Basketball (M)

Arkansas To Play for SEC Championship; Outlasts Ole Miss in OT

March 14, 2026
Final Stats

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – #17 Arkansas will play for the SEC Tournament Championship, its first trip to the final since 2017, after a hard-fought 93-90 overtime win over Ole Miss in the SEC semifinal Saturday afternoon. The third-seeded Razorbacks will face #22 and fourth-seeded Vanderbilt for the title on Sunday (Mar. 15) at Noon (CT) on ESPN.

Meleek Thomas, who played all 45 minutes, scored 29 points with five assists and five rebounds to lead the Razorbacks while Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 24 points and seven assists. Also, Arkansas got double-doubles from Malique Ewin (14 pts and 13 rebs) and Trevon Brazile (16 pts and 10 rebs) to advance. Ewin recorded his 11th career double-double – second as a Razorback – while Brazile had his seventh of the season, 16th of his career, second in as many games and third in the SEC Tournament.

Arkansas led for 33:48, compared to 5:23 for Ole Miss, but the game featured 11 ties and 13 lead changes.

The Razorbacks looked to have the game under control, leading by seven (78-71) with 2:38 left to play in regulation. James Scott hit a free throw, Travis Pery sank a 3-pointer and Ilias Kamardine made two free throws to cut the Rebels’ deficit to one (78-77) with seven seconds left. Arkansas had a chance to seal the win, but Thomas only sent 1-of-2 at the free throw line – the team’s only miss in the second half – with five seconds left to put the Hogs up two. AJ Storr forced OT by going coast-to-coast and finishing with a layup to tie the game.

In overtime, Arkansas controlled the tip and went up four after a Ewin dunk and two free throws. After an Ole Miss basket, the Razorbacks went up six on a Thomas driving layup and a Brazile fastbreak layup. The Rebels answered with a basket and a 3-pointer to get to within one (87-86). Once again, Arkansas had a chance to seal the game at the line, but only went 1-of-4 over two trips to lead 92-90. Storr missed a 3-pointer with three seconds left and Brazile grabbed the rebound. Ole Miss fouled Brazile and he made 1-of-2 at the line with one second left. The Rebels’ last season-heave was wide right to put Arkansas in the championship game Sunday.

Storr led Ole Miss with 24 points and Malik Dia added 16 points.

FIRST HALF: ARK: 37 – OM: 36

  • Ole Miss scored first but Arkansas scored the next four points to lead 4-2 at 18:01. That was the first time Ole Miss, which was playing its fourth game in four days, had trailed in the 2026 SEC Tournament.
  • Arkansas led for 16:54, compared to Ole Miss leading 1:06.
  • Arkansas used a 13-2 run to lead 19-9 (12:32). Arkansas led by as many as 11 (23-12) with 10:45 left.
  • Ole Miss cut its deficit to one (29-28) before a 6-0 Razorback run and forced an Ole Miss timeout at 3:32.
  • Ole Miss ended the first half with an 8-2 run, including 3 free throws with one second left, to provide the 37-36 margin at the break.
  • Arkansas had 10 assists thanks to seven dunks – five by Trevon Brazile.
  • Meleek Thomas led the Hogs with 12 points with three assists. Darius Acuff Jr. had five assists.
  • AJ Storr led Ole Miss with nine points off the bench.
  • Arkansas out-rebounded the Rebels, 21-16, including six from Malique Ewin.

SECOND HALF: ARK: 42 – OM: 43

  • Arkansas was held to 36.7% from the field while Ole Miss shot 51.6%.
  • Ole Miss only had nine assists for the game (with 11 turnovers) but has seven assists with three turnovers in the period. Arkansas only had three assists with four turnovers in the half.
  • Arkansas out-rebounded the Rebels, 21-13, and were 16-of-17 at the line
  • Thomas and Acuff both had 15 points in the period.
  • Ewin had six offensive rebounds.
  • Kamardine led Ole Miss with 10 points.

OVERTIME: ARK: 14 – OM: 11

  • Arkansas was 5-of-5 from the field, but just 4-of-8 at the line.
  • Acuff had five points while Storr scored 9 of Ole Miss’s 11 points.

NOTES:

  • Arkansas’ starting lineup was Darius Acuff Jr., Meleek Thomas, Billy Richmond III, Trevon Brazile and Nick Pringle.
  • Arkansas won the opening tip.
  • Ole Miss’ James Scott scored the first points of the game with a dunk at 19:47. Meleek Thomas scored the first points for Arkansas at 19:28.
  • Arkansas’s first sub was Malique Ewin.
  • Arkansas has played for the SEC Tournament title seven times, winning in 2000 and finishing runner-up in 1995, ’99, ;07, ’08, ’15 and ’17.
  • Arkansas is 8-9 all-time in SEC quarterfinal games.
  • Arkansas is 14-12 all-time in Bridgestone Arena.
  • Arkansas is 34-32 all-time in the SEC Tournament.
  • This was the 90th meeting between Arkansas and Ole Miss. Arkansas owns a 54-36 advantage all-time in the series, including a 25-3 mark in neutral courts and a 2-1 mark in the SEC Tourney.
  • Since Arkansas joined the SEC, the Razorbacks own a slight 32-30. Arkansas has won 11 of the last 15 in the series.
  • The Rebels defeated Arkansas, 83-80, in last year’s second round of the SEC Tourney.
  • John Calipari is 27-9 in the SEC Tourney. He was SEC Champion in ’10, ‘11, ‘15, ‘16, ’17 and ’18 and was runner-up in ’12 and ’14. Calipari is 61-17 overall in conference tourneys as head coach with 15 titles.
  • Coach Cal will be making his first appearance in a conference tournament final since winning the SEC title in 2018.
  • Malique Ewin’s nine offensive boards were his second-most in his career. He had 11 while at Florida State while facing LSU in the SEC/ACC Challenge last season.
  • Acuff had at least 20 points and five assists for the 18th time this season. That is the most by any NCAA DI players this season.

 

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