Acuff Ties SEC Record with 6th Freshman of the Week Honor

January 26, 2026

FAYETTEVILLE – Darius Acuff Jr. averaged 24 points and 5.5 assists in leading Arkansas to wins over #15 Vanderbilt and LSU to earn his record-tying sixth SEC Freshman of the Week honor. It marks his sixth such honor in the last seven weeks.

Five other players also earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors six times include James Robinson (Alabama) – 1991; Brandin Knight (Kentucky) – 2011; Bradley Beal (Florida) – 2012; Jabari Smith (Auburn) – 2022; and Brandon Miller (Alabama) – 2023.

Acuff was particularly impressive in the second half of both wins as he averaged 16.5 points and 5.0 assists while shooting 87.5% from the field (14-16 FG) and 80% from 3-point range (4-5 3PT).

Acuff started the week by leading the Razorbacks with 17 points in a dominating 93-68 win over #15 Vanderbilt. He was 4-of-5 from the field in the second half and had all five of his assists in the final 20 minutes.

Versus LSU, Acuff scored a career-high 31 points with six assists and a career-high two blocked shots. He scored 24 points in the second half (10-of-11 FG • 3-3 3PT) with five of his six assists. Specifically, Acuff missed his first shot attempt in the second half, then made his final 10 field goals to close the game.

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 62-61.
Acuff 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.
Including that layup, Acuff scored nine-straight points for the Razorbacks 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 31 points by Acuff mark the eighth time (by seven players) a Razorback freshman has scored at least 30 points. 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 ties for 5th-most by a Razorback in an SEC regular-season game.

Arkansas returns to action on Tuesday (Jan. 27) at Oklahoma. Tipoff is set for 6 pm and the game will be televised on ESPN.

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