Hogs, Gators Showdown Also Features Player of the Year Contenders

Arkansas' Acuff, Florida's Haugh Headliners Game That Could Clinch Share of SEC Title for Gators

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. celebrates with the bench after coming out of the game in he final minute of the Hogs' 99-84 victory against theTexas A&M Aggies at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Will the Arkansas Razorbacks play spoiler or falter down the stretch against another national title contender tonight in Florida's O-Dome?

Darius Acuff Jr. has the opportunity to stake an undeniable claim as SEC Player of the Year if he can perform better than the Gators' best man, Thomas Haugh. The Florida forward has the ability to dominate the Hogs in this marquee match-up with his 17 points and six rebounds per game.

The game's winner will likely be determined by which of those two stars imposes his will in this game pitting Arkansas' high-scoring offense against Florida's defense, which is best in the SEC.

Acuff, at 6-foot-2, leads the SEC in scoring (22.2 per game), assists (6.2) and assists-to-turnover ratio (3.2). Haugh is only 13th in scoring (16.9) and 21st in rebounding (6.0) but he's the emotional leader and best player on the best team in the league.

Can Hogs prevent Gators from clinching SEC title?

No. 7 Florida (22-6, 13-2 in the SEC) will clinch at least a share of the regular-season SEC title by beating No. 20 Arkansas (21-7, 11-4), which has identical records with Alabama. If the Hogs win, they've got a shot to tie for the crown by finishing with a pair of wins and Florida losing once. Alabama has to win out and hope the Gators lose twice.

Arkansas finishes its regular season at home against Texas and at Missouri. Florida hosts lowly Mississippi State and travels to Kentucky.

Red-hot Florida has whipped eight consecutive opponents and 13-of-14, winning 11 by at least 13 points. The only close ones were by four at No. 25 Vanderbilt and at home by nine against Kentucky.

Two of Florida's losses are 67-66 to No. 1 Duke in Durham, N.C., in the SEC-ACC Challenge and by 77-73 to No. 5 UConn in New York City.

Arkansas' toughest losses were by nine to both Duke in Chicago and No. 5 Houston in Newark, N.J., although the Hogs had their chances, as they did in a three-point loss at No. 13 Michigan State. All three are potential Final Four teams this year.

Dykes call Florida star "most versatile" player in the SEC

One of the Gators' best wins was a 100-77 trouncing of Alabama in Gainesville. On that broadcast, Arkansas native and ESPN broadcaster Jimmy Dykes called Haugh "the most versatile player, I think, in this league."

Escaping with a road win in the raucous O-Dome is a tough task, but Arkansas coach John Calipari looks to lead his fiesty Razorbacks to the upset.

Being in contention is a far cry from last season, Calipari's first in Fayetteville, when the Hogs were scrapping to the end just to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed. They beat No. 7 Kansas and No. 2 St. John's to reach the Sweet 16, but it was Florida that cut down the nets for the school's third men's basketball championship.

With the SEC's best defense, perhaps the league's best front court, plus Haugh, Florida is good enough to repeat as champion, which would match the Gators' back-to-back titles in 2006-07 when Billy Donovan was coach.

Well-rounded Gators are heavy favorite over Hogs

This is arguably a battle between the SEC's two best teams, but the Gators are a 9.5-point favorite. That's because Florida has been trouncing opponents and Arkansas, like many teams, is mostly mediocre on the road.

Still, the Razorbacks have won five of their last six and eight of 10. That includes road triumphs in three of the last four, those coming against SEC bottom feeders Oklahoma, Mississippi State and LSU.

The Hogs almost escaped with a win at Alabama in their most recent road trip, thanks to Acuff's 49-point heroics while playing all 50 minutes in a double-overtime loss. That performance nearly cinched SEC Player of the Year honors for the incredibly consistent guard from Detroit.

Will Fland boogie against former coach, teammates?

Acuff might be matched up against last year's Arkansas point guard, 6-foot-3 Boogie Fland, who transferred to Florida when his NBA stock fell dramatically last year after a breaking a hand.

Fland has played better of late, but is shooting just 43% from the floor (that's bad), 21% from beyond the three-point arc (that's horrible), and 74% at the free-throw line. Acuff nets 50% from the field, 43% on threes, and 80% at the charity stripe, all terrific numbers.

Fland is the Gators' third-leading scorer (11.5 per game) behind Haugh (16.9) and 6-foot-11 junior Alex Condon (14.3) and just ahead of 6-foot-4 guard Xaivian Lee (11.4) and 6-foot-10 junior Reuben Chinyelu (11.3).

Both teams have a relatively short bench with Florida coach Todd Golden employing a rotation of eight. Calipari did the same all season until forward Karter Knox's knee injury. Arkansas will need solid performances from everyone to beat the Gators.

That means Billy Richmond III and Meleek Thomas must score and take care of the ball while DJ Wagner provides a spark off the bench. Versatile forward Trevon Brazile and fast-improving center Malique Ewin, a pair of 6-foot-10 seniors, must stay out foul trouble and produce on both ends of the floor. It won't hurt if 6-foot-10 senior Nick Pringle produces his best game of the season.

Richmond's recent performance has caught the attention of NBA scouts as he's averaged 22.25 points the last four games while making 39-of-61 shots (64%).

"(Billy) makes us a lot more dangerous when he is hitting shots like that. I can't imagine being another coach trying to scout against us."

Trevon Brazile recapping Arkansas' 99-84 victory over Texas A&M and the impact of Billy Richmond #WPS
Watch!⤵️https://t.co/FaSz5BDgTM pic.twitter.com/IrwusSH6Be

— Pig Trail Nation (@PigTrailNation) February 26, 2026

Will Razorbacks play well for fifth straight away from home?

The Hogs are just 4-4 in true road games, and 5-6 in contests played outside the state of Arkansas.

The home-loving Hogs are a stellar 15-1 in the friendly confines of Bud Walton Arena, with the lone setback being the most disappointing loss of the season so far, 85-77 to Kentucky, where Calipari coached for 15 years before moving to Northwest Arkansas.

Arkansas' website claims the Razorbacks are 2-2 in neutral-site games, which includes a seven-point win against Texas Tech in Dallas, plus the losses to Duke and Houston, both Final Four teams a year ago.

But the Arkansas site refers to the Hogs' 82-58 trouncing of Fresno State at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock technically as a neutral-site game. That's like saying Crazy Horse defeating General Custer was on neutral ground at the Little Big Horn.

Watch the Hogs and Gators in what could be a thriller tonight at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.