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Meleek Thomas injury update: Arkansas guard leaves NCAA Tournament game vs. Hawaii after hurting knee

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh03/19/26griffin_mcveigh

Arkansas was already fighting the injury bug entering Thursday’s NCAA Tournament game against Hawaii. Big man Nick Pringle is not playing due to a hamstring issue. Darius Acuff continues to deal with an ankle, even if the star guard continues to play through the pain. Now, Meleek Thomas is a concern for Arkansas in the opening moments of the second half.

Thomas limped off the court following an offensive play in which he landed funny. Officials had to stop the game and forced John Calipari to make a substitution.

Sideline reporter Jared Greenberg on the TBS broadcast provided an update on Thomas shortly after. Trainers appear to be working on Thomas’ knee just on the end of the bench. Not exactly what Arkansas wanted to hear at this moment.

“Guys, I’m watching Meleek Thomas get worked on by the athletic trainer, as you saw him limp off the court. He was walking towards the Arkansas locker room and then just decided to go down onto the ground. The trainers are working on him there. Looks like the right side of his right knee is being attended to. Appears to be in quite a bit of pain as the trainer works on it.”

***UPDATE*** – Positive news came out of the under-12 media timeout. Thomas is back on the court, looking to close the game out for Arkansas. Hopefully, it’s a sign of nothing being too serious, and Thomas will be good to go in the long-term.

Meleek Thomas one of two important freshman guards for Arkansas

Calipari putting together an impressive recruiting class is nothing new. He has been doing this for years now, developing younger players — especially guards. Of course, there is Acuff, who might turn into a top-five selection in the 2026 NBA Draft. Thomas has been incredibly impressive at times as well, though.

In 34 games played, Thomas has started 18 of them. He is averaging 15.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. Arkansas is one of the better offensive teams in the country, scoring nearly 90 points every time out there. Thomas is a major reason why, becoming a secondary scorer at times for the Razorbacks.

Arkansas should be able to pull through on Thursday, whether or not Acuff is able to finish out the game. But if he does not return to action, plenty of questions will be asked about his availability moving forward.