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Razorbacks Survive Outside Shooting Woes, Knock Off Upset-minded Sooners

Acuff, Thomas carry Arkansas to an 83–79 road win despite struggles from three-point range.
Jacob Davis|
Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) handles the ball against the Memphis Tigers during the second half at FedEx Forum.
Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) handles the ball against the Memphis Tigers during the second half at FedEx Forum. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

NORMAN, Okla. — On a night the Arkansas Razorbacks had their worst game shooting from beyond the arc, coach John Calipari relied on his pair of star freshmen to overcome the team's recent road woes to win 83-79 inside Lloyd Noble Arena.

His young guards of Darius Acuff, Jr. and Meleek Thomas were sensational yet again, scoring 30 points or more for the tenth time this season which is the most of any freshmen duo in the country.

Arkansas moves to 16-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play with the victory over Oklahoma, matching the program's best start in SEC action since 2008.

The Razorbacks have faced double-digit deficits in their previous two road games at Auburn and Georgia, that were too much to overcome.

Tuesday night, Calipari's squad found themselves down by 13 with 7:34 left in the first half but were able to weather the same storm seen before by outscoring the upset minded Sooners 56-41 the rest of the way.

Despite shooting a season-worst 11.8% (2-of-17) from three, the Razorbacks were able to do most of its damage the old fashioned way by scoring 56 points in the paint, including a 17-of-22 mark on layups and dunks.

Acuff continues to dazzle college basketball fans nationwide as he surgically picked apart Oklahoma's defense by dishing out nine assists on the night without committing a single turnover.

He continues to score at a high level, finishing with 21 points on the night on 7-of-16 shooting from the field, and 1-of-4 from three. After having an off night from the foul line against LSU on Saturday, he recovered well by making 6-of-7 from the charity stripe Tuesday night.

The Razorbacks also played a clean final 11 minutes of regulation going turnover free in that stretch, finishing with six for the game that ties the second-fewest on the season.

Three point defense has been a major key to Arkansas' improvement since SEC play began, but the Sooners put it to the test early on by making 7-of-16 from deep in the first half, including transfer guard Nigel Pack making 4-of-6 attempts.

Calipari has benefitted heavily this season with an eight-man rotation as even the players who come off the bench could be starters anywhere else. His move to insert Thomas into a starting role at shooting guard with D.J. Wagner coming off the bench has paid dividends over the previous three games with more offensive options on the floor to start any given game.

While some his players coming off the bench aren't used to such a role, it has painted a picture of how selfless this Razorbacks squad is while collectively seeing the bigger picture.

The Razorbacks' bench of Wagner, Billy Richmond and Malique Ewin played a major role against the Sooners, outscoring them 21-9. Ewin was an efficient 5-of-5 from the field, and perfect from the free throw line to finish with 12 points.

Sophomore forward Billy Richmond continues to show why he's the glue guy by scoring nine points, three rebounds and two steals. His continuous effort keeps him at the right place at all the right times even on a night when his team scored just six points in transition.

This game proved Arkansas can go win on the road even outside of its comfort zone.

Arkansas will take Wednesday off in a recovery effort before switching focus to Saturday's showdown with rival Kentucky inside Bud Walton Arena. Tipoff against the Wildcats is set for 5:30 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN.

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Jacob Davis
JACOB DAVIS

Jacob Davis is a reporter for Arkansas Razorbacks on SI, with a decade of experience covering high school and transfer portal recruiting. He has previously worked at Rivals, Saturday Down South, SB Nation and hosted podcasts with Bleav Podcast Network where his show was a finalist for podcast of the year. Native of El Dorado, he currently resides in Central Arkansas with his wife and daughter.

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