Calipari Probably Thinking More About How Razorbacks Lost Than Acuff's Night

Arkansas coach John Calipari will remember this one as much for what slipped away as the reason they were close enough to Alabama for it to matter.

The Crimson Tide out-lasted the Razorbacks, 117-115 in double overtime, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., but the Hogs finished just about out of players. With a team of only seven players expected to play, Arkansas ended up needing all nine they had in uniform.

It over-shadowed a 49-point scoring night by Darius Acuff Jr., in the major stat line of the game for the Razorbacks. It ended up being just about enough to pull out a win.

ESPN will probably have this game as an Instant Classic that basketball guys will be watching over and over, but the thing that ended up ultimately costing the Hogs was fouls. Arkansas was hit with 26 to Alabama's 17.

It finally caught up to them in the last minute of the second overtime. There would have been a third overtime if Malique Ewin had been able to finish a two-handed dunk of an Acuff miss, but it clanged off the back of the rim at the buzzer.

RICHMOND ➡️ BRAZILE FOR 2 pic.twitter.com/eD48zSnoEO
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) February 19, 2026

The Razorbacks finished the game with a couple of guys on the floor most fans didn't even know who they were. That's not a knock on Jaden Karuletwa and Elmir Dzafic, but they probably didn't get on the plane expecting to play that much in a second overtime.

"Gotta give our guys credit," Calipari said later. "They fought."

That aggressiveness ended up fouling out four Hogs. Meleek Thomas, Nick Pringle, Billy Richmond III and DJ Wagner all exited early. It was a positive sign that Wagner, who's missed a lot of time this season with injuries, could even get on the floor long enough to foul out.

Alabama got hot at the right time. The Hogs built a 14-point edge early in the second half and (pun strictly intented) the Tide turned in a hurry.

The Crimson Tide made 56% of their shots and used Arkansas’ foul trouble to their advantage. In the second overtime, they pulled away and stretched their win streak over the Razorbacks to six games.

Wagner's Corner 📍 pic.twitter.com/CrjIaCYSXz
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) February 19, 2026

Labaron Philon led Alabama with 35 points. Aiden Sherrell scored 26, Amari Allen had 19 and Aden Holloway added 15. The Tide did most of their damage inside, scoring 58 points in the paint.

Free throws also played a big part. Alabama made 27 of 34 from the line. Arkansas made 16 of 19, but didn’t get as many chances. That difference helped Alabama stay in control late.

For the Hogs, three players carried the scoring load. Thomas scored 24 points before fouling out. Billy Richmond added 20. The three of them combined for 81% of Arkansas’ total points.

If the Hogs could have kept more players on the floor it might have been different, but it was a fast, physical type of game. Arkansas' defense couldn't do much of anything to slow down Philon.

"He just kept going left," Calipari said on not being able to stop what they knew was coming. "I proud of our guys tonight."

Acuff had a strong shooting night. He made 16 of 27 shots from the field, hit 6 of 10 from 3-point range and went 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. His effort kept the Razorbacks close, but it wasn’t enough to stop Alabama in the end.

The bigger problem was when the Razorbacks did stop Alabama, they couldn't do it without fouling.

Calipari tends to remember things like that as much or more than Acuff's huge night.