Darius Acuff Jr. sets new Arkansas basketball record in bonkers Alabama game

Arkansas basketball suffered a tough loss against Alabama on Wednesday night, falling 117-115 in double overtime after one of the games of the year. However, even in the loss, Razorbacks star Darius Acuff Jr. put together one of the best individual performances by anyone this season.

Acuff dominated on the offensive end throughout the night, finishing with 49 points, the most by an Arkansas freshman in school history. He was efficient throughout the night as well, shooting 16-for-27 from the field and 6-for-10 from the 3-point line. It got to a point where the Alabama guards could not defend him without fouling, and he finished 11-for-12 from the free throw line as a result.

Acuff’s full arsenal was on display, and NBA scouts got a look at why he is a projected lottery pick in the upcoming draft. He knocked down jumpers from the outside and from the mid-range, and got to the rim and finished at will. When Alabama sent extra bodies at him, Acuff made a number of nice passes, even on plays that his teammates didn’t convert.

Unfortunately for Acuff and company, the shorthanded Razorbacks eventually ran out of rotation players in double overtime. In addition to the injury to Karter Knox coming in, Arkansas lost four players that fouled out, including star guard Meleek Thomas. Thomas shares a lot of the ball-handling duties with Acuff, so the freshman had the ball in his hands for the entirety of both overtime periods when Thomas left the game.

That didn’t stop Acuff from showcasing his clutch gene. He drilled a pull-up 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime after a red-hot Alabama squad stormed back to take the lead in the second half and came up with points every time Arkansas needed them.

Arkansas will be disappointed with this result, but John Calipari and company are still just two games back of Florida for the top spot in the SEC. Even if they can’t catch the Gators, who are on fire at the moment, they will still have a chance to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. With a player like Acuff capable of going off in any game, nobody will want to see Arkansas in March.

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