Arkansas Razorbacks Catching Texas A&M at Wrong Time

Aggies heating up while John Calipari's Hogs struggle through injuries, needed rest

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Malique Ewin (12) and wing Billy Richmond III (24) react after a score as Missouri Tigers center Shawn Phillips Jr (15) looks on during the first half at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

The Arkansas Razorbacks may be catching Texas A&M at a poor time, although, at least in this instance, they should be somewhat rested.

After dominating the SEC for the first half of the conference season with a 7-1 start, the Aggies tripped up against Alabama, 100-97, and took a while to recover. However, over the past week, they are back on their feet after ending a four-game skid and are riding a bit of a hot streak as they head into Bud Walton Arena Wednesday night.

On the positive side, Calipari said Saturday afternoon he intended to give his guys plenty of time to rest in hopes the Hogs are back on their feet for what could be a rough outing physically against A&M.

"They will have the rest of today off, they'll have tomorrow off," Calipari said. "Monday we're going to watch tape and maybe if I need to do something to walk through on the court maybe do some individual work with a couple guys and then we'll practice Tuesday to get ready."

Arkansas expects guard Darius Acuff, who had to set all kinds of records this week to finally be named SEC Player of the Week, to spend most of that time off in a walking boot before abandoning it just in time to play the game. In addition to it being a physical battle, Calipari is expecting it to be one that is going to push some of the issues Acuff has faced while trying to recover from his injury.

Your SEC Player of the Week 🐗 pic.twitter.com/WOI1K7HApQ

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) February 23, 2026

"The good news is I have watched tape of other teams playing Texas A&M, so I have watched some," Calupari said. "They are good. They press, they scramble. They play with unbelievable energy." They're good. We've got four games left and we could lose all four."

The Agee Problem

Perhaps the biggest reason the Hogs might lose, quite literally, is because Arkansas is going to have a terrible time with A&M powere forward Rashaun Agee. At 6-foot-7, 231 pounds, he has the monster tight end type build that gives the Razorbacks severe problems.

On top of that, he has the aggression more commonly known to football players as well. There are plenty of times where he is going to catch the ball and take off for the rim ready to destroy anything in his path.

He's the kind of player whose goal is to come away with the rim hanging in his hand at some point before his college career is over. In addition to his aggression, Agee consistently knocks down around 18 points and will almost always snag 10 to 15 rebounds and block a few shots along the way.

In other words, he is the perfectly generated nightmare for the current iteration of the Razorbacks. What's worse is he has dramatically expanded his game as of late and it has directly correlated to the Aggies finding their winning ways again.

Our 12th Man showin' out so far‼️

📺 SECN#GigEm | @AgeeRashaun pic.twitter.com/TaPuS6V9Lx

— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) February 22, 2026

For instance, he has expanded his shooting range. In the win over Oklahoma Saturday, he knocked down a three early on just to let the Sooners know he could. However, as a reminder, he took out a life's worth of anger on the room when he barrelled in for a violent dunk.

He then tested Oklahoma on its dedication to guarding him at the arc again. Out of fear of getting plowed over on a drive to the basket, the Sooners held back Agee buried another three.

Fouls will be abundant

For Doug Shows' sake, it would be best if he not officiate the game between the Hogs and Aggies. Arkansas fans already blame him for everything from losses to Kentucky to not getting financed for that car they wanted.

The last thing he needs is to be put in a situation where Razorbacks fans will unfairly blame him for the extreme number of fouls Arkansas is about to committ. That is because Texas A&M is great at getting inside while teams are distracted by Agee and getting fouled while shooting in among the trees.

It happens over and over again, which means the Hogs are going to be at a disadvantage when it comes to getting to the free throw line. There won't be much room for error.

If Arkansas comes out cold either from the field or at the line, it's going to be a long day. The pesky, tiny guards Texas A&M runs out are going to cause a lot of problems and if Shows is on the floor, Hogs fans won't be able to see the cuts, scrapes and bruises forming at the hands of the Razorbacks' defensive efforts.

Instead, it will be another night of flying off the handle on social media trying to cost the man his job.