Arkansas doesn't get lot of respect from SEC coaches in preseason

Razorbacks settle for trio of third-team honors in preseason coaches poll

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Karter Knox (11) dribbles the ball up the court against the Memphis Tigers during the second half at FedEx Forum. / Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

Arkansas was left off the All-SEC First and Second Team in the annual coaches poll, the league announced in a press release Thursday

Three Razorbacks were named to the Third Team. Darius Acuff Jr, Karter Knox and D.J. Wagner all received preseason honors. Arkansas was one of two teams to put three players on the three respective teams, along with defending national champion Florida.

Former Razorback Boogie Fland, who transferred to Florida in the offseason after spending his freshman season in Fayetteville, gained Second-Team honors. His new teammates Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh made the First and Third-Teams respectively after cutting down the nets last year.

Florida Gators forward Thomas Haugh talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Alabama and Tennessee each had two players named to the three all-conference teams consisting of 15 players. Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Auburn, Missouri and Kentucky each had one player.

Acuff has already impressed in the two preseason exhibitions against Memphis and Cincinnati, scoring 17 points in each game. He was also recently named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, given to the top point guard in the country.

Acuff was also just one of two freshmen to get All-SEC honors along with Tennessee's Nate Ament, who heavily considered Arkansas before choosing Rick Barnes and the Volunteers over Calipari and the Razorbacks.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) handles the ball against Memphis Tigers guard Dug McDaniel (1) during the second half at FedEx Forum. / Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

Wagner enters his third season under Calipari after starting all 36 games during the 2023-24 and averaging 11.2 points in his sophomore season. Wagner scored two points in the exhibition against Cincinnati before scoring eight in Memphis against the Tigers.

Knox is also one of 20 players on the Julius Erving Award watch list, given to the top small forward in the country. He scored 13 points against Cincinnati and 10 points against Memphis. In each of the two scrimmages, he led the team in +/-.

Arkansas starts the season No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and one place higher in the AP Poll. Only two teams in the SEC are ranked higher than the Razorbacks in the AP Poll (No. 3 Florida and No. 9 Kentucky).

The Razorbacks' non-conference schedule is set to include all four non-SEC teams from the Elite Eight last year, starting with No. 22 Michigan State in just over a week on the road. The Razorbacks will also face Duke on Thanksgiving Day before facing Texas Tech and Houston in back-to-back weeks in December in neutral site games.

Knox and Wagner were both also named to the All-SEC Third Team by the media. The Hogs were projected to finish fifth in the conference.

The full SEC teams can be found below:

First Team:

Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama

Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn

Alex Condon, Florida

Otega Oweh, Kentucky

Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State

Second Team:

Boogie Fland, Florida

Malik Dia, Ole Miss

Mark Mitchell, Missouri

Nate Ament, Tennessee

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee

Third Team:

Aden Holloway, Alabama

Darius Acuff Jr, Arkansas

Karter Knox, Arkansas

D.J. Wagner, Arkansas

Thomas Haugh, Florida

Oweh was also named preseason Player of the Year.

Arkansas will begin its season against Southern with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.

HOGS FEED:

feed