Basketball (M)

Hogs handle Hawai'i in NCAA Tournament opener

March 19, 2026
Final Stats

PORTLAND, Ore. – Arkansas opened the NCAA Tournament in a flurry on Thursday afternoon inside the Moda Center, burying Hawai’i in the opening moments with an 11-0 run to start the game before cruising to an opening-round 97-78 victory.

Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 24 points and seven rebounds while fellow freshman sensation Meleek Thomas added 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Together, Acuff and Thomas are the first freshman duo with at least 20 points and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game.

Acuff continued to etch his name in the Arkansas record book, breaking Kareem Reid’s single-season and freshman school record for assists in a season with 223. Acuff also moved into second place on the school’s single-season points list with 781, only five points behind all-time leading scorer Todd Day’s 786 from his 1990-91 season.

Also during the game, Trevon Brazile cracked the 1,000-point barrier as a Razorback, now with 1,013. Add is one year at Missouri, Brazile has scored 1,164 career points.

The Razorbacks overwhelmed the Warriors in the first four minutes of the game, sprinting out to an 11-point lead before Hawai’i finally made its first basket of the day after missing the team’s first seven attempts from the floor. The freshman duo of Acuff and Thomas combined for nine of the Hogs’ 11 points in the opening run. The Arkansas lead grew to 19 points with just under 12 minutes remaining before the Warriors clawed back to within nine points. The Hogs, however, had an answer ending the half on an 8-0 run capped by dunks from a Billy Richmond III, Malique Ewin and Brazile.

The Arkansas lead never fell below 11 points in the second half as the Razorbacks rolled into the second round.

Five Hogs scored in double digits, led by Acuff’s 24 points and seven assists. Ewin notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds along with a career-best six assists. Thomas was impressive in his first NCAA Tournament game with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Brazile chipped in 19 points and Richmond 10 points.

The Razorbacks improved to 12-0 this season and 17-0 under Coach Calipari when recording 20 assists as a team with 26 on Thursday afternoon, the most this season since registering 27 in a win over South Carolina. Hawai’i entered the game allowing opponents to dish out just 9.3 assists per game, tops in the NCAA.

The win sets up a second-round matchup vs. 12-seed High Point, who upset 5-seed Wisconsin in dramatic fashion 83-82 earlier in the day. Game time for Saturday’s game against the Panthers will be determined later tonight.

FIRST HALF: ARK: 54 – HAW: 36

  • Arkansas took control early, starting the game on an 11-0 run. Hawai’i scored to make it 11-2 and that is as close as the Warriors would get.
  • Hawai’i did get to within 10 a few times, the last being 44-34 with 2:58 left. However, Arkansas closed the half on an 8-0 run, with three dunks, including a highlight-reel throwdown by Trevon Brazile.
  • Arkansas shot a blistering 61.1% despite making just 2-of-11 3-point attempts.
  • The Hogs had 16 first-half assists and five steals. Malique Ewin tied his career high with four assists. Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas also had four helpers.
  • Hawai’I stayed in the game by making 6-of-17 from 3-point range.
  • Three Razorbacks scored double figures in the first half including Meleek Thomas (14), Darius Acuff Jr. (13) and Malique Ewin (10). Ewin added six rebounds.
  • Dre Bullock led Hawai’i with 13 points.

SECOND HALF: ARK: 43 – HAW: 42

  • Hawai’i shot the ball better from the field than Arkansas, 48.6% to 47.2% and was 4-of-13 from 3-point while Arkansas was just 2-of-10.
  • Arkansas out-rebounded Hawai’i 21-17 thank to Malique Ewin getting six in the period.
  • Darius Acuff Jr. led the Hogs with 11 points and Trevon Brazile added 10. D.J. Wagner had four of the team’s 10 assists.

NOTES:

  • Arkansas’ starting lineup was Darius Acuff Jr., Meleek Thomas, Billy Richmond III, Trevon Brazile and Malique Ewin.
  • Arkansas won the opening tip.
  • Meleek Thomas started the scoring with a layup at 19:41.
  • D.J. Wagner was the first sub for Arkansas.
  • Arkansas is 3-0 all-time versus Hawai’i. The teams met twice in the 1977-78 season, playing on back-to-back days on Dec. 1 and 2. The Hogs won game one, 78-53, and game two, 79-60.
  • Arkansas is 3-1 all-time in Portland (and the Moda Center). Previously, the Razorbacks played in the 2017 PK80 Phil Knight Invitational in November of 2017. Arkansas beat Oklahoma, lost to North Carolina and beat UConn.
  • Arkansas is 53-36 (.596) in its 37th appearance (*also earned bid in 1944 but could not play).
    • Arkansas is 21-8 all-time in first-round matchups.
    • Razorback head coach John Calipari is 60-23 (.723) in his 25th NCAA Tournament appearance. He is 22-3 all-time in NCAA first-round games. He is 6-2 all-time as a #4 seed and 5-0 all-time versus a #13 seed.• Arkansas has won six straight, 11 of its last 13 and 14 of its last 16.
    • Arkansas is 6-0 in March.
    ^ In Cal’s two years at Arkansas, the Hogs are 21-8 in February and March. Getting hot in March is nothing new for Coach Cal’s teams during his career.
    ^ 60 Wins in the NCAA Tourney (60-23 — 72.3%)
    ^ 137 Postseason Wins (137-46 — 74.9%) — Including Conf Tourneys, NIT & NCAA
    ^ 183 Wins (all games) in March and April (183-63 — 74.3%)

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