PORTLAND — Is there a better one-on-one player in the NCAA Tournament than Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff Jr.? Hawaii might be the first to find out.
Acuff leads fourth-seeded Arkansas into the West Region first-round matchup Thursday after the SEC Freshman of the Year starred in a remarkable run through the conference tournament bracket. The Razorbacks (26-8) take on the No. 13 seed Rainbow Warriors (24-8), who won the Big West tournament.
Hawaii and the “Big Fish” are determined to make a few points of their own, mostly on defense.
Led by Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson, a 7-foot mobile grad transfer from Utah State who had 41 points in two tournament games to be named the tournament MVP, Hawaii doesn’t do much helping as a defensive principle. They funnel the action to the lane where they have enough size to disrupt shot-makers.
But that could change with the future NBA talent carrying Arkansas through the postseason to contend with on Thursday.
Acuff was dominant in the Razorbacks’ three-game run to their second SEC title, their first since 2000. The SEC Player of the Year scored 30 points with five 3-pointers and 11 assists in the 86-75 title game victory over Vanderbilt. It was Arkansas’ second win over the Commodores this season.
The victory nudged Arkansas to a No. 4 seed and dropped Vanderbilt to the five line, where they are fifth seed in the South Region.
“Just my teammates believing in me,” Acuff said of his run through the SEC tournament. “They trust me with the ball, and I got to go make the plays. Downhill was working all weekend.”
Arkansas has reached the NCAA Tournament in both seasons under coach John Calipari. He won a national championship at Kentucky in 2012 and is 59-23 in 25 tournament appearances. He left Kentucky after the No. 3 seed Wildcats lost to 14th-seed Oakland in the 2024 first round. He also piloted one of the most infamous losses in tournament lore to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in 2022.
For that reason, he gave his Razorbacks a simple message about Thursday’s opener.
“The first game is the hardest game,” Calipari said. “After that, you get a feel that it’s no different than anything else. You stay in your little corner, one week at a time, one weekend at a time, see if you can get to the third weekend.”
Having an All-American running his offense doesn’t hurt, but Arkansas has plenty of experience behind Acuff.
Acuff, who was held out of the regular-season finale against Missouri because of a nagging left ankle injury, had 91 points and 23 assists in three games while making 12 of 24 3-pointers in the SEC tournament.
His 3 with 27 seconds remaining was the critical basket in an 82-79 victory over Oklahoma in the quarterfinals, and he scored five of his 24 points in overtime in a 93-90 victory over Ole Miss in the conference semis.
Arkansas is fourth in Division I in scoring at 89.9 points per game, and Acuff leads the SEC in scoring (22.6) and assists (6.5). Freshman wing Meleek Thomas (15.4 points), forward Trevon Brazile (13.2 points, 7.4 rebounds) and bouncy wing Billy Richmond III (11.0 points) are the other main components Calipari’s seven-man rotation.
Johnson averaged 14.1 points and 5.8 rebounds for Hawaii. He was named to the All-Big West first team in a vote of league coaches. He has 34 3-pointers and is an 88.5 percent free throw shooter
Quandre Bullock (13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds) and Harry Rouhliadeff (10.8 points) complement Johnson.
“We never wavered on character, talent,” said Hawaii coach Eran Ganot, who led his team to their first NCAA appearance since 2016, his first season. “People who love the game, love to compete and love Hawaii.”
The Rainbow Warriors’ are making their fifth NCAA appearance, the first since upsetting Cal as a No. 13 seed in 2016, their only tournament win.
“I’m happy we got mission accomplished,” Johnson said. “We still have work to do.”
–Jack Magruder, Field Level Media
