Acuff Earns MVP Honors as Razorbacks Cut Down Nets in Nashville

Calipari wins seventh SEC Tournament championship while Hogs gets second, 26 years after first

Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff Jr. receives his tournament MVP trophy from SEC president Greg Sankey after the Hogs won the men's SEC Conference Tournament Championship against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Bridgestone Arena Sunday. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

There were many heroes for the Razorbacks Sunday, especially as Arkansas manaufactored a game-deciding spurt in the final six minutes to beat Vanderbilt, 86-75, and win the SEC Tournament championship at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

Arkansas' highly decorated freshman point guard, Darius Acuff Jr., was named Most Valuable Player of the five-day tournament, which saw the Hogs win three games in three days after getting a double-bye through the early rounds.

Senior Trevon Brazile was also had a strong game, especially late, and junior DJ Wagner came off the bench with consistent play throughout, including a much-needed three after Vanderbilt had taken a 55-49 lead.

Arkansas shot 57% from beyond the arc, most either made by Acuff or set up by his drives to attract the Vandy defense then kick out passes to open teammates.

Acuff made 5-of-8 from three and Brazile 4-of-5. Billy Richmond III was second to Acuff with 18 points and made his first two from deep as he netted 12 of Arkansas' first 24 points to spark the team early when they led 24-17.

Versatile Brazile Arkansas' 'X factor' in NCAA Tournament

Brazile's versatility was on display against Vanderbilt as he had 16 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, a steal and a relentless effort to protect the rim. He's the only Razorback with 40 blocks, assists and steals in a season.

NOT 'ROUND HERE 🙅‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/6ZuyuXWcLY

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 15, 2026

"He's the X factor on our team," Acuff said of Brazile. "He's the key to us winning anything. We believe in him; we want him to shoot."

But it was Wagner's back-to-back three-pointers that helped turn the tide. Arkansas coach John Calipari called a timeout with Vanderbilt up by six.

A nifty out-of-bounds play got Acuff open for a lay-up and he assisted on back-to-back threes for Wagner. When Acuff buried a three on the next trip, the lightning-quick 11-0 spurt forced a Vanderbilt timeout.

Deserving MVP for the SEC's best player all season

Acuff finished with 30 points, 11 assists and three rebounds, his third straight stat-filled performance. In three games, he avered 30.3 points, 7.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

It's even more impressive when you document Acuff's honors this season:

• First team SEC All-Freshman
• SEC Freshman of the Year
• First team All-SEC
• SEC Player of the Year

So what did Acuff do when the game with Vandy was on the line? Pretty much what he did all season.

1 of 1 😤 pic.twitter.com/vSJWUmCmzY

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 15, 2026

The game was tied at 66 before Acuff scored or assisted on 20 straight points as the Hogs enjoyed 20-6 spurt to put the game and the championship on ice.

An entertaining first half ended with Acuff making back-to-back 3-pointers — one while falling out of bounds as he was bumped — to put the Razorbacks ahead 41-39 at intermission. Much more excitement was still to come.

Tough three days make Hogs more battle-tested for Big Dance

Still, even with Acuff, Brazile and Wagner having strong games, winning the tournament wasn't easy for Calipari's Razorbacks.

The Hogs fought to three straight victories, dispatching Oklahoma, which was fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid, 82-79, before outlasting spunky Ole Miss, 93-90 in overtime, despite the Rebels playing their best ball of the season.

Vanderbilt was also on a roll, dominating the Florida Gators in their semifinal showdown. The Commordores also had a big crowd on their side against the Hogs while playing in the heart of downtown Nashville, just minutes from campus.

IT’S A PARTY ‼️ IT’S A PARTY ‼️ pic.twitter.com/VDjWyGYrwE

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 15, 2026

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the Hogs as a No. 5 seed and Vanderbilt as a 4 seed when the day began for the upcoming NCAA Tournament that begins this week.

Lunardi was also predicting Arkansas would likely meet coach Rick Pitino and No. 4 seed St. John's in a second-round showdown for the second straight season.

Calipari and Arkansas routed Pitino's team last year in the match-up of two Hall of Fame coaches who both won national championships when they led Kentucky's program.

Setting up a game like that, with one team having obvious revenge motivation, isn't how the bracket should work.

Beating Vanderbilt might've moved the Hogs to a No. 4 seed with the NCAA Selection Committee. Common sense says it should flip the teams, with Arkansas now a 4 and Vanderbilt a 5, especially since the Hogs drubbed the Commodores by 25 points back in January in Bud Walton Arena.

Time travel to Razorbacks' only previous SEC tourney title

Going into Sunday's game, Arkansas had just one SECTournament championship, that coming in 2000.

The Hogs were surely going to be sitting at home watching the NCAA Tournament had they not rallied to cut down the nets in the George Dome 26 years ago.

Those 2000 Hogs were just 15-14 in the regular season and 7-9 in SEC games. The unranked Razorbacks needed to win the SEC tourney and secure the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament to avoid missing out on March Madness for the second time in five seasons.

Freshman sensation Joe Johnson led the Hogs into the SEC Tournament at the Georgia Dome, along with senior guard Chris Walker and sophomore guards Brandon Dean and Teddy Gipson.

The Hogs won four straight to cut down the nets and punch their ticket to the Big Dance. They topped Georgia, No. 16 Kentucky, No. 10 LSU and No. 24 Auburn to take the title with Dean being named MVP.

Vanderbilt has won two SEC Tournament titles, in 1951 and 2012.