It took a long time to put High Point away, but head coach John Calipari and Arkansas are making a return trip to theNCAA tournament'sSweet 16.
Arkansas, after a battle with No. 12 High Point, pulled away behind a massive 36-point outing from star Darius Acuff Jr. as theNo. 4 Razorbacks picked up a 94-88 win over the Panthersat the Moda Center in Portland. It was Arkansas' second straight trip to the Sweet 16 since Calipari took over.
High Point hung in there in the first half, and even took the lead over Arkansas briefly down the stretch after Chase Johnston drained a 3-pointer on the wing. Johnston barely touched the ball before he fired.
Arkansas ended up taking a one-point lead into the locker room. The Razorbacks shot 49% from the field in the first 20 minutes, but couldn't get much separation from the Panthers.
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Arkansas finally pulls away
Acuff was trying to create some distance from the Panthers for nearly all of the second half, it just took him awhile to pull that off.
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It looked like he nearly got it done early, after he fought through contact and converted a tough and-one layup just inside the five-minute mark. That put the Razorbacks up by seven points, which was their largest lead of the game.
But the Panthers cut it back to a single possession a minute later when Rob Martin drew a foul on a fast-break layup. He tied it up a possession later with an easy layup, which got him to 30 points on the night.
Then High Point's shots stopped falling. Johnston missed back-to-back 3-point attempts, and Martin had one blocked. Arkansas came up with several stops in a row, which proved to be the key. Then Acuff drained a 3-pointer, a bucket that was big enough to push the Razorbacks to the win.
Acuff had six assists with his 36 points. He shot 11-of-22 from the field and had just two turnovers all night. The freshman, who earned consensus All-American honors and was the SEC's Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, averaged 23 points and 6.6 assists per game this season.
Martin had 30 points and five assists to lead the Panthers, who beat Wisconsin on a late layup in the final seconds in the first round. That marked the program's first NCAA tournament win in history. Cam'Ron Fletcher added 25 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Terry Anderson finished with 15 points.
Arkansas will now take on either top-seeded Arizona or Utah State in the Sweet 16 next weekend in California. A win there would send Calipari, who is competing in his 15th career Sweet 16, into the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019 when he was with Kentucky.
Even though Saturday's outing was far from the blowout win they posted in the first round, the Razorbacks are still standing. If Acuff pulls out another performance like he did against the Panthers, there's no telling how far the program can go this March.