Darius Acuff Jr. Repeats as USBWA National Player of the Month

April 15, 2026

USBWA Release Darius Acuff Jr. Bio/Stats

FAYETTEVILLE – Darius Acuff Jr. capped his career playing his best basketball, leading him to be named Oscar Robertson National High-Major Player of the Month for March, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced today.

High Point’s Rob Martin was tabbed the Oscar Robertson National Mid-Major Player of the Month for March.

Acuff averaged a college basketball-best 29.6 points in the month of March, which included an SEC Tournament championship and run to the NCAA Sweet 16. He also put up 7.4 assists and shot a scorching 47.9% from 3-point range in the final four weeks of his college career.

Acuff earned the same honor for the month of February as he averaged 27.3 points and 6.1 assists.

For the months of February and March, Acuff played in 14 games and he averaged 28.4 points and 6.8 assists while shooting 48.3% from 3-point range. He scored at least 20 points in 13 of the 14 games (scoring 17 in the other), including five 30-point games and his 49-point game at Alabama. He also had at least five assists in 13 of the 14 games, including double-doubles versus Texas (28 points and 13 assists) and Vanderbilt in the SEC title game (30 points and 11 assists).

Acuff won the Bob Cousy Award, was a unanimous first team All-America this season and is a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award. He was the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year as well as the SEC Tournament MVP.

Acuff led Arkansas to the SEC Tournament Championship (the program’s second tourney title and first since 2000), 28 overall wins (the program’s most since 1994-95), 13 SEC wins (tying the program’s second-most since joining the league) and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.

Darius Acuff Jr. Highlights

Winner of the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard.
A finalist for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy.
Unanimous first-team All-American by the Sporting News, the Associated Press, the USBWA and the NABC as well as six other organizations/publications.
Named the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year. Is just the third player to sweep those awards in the same season with Kentucky’s Anthony Dais (2012) and Alabama’s Brandon Miller (2023).
Set Arkansas single-season records for points (845) and assists (232).
– His 845 points rank 9th on the SEC single-season list
– His 232 assists rank 9th (tied) on the SEC single-season list
– Is the only player on the SEC single-season top 10 lists for both points and assists
Joined Pete Maravich as the only players in SEC history to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season.
Ranked 3rd in the NCAA in points per game (23.47), leading the SEC and ranking 2nd among NCAA freshmen
Ranked 14th in the NCAA in assists per game (6.44), leading the SEC and ranking 2nd among NCAA freshmen
Ranked 10th in the NCAA in 3-point percentage (44.0%), ranking second in the SEC and 2nd among NCAA freshmen
Was the only player in the NCAA to average at least 20 points and 6 assists. Was 1 of 4 players to shoot at least 48% from the field and 44% from 3-point range.
Overall, averaged 23.47 points and 6.44 assists. However, his numbers improved 24.82 points and 6.65 in SEC games and, versus Arkansas’s 12 AP top-25 opponents, Acuff averaged 24.25 points and 6.33 assists.
Had at least 20 points and 5 assists in 21 games, the most my any NCAA DI player.
Acuff and Oklahoma’s Trae Young (2017-18) are the only two freshmen this century in Power 5 conferences to average 23+ PPG and 6+ APG. Also, Acuff’s 4 games with at least 20 points and 6 assists in the same game are 2nd-most ever by an NCAA Freshman behind Young’s 11.
Is the 27th player in NCAA D1 men’s history to get 700+ points, 200+ assists & 100+ rebounds in a season.
At the SEC Tournament, averaged a record 30.3 points per game. His 91 points were the 2nd-most by any player in SEC Tournament history, but the most by a player to only play three games. (Allan Houston scored a record 98 points in 4 games.)
At the NCAA Tournament, is the only player to have 60+ points, 10+ assists & 5 or fewer turnovers over any 2-game span in the NCAA Tournament (since assists became official in 1983-84).
Joined Derrick Rose and Chris Paul as the only freshmen since 2004 with multiple NCAA Tourney games with at least 20 points and 5 assists.
Scored the most points by a freshman in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament with 60 (24 vs Hawai’i and 36 vs High Point).
His 6 points/assists double-doubles this year are the most by a Razorback.
Had three games with at least 20 points and five assists with 1 or fewer turnovers. In fact, at Alabama, he had 49 points, five rebounds, five assists and one turnover while playing all 50 minutes of the double overtime game. The only other NCAA DI player and/or NBA player to reach those total was Kobe Bryant when he had 47 points, eight rebounds, five assists and one turnover whole playing all 48 minutes versus Portland (4/10/13).
In 36 games played, led the Hogs in scoring 24 times and assists 31 times. Also, he scored at least 20 points 26 times – including 5 30-point games and 1 40-point game; made a 3-pointer in 35 games, including 16 games making 3-plus; ad 3-plus assists in 34 games, including 28 games with 5-plus; and five game with 5-plus rebounds.
Set 11 Arkansas freshman season records and ranked among the programs’ all-time top 10 single-season lists for points (1st), assists (1st), field goals attempted (1st), field goals made (2nd), points per game (3rd), 3-point percentage (7th), free throws made (9th) and 3-pointers made (T-9th). In SEC games only, Acuff set school single-season records for scoring average, assists, field goals made and field goal attempts whole ranking second in total points (422 points in 17 games behind Mason Jones’s 424 points in 18 games), sixth in free throws made and seventh in free throw attempts.

ACUFF’S POSTSEASON HONORS

Bob Cousy Award Winner
John R. Wooden Award Finalist
Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Finalist
Lute Olson Award Finalist
Kyle Macy Award Finalist
1st Team All-American (AP)
1st Team All-American (USBWA)
1st Team All-American (The Sporting News)
1st Team All-American (NABC)
Wooden Award All-America (1, 10-player team)
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Starting Five
1st Team All-American (CollegeHoopsToday)
1st Team All-Rolls Royce (Dick Vitale)
1st Team All-American (Field of 68)
1st Team All-American (Bleacher Report)
1st Team All-Southeast District (NABC)
1st Team All-SEC (Coaches)
1st Team All-SEC (AP)
1st Team All-SEC (CollegeHoopsToday)
1st Team All-SEC (USA TODAY Sports Network)
SEC Player of the Year (Coaches)
SEC Player of the Year (AP)
SEC Freshman of the Year (Coaches)
SEC Freshman of the Year (AP)
SEC Player of the Year (CollegeHoopsToday)
SEC Player of the Year (HoopsHD)
SEC Player of the Year (USA TODAY Sports Network)
SEC Newcomer of the Year (USA TODAY Sports Network)
SEC Rookie of the Year (HoopsHD)
SEC Tournament MVP
SEC All-Tournament Team

OTHER NATIONAL HONORS

Naismith National Player of the Week (1/5)
AP National Player of the Week (2/24)
USBWA co-National Player of the Week (2/24)
Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (12/5)
Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (1/5)
Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (2/16)
NCAA March Madness National Freshman of the Week (1/5)
CBS Sports National Freshman of the Week (1/6)
CBS Sports National Freshman of the Week (2/24)
Oscar Robertson High Major National Player of the Month (February)
Oscar Robertson High Major National Player of the Month (March)

SEC WEEKLY HONORS

Freshman of the Week (12/8)
Freshman of the Week (12/15)
Freshman of the Week (12/22)
Freshman of the Week (1/5)
Freshman of the Week (1/12)
Freshman of the Week (1/26)
Freshman of the Week (2/16)
Player of the Week (2/23)

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