Arkansas Razorbacks freshman Darius Acuff Jr. couldn’t save his program from an embarrassing loss in the Sweet Sixteen against the Arizona Wildcats. Led by six double-digit scorers, Arizona defeated Arkansas quite comfortably, 109-88/
Acuff Jr. played 37 minutes in the loss, scoring 28 points while shooting 8 of 19 from the field. He was poor from beyond the arc as he could only drop one 3-pointer out of five attempts. From the free throw line, he was 11 of 14. His effort also included three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two turnovers.
Acuff Jr. didn’t receive a lot of support from other starting members. There were only two double-digit scorers, Meleek Thomas with 17 points and Billy Richmond with 13 points.
On the other hand, for Arizona, Brayden Burries emerged as the top scorer for the side with 23 points on 7-11 shooting from the field, including 2-4 from the 3-point line. He was supported well by Koa Peat’s 21 points and Ivan Kharchenkov’s 15 points. Motiejus Krivas, Jaden Bradley and Tobe Awaka all had 14 points each.
Acuff Jr. has been impressive in all NCAA Tournament games. In the first round win against Hawai’i, he scored 24 points, followed by a 36-point outing against High Point in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
What’s Next for Darius Acuff Jr.?
Darius Acuff Jr. will likely declare for the 2026 NBA draft after a historic NCAA Tournament. He is the best freshman to score the most points in the first three games of March Madness in college basketball history.
This year’s NBA draft is loaded with enormous talent across all positions. Acuff Jr. is being considered a top-five pick for the draft. This comes after the point guard led the SEC in points per game, assists per game and minutes per game. Aside from being named to All-American Teams, he was named SEC Player and Rookie of the Year both.
When it comes to mock draft boards, Acuff Jr. is ranked eighth on ESPN’s board, fifth on CBS Sports, sixth on Sporting News and The Ringer. His top competition for the top pick will be Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer.
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