Razorbacks dominated by Duke's top player falling to another ranked team

Hogs crumble late against the Blue Devils, drop marquee holiday matchup

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr (5) drives against Jackson State Tigers guard Jayme Mitchell Jr (3) during the second half at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

CHICAGO — No. 22 Arkansas became the first team to play the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils to within single digits on the young season, but the efforts were in vain as the Hogs scored just two points in the final 2:30.

The Blue Devils held on for an 80-71 win in the CBS Thanksgiving Classic at the United Center.

"We had a chance to win," coach John Calipari said. "We could say, this guy, that guy. We had our chance. Two or three plays in a row, and they went straight where they went, and we didn't answer."

The Hogs are still searching for their first ranked win of the season and are now 0-2 in their games against last year's Elite Eight participants.

Potential top player saves best for Razorbacks

The Razorbacks missed 14-year NBA veteran Carlos Boozer in his time at Duke from 1999-2002, but with the elder Boozer cheering on his son, Cameron Boozer, Cameron put in the best performance of his young career.

Arkansas made an emphasis in practice in the week leading up to the game to slow down Boozer, but found little success.

"He knows who he is and he plays that way," Calipari said about Boozer. "When guys are delusional, they usually hurt themselves. Like, this is who you are, so play that way. That's what he does. Not trying to invent stuff. That's who I am."

Boozer tied his career-high with 35 points and if not for four missed free throws would have set a new career-high on 13-for-18 shooting.

He took advantage of a Razorback frontcourt that struggled to match his physicality, including Nick Pringle, who fouled out with just three points.

"We realized that they weren't helping from the other big," Boozer said. "They didn't really have an answer for me, so Duke coach Jon Scheyer [kept] telling me, get downhill, get to the rim. They can't stop you."

After missing his first three shots from the field, Boozer showed Hog fans who made the trip to Chicago why he's a consensus top pick in next year's NBA Draft.

He righted a Duke team that came out of the blocks slow. After the Blue Devils started the game 1-for-9 from the field, Duke ended the half shooting 45% led by Boozer's 15 points.

"That's a man's jam!"

Cameron Boozer slams it home 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pVkdJy3gdq

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) November 28, 2025

Razorbacks need both guards to function offensively

The guard combo of Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas scored 34 points, but Acuff was the only one of the two that was efficient.

Thomas was 1-for-6 from the floor in the first half, starving the Hogs of an offensive weapon to keep pace with Duke as the Blue Devils went on a 27-11 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 14-point lead.

The other four starters outside of Acuff scored just 19 points on 5-for-19 shooting.

Arkansas still has little things to fix

The Hogs and Blue Devils both had 12 turnovers, but many of the Arkansas turnovers were self-inflicted wounds.

Three separate times the Hogs stepped on the out of bounds line. Another time the Arkansas completely lost track of the shot clock.

"We talk about it all the time in practice," Calipari said. "We're talking about it. No, it's a good question. Like, ‘Guys, you won't believe this, the court's so big, and if you step your foot into the first row, you're out of bounds."

The Razorbacks were also out rebounded by eight after maintaining parity for most of the game in the critical moments.

Arkansas now shifts its focus to No. 6 Louisville back home inside Bud Walton Arena 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The game will be broadcast as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge on ESPN.