Another Nail-biter That Ends Up in Win Could Pay Arkansas Razorbacks Big Benefits

With the way Arkansas is turning to freshmen Meleek Thomas and Darius Acuff Jr. this season, it wasn't that surprising John Calipari put the game in their hands late.

After numerous weeks of Acuff earning Freshman of the Week honors by being the man late, this time it was Thomas who got to come through in the clutch. With 11 seconds left, the Razorbacks grabbed an 81-79 lead, forcing Oklahoma to foul to have any kind of shot.

They went for Thomas, placing any prayers they had left on the usually a smart move of fouling freshmen to face the pressure of having to deliver at the line to put away a game. His first free throw got nothing but the net going down to make it a three-point game at 82-79.

Then Calipari took a timeout. Wait, what?

"He has an other-worldly belief in himself," Calipari said. "Confidence. It's not normal. There is nothing I can say that will make him think he can't do something.

"I won't even try. I'll just look and smile. Why would I call that timeout when he had one more free throw? Because I had all the faith in the world he was going to make it."

Thomas finished with 16 points, but his final two were the most important. It also proved to the the game-clincher.

Making strides. No backing up. 📈 pic.twitter.com/fs19gAPSFK
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) January 28, 2026

Acuff Jr. led Arkansas with 21 points and nine assists, controlling the pace and keeping the offense moving when possessions tightened late. His ability to attack off the dribble created openings, even when the Sooners tried to crowd him.

For the Sooners, they are playing about like the Hogs did at the start of SEC play last year. Calipari has noticed that and couldn't point that out enough.

"They are going through exactly what we went through a year ago," Calipari said. "My guess is I wouldn't want to play these guys the next couple of games."

The Razorbacks won't have to do that because they have Kentucky coming to Bud Walton Arena Saturday after getting absolutely hammered by Vanderbilt, 80-55, in Nashville.

It's a game where the media and fans will get all pumped up about the fact Calipari is coaching the Hogs, but he didn't think it's that big of a deal in his second season.

4️⃣ Hogs finished in double digits

Acuff - 21
Thomas - 16
Ewin - 12
Knox - 11 pic.twitter.com/1iiEwEcTu2
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) January 28, 2026

In other words, everybody has accepted it and moved on. That doesn't include the rabid fans, who won't accept much of anything that doesn't fit the narratives. The media loves to find these angles for their stories, so it will be a big deal.

Maybe the biggest thing of all is Arkansas has now won two SEC road games in January. That's a huge deal, especially in a game the Razorbacks didn't have to win, but couldn't really afford to lose.

That sounds like a contradiction, but it's really simple. Coaches are starting to play the angles for the NCAA Tournament seeding at the end of the year.

The win over Oklahoma was a Quad 1 win for the Razorbacks. Those add up when it comes to March and the selection committee is trying to figure out how high to seed the Hogs.

Callipari knows all of that, but it's way too early to start being obvious about it. He also knows the value having a freshman step to the line in a regular-season road game and have success.

That's how you advance in those games in March. Calipari knew all that and he's confident it leads to wins then.

Which counts an awful lot more than these games in January.

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