A strong performance from Arkansas’s freshmen helped the #15/16 Razorbacks secure an 83-79 victory over Oklahoma at the Lloyd Noble Center on Tuesday night. The win came after a closely contested second half that saw multiple lead changes and ties.
Daius Acuff Jr. led Arkansas with 21 points and 10 assists, while Meleek Thomas added 16 points. The two combined for 24 points in the second half, providing crucial offense for the Razorbacks. Malique Ewin contributed 12 points, and Karter Knox finished with 11. Trevon Brazile had seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
Oklahoma’s Nigel Pack was the game’s top scorer with 22 points, including six three-pointers. Mohamed Wague collected 12 rebounds for the Sooners.
The final minutes were decisive. With just under a minute and a half left, Pack hit a three-pointer to put Oklahoma ahead by two. Acuff responded by making one of two free throws on Arkansas’s next possession to cut the deficit to one point. After a defensive stop, Acuff grabbed a rebound and scored while drawing a foul, converting the three-point play to give Arkansas a two-point lead with 20 seconds remaining. On Oklahoma’s next trip down the court, Brazile blocked a shot and Thomas secured the rebound before hitting both free throws to seal the win.
Arkansas struggled from beyond the arc, making only two of seventeen attempts but compensated by outscoring Oklahoma in the paint by a margin of 56-30 and shooting nearly 72% on two-point field goals—one of their best performances in program history from inside.
On defense, Arkansas limited Oklahoma to just three made three-pointers in eleven attempts during the second half after allowing seven makes in sixteen tries before halftime.
Coach John Calipari is now seven wins away from reaching his 900th career victory as an NCAA Division I head coach.
Arkansas will return home to face Kentucky at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 pm Central Time on ESPN.
“Coach Calipari now has 893 on-court wins and is 7 shy of reaching 900 wins as head coach of an NCAA Division I program.”
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