Overview
- Arkansas beat Texas A&M 99–84 to move to 21–7 overall and 11–4 in the SEC after a second-half surge at Bud Walton Arena.
- Darius Acuff Jr. posted 22 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals, extending his run to nine straight games with at least 20 points.
- John Calipari questioned why Acuff is not more central in the National Player of the Year discussion, praising his late-game impact and availability.
- Acuff leads the SEC at roughly 22 points per game and has played every contest, highlighting durability that included a 49-point, 50-minute outing days after a brief walking-boot stint.
- Analysis places Acuff as an SEC POY frontrunner and a potential top-10 draft pick, though betting markets still favor Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa and KenPom’s aggregate ranks Acuff No. 10 nationally and SEC POY by its model.