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Arkansas

John Calipari highlights Darius Acuff as difference in NCAA Tournament win over High Point

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh03/22/26griffin_mcveigh

High Point gave Arkansas everything it could handle on Saturday night. After upsetting Wisconsin as the 12-seed on Thursday, High Point just did not have enough in the tank to do it again. Arkansas heads to the Sweet Sixteen once again under head coach John Calipari. The major accomplishments continue to rack up in Fayetteville.

One of them is the development of point guard Darius Acuff. Another example of his brilliance was on display out in Portland. Calipari was asked what made the difference in getting the win during his postgame interview, making it pretty obvious who he thought stood out.

“Think it’s that kid Darius Acuff,” Calipari said. “We put it in his hands and I trust him and the team trusts him… What you saw is what he means.”

Acuff was his normal self throughout the game, putting together a great all-around performance. He shot 50% from the field on 22 shots, putting up 36 points. Two free throws in the closing moments were icing on the cake as well. Those are numbers we are used to seeing from Acuff at this point.

The late-game shot-making was incredible from Acuff too. Outside of those free throws, bucket after bucket came from the freshman as Arkansas looked to pull away.

But for all the talk of individual performance, Acuff remains incredibly team-focused. He told the TBS broadcast that only one thing is on his mind in these moments — winning. Making sure Arkansas can stay alive is what Acuff wants more than anything.

“Winning, that’s the only thing on my mind,” Acuff said. “Whatever I got to do to get my team to win, that’s what I’m going to do… It’s been a great journey. A lot of learning, I’m going to keep learning. It’s been great playing with these guys. Like I always said, I love playing with them. So, want to continue that.”

Thankfully for him, they will. Arkansas heads to San Jose for the Sweet Sixteen on either Thursday or Friday. As of now, the opponent is not yet known. One-seed Arizona faces Utah State to determine who the Razorbacks will play. A fun one should take place in San Diego.

Whoever advances will know exactly who is priority No. 1 on the defensive end. Calipari clearly trusts what Acuff is able to do. And then Acuff is more than capable of executing at the right moment.