Arkansas freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. had a modest assessment of his sensational start.
“I ain’t done nothing yet,” Acuff said after the Razorbacks’ 94-87 victory at Ole Miss on Wednesday.
Some would disagree. Acuff was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the fourth straight week on Monday, and he will lead the No. 15 Razorbacks (12-3, 2-0 SEC) into their game at Auburn (9-6, 0-2) on Saturday.
A likely one-and-done, Acuff was also named the Naismith Men’s College Basketball Player of the Week.
“Just trying to stay focused and keep getting a win for my team,” Acuff said. “We have so many guys that can score, so many guys that can make plays. It’s a great team, man.”
Acuff had 26 points and nine assists against Ole Miss, and his floater from the lane gave the Razorbacks a six-point lead with 35 seconds left. He is averaging 19.9 points and 6.2 assists per game and has scored in double-figures in all 15 games this season, a school freshman record.
Acuff is averaging 23.7 points and 7.3 assists in his last six, with five 20-point games. Trevon Brazile scored 18 points and hit four 3-pointers against Ole Miss, and freshman energizer Meleek Thomas had 13 off the bench.
“What we ended up doing is just saying we’re playing through (Acuff),” Arkansas coach John Calipari said.
Arkansas had 19 assists, its season high against a power-conference opponent.
“We have really good passers who are pretty strong with the ball,” Calipari said.
Auburn has taken its first two SEC games to the wire before suffering excruciating losses, falling at Georgia 104-100 in overtime on Jan. 3 and losing 90-88 to Texas A&M in their home opener Tuesday.
KeShawn Murphy’s apparent game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against A&M was overturned after an official review. The Tigers scored four points in the final seven-tenths of a second of regulation at Georgia, when Keith Overton’s follow shot after a missed free throw at the buzzer forced overtime.
“It’s devastating,” Pearl said after the A&M game. “But I told the guys, what are we going to do? Are we going to sit here and pout about it, or are we going to get on to the next one? We’ve got something in there. They’re in the fight.”
Tigers senior forward Keyshawn Hall, at his fourth school in four years after playing last season at UCF, had a season-high 32 points to go with 12 rebounds against Texas A&M, his sixth double-double of the season. He leads the Tigers in scoring (20.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg).
Sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford scored 11 points in 32 minutes against Texas A&M, when he came off the bench for the second straight game after starting the first 13. He had 25 points and four assists before fouling out with 12 seconds left in the second half against Georgia.
“Just a coach’s decision, and some carryover from the Georgia game,” Pearl said of the lineup decision, adding that Pettiford needs to understand the expectations. “If he continues to handle his business off the floor, then (I) hope to see him back in the starting lineup” against Arkansas.
Pettiford, averaging 14.9 points and 2.9 assists, was a member of the preseason All-SEC team as selected by the league coaches.
