 2 loss to Cal so Freeze turned to his redshirt freshman gun slinger from Nashville.

The audition against New Mexico last week went about as well as could be expected on a night featuring Biblical downpours. Only six of his 25 throws weren’t completed, none intercepted with four touchdowns. That’s exactly the kind of clean sheet Freeze and Co., needed to see after the charitable passing against Cal a week earlier.

Of course it should be noted New Mexico has statistically the second-worst defense in FBS in terms of yards allowed (565.7 per game). But that’s who was next and Brown did nothing to make anyone miss Thorne.

Add in the fact Jarquez Hunter ran for 152 yards on 20 carries and Auburn will bring some real life offensive momentum into SEC play.

That said, Arkansas is much better than any team in New Mexico. The Razorbacks held the nation’s 2023 top rusher, Ollie Gordon, to just 49 yards on 11 carries in a 39-31 overtime loss. His longest run was a 12-yarder so the Hogs seem better equipped to stop the home-run rushing threat Hunter presents. (He ran it 16 times for 109 yards and a 6.8-yard average last year at Arkansas.

The Tigers should be in good shape if they can get the pass/run yard ratio in the 235-268 ballpark it tallied last week.

That’s also much easier said than done against a functional defense.

Worst case scenario: Bobby Petrino’s offense does Auburn dirty

Auburn knows Bobby Petrino.

Bobby Petrino knows Auburn. And Auburn’s planes.

Everyone also knows the former Tiger offensive coordinator was nowhere near Fayetteville for last year’s embarrassing loss to Auburn.

And for all the offensive momentum the Tigers took out of the 45-19 win over New Mexico, there were still plenty of defensive frustrations. Like the fact the Lobos outgained the hosts into the fourth quarter before gravity returned and the Tigers snatched a 146-50 edge in the final 15.

Arkansas enters with the nation’s seventh-best total offense when only including games against FBS opponents. The Hogs are averaging 537.5 yards in the games with Oklahoma State and UAB, as Petrino has added a more explosive component to what was a sleepy offensive scheme.

New QB Taylen Green threw for 416 yards in the loss at Oklahoma State, averaging 9.2 per attempt while rushing for 61 yards on 18 attempts. And last week, he nearly cracked triple digits on the ground (17 carries for 96 yards and two TDs) despite completing less than half of his 26 passes for 161 yards and an interception.

Bottom line: He’s more explosive than his predecessor, KJ Jefferson who was 10-for-16 for 116 yards in last year’s loss to Auburn.

Does Auburn have the defense to slow him when winless New Mexico managed 448 yards week ago?

Prediction: Auburn 21, Arkansas 18

This was as close to a dice roll as any and the biggest question to me concerns the top line number. Auburn wins by three or four. If I was making the pick at the end of the week, I’d probably say 28-24, Tigers but I’ll stick with the number I used Monday for our weekly staff picks.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.

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Arkansas

What Arkansas basketball’s John Calipari said about facing High Point in March Madness

Published

6 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

What Arkansas basketball’s John Calipari said about facing High Point in March Madness

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.

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Arkansas

Darius Acuff Jr. NBA mock draft projection: Where Arkansas star is expected to land

Published

18 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Darius Acuff Jr. NBA mock draft projection: Where Arkansas star is expected to land

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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Arkansas

NCAA Tournament Rd1 Preview: Arkansas vs Hawai’i

Published

1 day ago

March 18, 2026

Press Room

NCAA Tournament Rd1 Preview: Arkansas vs Hawai’i

Who: #14/15 (#4 seed) Arkansas Razorbacks (26-8) vs (#13 seed) Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (24-8)
What: Arkansas is 20-8 all-time in NCAA opening-round games.
When: Thursday – Mar. 19 – approximately 1:25 pm (PT) / 3:25 pm (CT)
Where: Portland, Ore. • Moda Center (19,393)
How (to follow):
– TV/Stream: TBS / NCAA Stream (Brad Nessler, Wally Szczerbiak and Jared Greenberg)
– Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
– Westwood One (Ryan Radtke & Austin Croshere)
– Westwood One on Sirius/XM: 211 or 204 || SXM App/Online Channel 966

– Arkansas-Hawai’I Game Information
– Arkansas Game Notes
– Vanderbilt Game Notes
– SEC Men’s Basketball Release/Stats

PORTLAND, Ore. – Arkansas, the #4 seed in the West Regional, will face #13 seed Hawai’i in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Thursday (Mar. 19) in Portland, Ore. (Moda Center). The game is scheduled to start at approximately 1:25 pm (PT) / 3:25 pm (CT) – following the Wisconsin-High Point game – and will be televised on TBS.

Arkansas earned its 38th all-time NCAA berth and is playing in its fifth Tournament in a six-year span. The Razorbacks are coming off a three-game run to win the 2026 SEC Championship.

Arkansas is 52-36 (.591) in its 37th appearance (*also earned bid in 1944 but could not play) and is 20-8 all-time in first-round matchups. Razorback head coach John Calipari is 59-23 (.720) in his 25th NCAA Tournament appearance. He is 21-3 all-time in NCAA first-round games. He is 5-2 all-time as a #4 seed and 4-0 all-time versus a #13 seed.

The Arkansas-Hawai’I winner will face the winner of #5 seed Wisconsin and #12 seed High Point on Saturday. Time and TV to be announced.

NOTES:

Arkansas is 2-0 all-time versus Hawai’i. The team met twice in the 1977-78 season, playing on back-to-back days on Dec. 1 and 2. The Hogs won game one, 78-53, and game two, 79-60.
Arkansas is 2-1 all-time in Portland (and the Moda Center). The Razorbacks played in the 2017 PK80 Phil Knight Invitational in November of 2017. Arkansas beat Oklahoma, lost to North Carolina and beat UConn.
Arkansas has won five straight, 10 of its last 12 and 13 of its last 15.
^ After a 6-3 January, Arkansas was 5-2 in February and is 5-0 in March.
^ In Cal’s two years at Arkansas, the Hogs are 20-8 in February and March.
Getting hot in March is nothing new for Coach Cal’s teams during his career.
^ 62 Wins in Conference Tourneys (62-17 — 78.5%)
^ 59 Wins in the NCAA Tourney (59-23 — 72.0%)
^ 136 Postseason Wins (136-46 — 74.7%) — Including Conf Tourneys, NIT & NCAA
^ 182 Wins (all games) in March and April (182-63 — 74.2%)

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook.

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