Hogs cruise past South Carolina behind depth, defense

Arkansas didn’t need a long speech, a players-only meeting, or a week-long soul search after that Auburn mess.

Turns out the Razorbacks just needed South Carolina to walk into Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday night.

Problem solved.

The Hogs responded to their Saturday stumble with a 108-74 SEC win that looked less like a bounce-back and more like a reminder that this team still knows where the accelerator is.

Arkansas ran, shared the ball, and piled up points until the only mystery left was how much ice the Gamecocks would need on the flight home.

The Razorbacks didn’t wait around to see how this one might feel. They took control early, stretched the lead, and never bothered looking back. By the time the final horn sounded, Arkansas had its largest margin of victory in SEC play this season and a scoreboard that didn’t bother lying.

Freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. ran the show like he’d been doing it for years, not months. He finished with 18 points and a career-high 13 assists, didn’t turn the ball over, and generally looked like the calmest person in the building.

That assist total marked the most by an Arkansas freshman in a conference game in more than two decades, which is impressive unless you remember he did it without breaking a sweat.

If Acuff was the engine, Meleek Thomas was the spark that lit everything on fire. The freshman couldn’t miss, going 8-for-9 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range on his way to a team-high 21 points.

At some point, South Carolina stopped closing out so much as politely jogging in his direction.

And then there was the bench, which decided to treat this like a personal challenge. Arkansas’ reserves combined for 47 points, turning what could’ve been a tidy win into a full-scale rout.

When the backups are scoring like that in SEC play, coaches stop diagramming and start nodding.

Nick Pringle added another layer of spice. Facing his former team, the South Carolina transfer delivered 15 points and seven rebounds, his best scoring night of the season.

He didn’t celebrate much, but he didn’t need to. The box score did that for him.

Trevon Brazile chipped in 13 points and helped control the interior, while D.J. Wagner added 12 as Arkansas mixed veterans and freshmen into something that looked suspiciously like balance.

Malique Ewin did his share of work inside as well, part of a steady presence that kept South Carolina from ever getting comfortable.

Defense wasn’t optional, either. The Razorbacks pressured the ball, disrupted passing lanes, and turned the game into a track meet that the Gamecocks never signed up for.

Arkansas didn’t just outscore South Carolina — it outworked them.

Afterward, coach John Calipari sounded like someone who appreciated the effort but wasn’t about to throw a parade. He acknowledged the team’s response after the Auburn loss and said the Razorbacks got back to playing the way they’re supposed to play.

In coaching terms, that’s a compliment wrapped in a warning.

Arkansas improved to 13-4 overall and 3-1 in SEC play, a record that looks much better when paired with this kind of performance. South Carolina dropped to 10-7 and left Fayetteville with a long list of things to clean up.

For the Hogs, this wasn’t about erasing Auburn. That game still happened. This was about showing that it didn’t define them. On Wednesday night, Arkansas didn’t overthink it.

The Razorbacks just played hard, played together, and let the scoreboard do the talking.

Sometimes, basketball really is that simple.