March 4, 2026; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari plays during the second half against the Texas Longhorns at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 105-85. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Image Meleek Thomas scored 28 points on 5-for-6 from 3-point range and John Calipari won his 900th career game as the No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks beat the Missouri Tigers 88-84 in overtime in a Southeastern Conference game Saturday in Columbia, Missouri.
Arkansas (23-8, 13-5) won the regular season finale despite Wooden Award finalist Darius Acuff Jr. not being on the court. The Razorbacks’ freshman sensation and leading scorer (22.2 points per game) has been sidelined due to a lingering ankle injury.
Trevon Brazil’s 19 points and 9 rebounds and Malik Ewin’s 17 points filled Acuff’s absence. Billy Richmond (10) and Dajuan Wagner (10) also recorded double figures.
Mark Mitchell led the Tigers with 32 points (20-11, 10-8). Trent Pierce had 13 points and Jaden Stone had 11.
The two teams went into overtime tied at 74-74, and Pierce hit a 3-pointer with 3:53 remaining to give the Tigers a 77-76 lead.
Nick Pringle’s layup put the Razorbacks up 78-77 40 seconds later and Ewin hit a 3-pointer for an 81-77 advantage. Missouri tied the game at 81-81 on a Sean Phillips layup with 2:09 left.
Brazil’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds left made it 84-82, and the Razorbacks held on from there thanks to a few Ewin free throws.
Arkansas won its first game against Missouri 94-86 on February 21, and this game was even more exciting with 12 ties and 12 lead changes.
Brazil’s 3-pointer to start the second half gave them a 5-0 lead, and with 19 minutes and 24 seconds remaining in the game, the Razorbacks led 44-36.
Missouri responded with an 11-0 run to take a 47-44 lead with 15:54 left after Stone’s layup, and the Razorbacks went nearly five minutes without scoring.
Thomas soon hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 49-49 with 14:08 left, then hit another with 12:51 left to take a 55-51 advantage.
With the score tied at 73-73, Mitchell gave Missouri a 74-73 lead with a free throw with 50 seconds left. Thomas hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 31 seconds left.
Missouri had possession with 7 seconds to go in regulation, but TO Barrett’s missed layup sent the game into overtime.
A 17-2 run allowed the Razorbacks to take control late in the first half. Thomas’ 3-pointer made it 28-13 with 8:25 to go. The Tigers didn’t help their cause, going more than four minutes without scoring.
But by halftime, the Tigers were tied within three thanks to a layup by Mitchell. Mitchell faked a shot and then made a strong drive to the rim with three seconds left to make the score 39-36.
–Field level media
