Acuff Leads #20 Arkansas as Hogs’ Grit Gets Win Over LSU

January 24, 2026

FAYETTEVILLE – Darius Acuff Jr. dominated the second half, scoring 24 points (10-of-11 FG and 3-of-3 3PT) with five assists, as he scored a career-high 31 points to lead #20 Arkansas to an 85-81 victory over LSU Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.

With Arkansas down 59-56 with 9:45 left, Acuff took over.

Acuff scored 12 of the Razorbacks’ next 15 points to give the Hogs a 71-67 lead, a lead Arkansas would not relinquish.
Acuff started the run with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 59.
After an LSU basket, Acuff assisted on a Karter Knox 3-pointer to put the Hogs up 61-61.
Acuff, for the first time in his career, blocked two shots with both coming on the same LSU possession. First, he blocked one that went out of bounds. Then, he blocked a second one, got the rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup and a 64-61 lead.
Acuff then scored the Razorbacks’ next nine points for the 71-67 lead.

Later, Arkansas opened its advantage to seven points (79-72 with 4:12 left) on a Nick Pringle layup off an Acuff assist. LSU made a charge and trailed by two (81-79 with 1:54 left). On the ensuing possession, LSU clamped down on Acuff, who found Trevon Brazile for a dagger 3-pointer with 49 seconds left to all but secure the win. The helper to Brazile was his sixth of the game.

Acuff did give LSU some hope as he was just 1-of-4 at the free throw line inside the final 31 seconds, but the Tigers could not take advantage. However, the one made by Acuff, with six seconds left, sealed the win by providing the final four-point win (85-81).

The 31 points by Acuff mark the eighth time (by seven players) a Razorback freshman has scored at least 30 points (see below for full list). The 31 points overall and 24 points in a half also the most by a Razorback in Coach Calipari’s time at Arkansas. He was 13-of-19 from the field overall and 4-of-7 from deep. The 13 field goals made tied for 5th-most by a Razorback in an SEC regular-season game.

Fellow freshman sensation Meleek Thomas finished with 14 points (6-of-9 FFG • 2-of-3 3PT) with three assists. Billy Richmond III added 11 points. Brazile had seven rebounds and three steals to go along with his seven points.

The Tigers stayed in the game by going 22-of-25 at the free throw line, compared to Arkansas going 7-of-18.

All five LSU starters scored in double figures with Dedan Thomas Jr. leading the way with 18 points. Pablo Tamba finished with a double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds).

The game was originally set for 7:30 pm but was moved to a 4 pm tip due to a winter storm in the region.

Arkansas will travel to Oklahoma to face the Sooners on Tuesday (Nov. 27) in Norman. Tipoff is set for 6 pm and the game will be televised on ESPN.

FIRST HALF: ARK: 33 – LSU: 37

LSU led for 17:08 even though there were eight lead changes in the period.
Arkansas did have a 7-0 run to take a 20-18 lead.
The Tigers out-rebounded the Razorbacks 21-14 and out-scored the Hogs 13-6 on second-chance points.
LSU was 7-of-8 at the line while Arkansas was just 3-of-7.
Max McKinnon led LSU with eight points and Pablo Tamba added seven points with seven rebounds.
Meleek Thomas, Darius Acuff Jr. and D.J. Wagner led Arkansas, each with seven points.

SECOND HALF: ARK: 52 – LSU: 44

Arkansas scored at least 5-0 points in a half for the 11th time this season.
While LSU led in time of possession for the game, the teams were virtually even in the second half with Arkansas at 9:25 and LSU at 9:09.
Arkansas was able to play in transition in the second half, out-scoring the Tigers 11-2 in fastbreak points. Also, Arkansas was out-scored 24-12 in the paint in the first half but turned the tables in the second, 24-18.
There were four ties and five lead changes in the second half.
Dedan Thomas led LSU with 14 second-half points.

NOTES:

Arkansas’ starting lineup was Darius Acuff Jr., Meleek Thomas, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Nick Pringle.
LSU’s Max McKinnon scored the game’s first points on a layup at 19:43. Darius Acuff Jr. scored the first points for Arkansas, a 3-pointer at 18:55.
Arkansas’s first subs were Billy Richmond III, Malique Ewin and D.J. Wagner.
This was the 83rd meeting between Arkansas and LSU, the 73rd since the Razorbacks joined the SEC.
Arkansas has won 7 of the last 10 meetings and leads the all-time series, 45-37. The home team holds a decided advantage with the Hogs leading 26-8 in games played in Fayetteville.
Since joining the SEC, Arkansas leads 41-32 overall.
LSU joins Missouri and Auburn as the only SEC opponents Arkansas plays twice this year.
Since Arkansas joined the SEC, the Tigers are the Razorbacks’ most common opponent with 73 meetings. Ole Miss is currently second with 62, followed by Mississippi State (61) and Auburn (61), and Alabama (60).
Coach Cal now has 892 on-court wins and is 8 shy of reaching 900 wins as head coach of an NCAA Division I program.

Most Points in a Game by an Arkansas Freshman
35 Bobby Portis vs. Alabama (2/5/2014)
34 Isaiah Joe vs FIU (12/1/2018)
34 Scotty Thurman vs Ole Miss (1/6/1993
34 Scotty Thurman vs Missouri (12/19/1992)
32 George Kok vs Texas A&M (2/23/1945
31 Darius Acuff Jr. vs LSU (1/24/2026)
31 B.J. Young vs Florida (2/18/2012)
30 Joe Johnson vs Miss State (1/22/2000)

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