Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari was in awe of the toughness that one of his players showed in their most recent regular-season game, which was deemed to be a brave and bold act. On Saturday, Calipari and the rest of his 2025-26 Razorbacks squad were going up against coach Dennis Gates’ Missouri Tigers in the former’s home floor, the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the continuation of conference play.
In the post-game press conference, Calipari talked about the intensity and competitive spirit his current roster possesses. He then turned his attention to Razorbacks freshman Darius Acuff, whom Calipari commended for powering through a potential injury and still suiting up for the Arkansas-based program.
“Their competitive spirit. Now I’m gonna tell you, I called Darius into my office and I said, ‘Kid.’ He had his boot on. He didn’t practice for two days. I said, ‘Listen, if you need to take this game off this game, I’m good like I need you as we finish this season.’ So if this game, he looks at me, you know what he said? ‘Coach, we just lost. I’m playing.’ What? Who doesn’t want that guy on their team?” Calipari shared.
“Darius Acuff’s response to Coach Cal letting him know he could take today off 🔥,” @br_hoops on Instagram captioned with a fire emoji.
– @br_hoops on Instagram, February 21, 2026
Acuff is coming off of his career-high game against Alabama, in which he scored a program-record of 49 points on 16-of-27 overall shooting, the most by any Arkansas freshman. He also added five rebounds, five assists, one steal and a block in 50 minutes played in a double overtime loss to the Crimson Tide, 117-115.
Still, Acuff played against Missouri despite the heavy load, which was praised on by Coach Cal. Acuff struggled with his shot, going just 4 of 11 from the field, but he still finished with 20 points, four rebounds, and five assists in 35 minutes to help the Razorbacks to a 94-86 win over Mizzou.
The Arkansas Razorbacks Defeated The Missouri Tigers By Eight Points
Given that Darius Acuff and the rest of the Arkansas Razorbacks were looking to seek retribution for the gut-wrenching loss on Wednesday, Feb. 18, the team’s efforts, especially that of Acuff’s, were rewarded with an eight-point win over the Missouri Tigers. Coach John Calipari and Co. now hold a current overall record of 20-7 (10-4 SEC), and are now holding the second seed in the 2026 SEC standings.
