March 13, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) brings the ball up the court during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images for the first half. Darius Acuff Jr. hit five 3-pointers for his 37 points, including a key 3, and No. 15 Arkansas held off No. 11 seed Oklahoma 82-79 in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Acuff cut the lead to 79-75 with a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left, and after Tae Davis’ layup, Acuff made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left to close the scoring.
Nigel Pack’s spectacular 3-point attempt hit the rim with 6 seconds left, and the Sooners were unable to control the offensive rebound.
Trevon Brazil had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the third-seeded Razorbacks (24-8), who have won eight of 10.
The Pack had 19 points, Derrion Reid and Davis each had 17 and Muhamed Wague added 13 for the Sooners (19-15), who won their sixth straight title and are hopeful that two SEC Tournament wins are all they need to secure an NCAA Tournament berth.
There were 11 ties and 16 lead changes, and Acuff’s fifth 3-pointer with 2:27 left gave the Razorbacks their largest lead at 76-69.
Arkansas will meet surprising Ole Miss (15-19) in Saturday’s semifinals. The 15th-seeded Rebels, who have lost 12 of their last 13 regular season games, have not trailed in three SEC Tournament wins.
The Sooners are first of 68 teams in the NCAA field, according to ESPN’s projections Friday, just behind SMU and SEC schools Texas and Missouri and ahead of Auburn. Both of those teams ended conference tournament play with losses.
Arkansas is projected to be the fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Acuff, the SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, scored 21 points in the first half and showed no symptoms after missing the regular-season finale against Missouri due to a lingering left ankle injury.
He attempted 11 of 21 from the field, 5 of 9 on 3-pointers and 10 of 12 free throws. He recorded 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Acuff scored 18 of the Razorbacks’ first 24 points, and his 3-pointer just before halftime cut the Sooners’ lead to 39-37 at halftime. The Pack scored 16 points in the first half.
–Field level media
