Darius Acuff Jr. scored 37 points as No. 17 Arkansas defeated Oklahoma 82-79 on Friday night, advancing to the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.
The third-seeded Razorbacks (24-8) have now won three consecutive matches. Arkansas will face No. 15 seed Mississippi in the semifinals after the Rebels upset No. 15 Alabama 80-79 earlier on Friday night.
Razorbacks Advance to Semifinals
Trevon Brazile contributed 12 points for Arkansas. Meleek Thomas, who averaged 15.4 points coming into the game, finished with eight points after shooting 2-of-10.
Arkansas was the last team to play at this tournament. This was Oklahoma’s third game in as many nights. Acuff scored 21 points in the first half, keeping Arkansas close at 39-37 at halftime.
Close Contest in Nashville
The game saw 16 lead changes and 11 ties. Neither team had a lead larger than four for much of the second half. Dayton Forsythe’s layup tied the score for the final time at 67 with 5:38 remaining.
Malique Ewin’s dunk put Arkansas ahead to stay with 5:17 left. The Razorbacks then scored nine of the next 11 points. Acuff’s 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining gave Arkansas their largest lead at 76-69.
Oklahoma had one last opportunity after Acuff missed a second free throw with 10 seconds left. Nijel Pack’s 3-point attempt missed, and Arkansas secured the ball with 0.6 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma’s NCAA Tournament Hopes
No. 11 seed Oklahoma (19-15) needed an upset in this game to strengthen its NCAA Tournament resume after enduring a nine-game losing streak early in league play. The Sooners’ six-game winning streak was snapped.
Pack led the Sooners with 19 points, while Derrion Reid and Tae Davis each scored 17 points. Mohamed Wague added 13 points.
- Pack led Oklahoma with 19 points.
- Reid and Davis each contributed 17 points for the Sooners.
- Wague scored 13 points.
Oklahoma now must wait. They hope that winning eight of 10 before this loss will be sufficient for a 35th all-time NCAA berth.
Arkansas reached its 17th semifinal in this tournament.