Acuff’s double-double fuels Arkansas’ 108-74 rout of South Carolina

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas needed a response, and it got one that was loud, clear and delivered with a bounce in its step.

Freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. recorded a double-double, and the Razorbacks rolled past South Carolina 108-74 on Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena, turning what could’ve been a grind into a reminder of how this team prefers to operate.

Acuff finished with 18 points and a career-high 13 assists, leading a balanced Arkansas attack that placed six players in double figures. The Hogs shot efficiently, shared the ball willingly and, just as important in league play, took care of it.

Arkansas piled up a season-high 27 assists while committing only four turnovers. That combination alone told most of the story, even before the scoreboard got lopsided.

John Calipari didn’t bother dressing it up afterward.

“Twenty-seven assists and four turnovers in a league game,” Calipari said. “Ridiculous. The stuff we emphasized, they did.”

That emphasis showed early. Arkansas pushed the tempo, attacked gaps and forced South Carolina’s defense to make decisions it didn’t want to make. When help arrived, the ball moved. When it didn’t, the Razorbacks finished at the rim or stepped into clean looks from the perimeter.

Freshman guard Meleek Thomas took full advantage, leading Arkansas with 21 points while knocking down all five of his 3-point attempts. Most of them came off simple reads — drive, kick, shoot — the kind of shots coaches draw on whiteboards and hope actually happen in games.

“It helps more than you can imagine when you’ve got a point guard that puts so much pressure on the defense,” Thomas said. “Then it’s just easy, and it’s special to be able to catch and shoot.”

Easy might be overselling life in the SEC, but Arkansas made it look that way for long stretches. The Razorbacks repeatedly beat South Carolina down the floor, and when the Gamecocks did get set, they struggled to contain dribble penetration.

South Carolina coach Lamont Paris acknowledged the challenge afterward.

“It’s just so hard to say anything about the stats in this game,” Paris said. “I feel like he grew up playing on the playground.”

That description fit Acuff’s night. He controlled pace, changed speeds and seemed comfortable letting the game come to him. When Arkansas needed a bucket, he scored. When teammates found rhythm, he fed them.

The result was an Arkansas offense that never stalled and rarely settled. The Razorbacks shot confidently, rotated bodies without losing cohesion and steadily widened the margin as the night wore on.

The win also served as a reset. Arkansas entered the game coming off a 95-73 loss at Auburn, a performance that exposed some rough edges. Against South Carolina, the Razorbacks looked sharper, more connected and far more comfortable in their roles.

Arkansas improved to 13-4 overall and 3-1 in SEC play, with momentum swinging back in its favor as the conference schedule tightens.

Next up is a road trip to Athens to face No. 21 Georgia on Saturday afternoon, a game that will test whether this version of Arkansas travels as well as it plays at home.

For one night, though, the Razorbacks didn’t complicate things. They passed, they scored, and they reminded everyone that when the ball moves, so does the scoreboard.