Tennessee had no answer for Darius Acuff Jr. on Saturday, as the freshman guard led Arkansas to an 86-75 win over the Vols inside Bud Walton Arena.
Acuff scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, powering a Razorback squad that outscored Tennessee by 10 over the final 20 minutes to win going away. It was the SEC opener for both teams; the result gave Tennessee its first loss in an SEC opener since the 2021-22 season.
Tennessee opened the game on a 7-0 run. Acuff then scored the Razorbacks’ first 7 points to fuel an 11-2 run and nudge ahead on the scoreboard. Neither team led by more than 7 in the first half and they went to the break separated by just a single point.
Both sides went back and forth early in the second half before Arkansas broke the game open with an 18-5 run. Acuff got whatever he wanted during the spurt, scoring at the basket on the break and getting to the free throw line.
Arkansas got 16 straight points at the rim or at the foul line over the course of nearly 7 minutes of game time. Tennessee had 5 turnovers during the run, allowing the Hogs to get out in the open court.
Meleek Thomas also scored 18 on 6-of-13 shooting for the Razorbacks. Malique Ewin (12) and Kevin Knox (11) reached double-figures as well.
Tennessee was led by 16 points from Amari Evans, who hit all 7 of his shots from the field. Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 14 points, but took 15 shots to get there. Nate Ament (13) was the only other Vol to reach double-digits scoring, but he was cold from the foul line, missing 6 of his 11 foul shots.
Ament was far from the only problem at the free throw line, though. As a team, Tennessee made just 12 of 23 attempts from the charity stripe. Arkansas hit 29 of its 33 attempts. With turnovers equal (14 each) and rebounding nearly even (36-33, favoring the Hogs), the Razorbacks created separation when the clock wasn’t moving.
Arkansas (11-3, 1-0 SEC) will face Ole Miss on the road next Wednesday.
Tennessee (10-4, 0-1) hosts Texas next Tuesday.
Darius Acuff Jr. leads Arkansas past Tennessee for first SEC win Saturday Down South.
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