Darius Acuff took over in a moment of truth for Arkansas. The Hogs go back-to-back in the Sweet 16 and pursue the Final Four.
The legend of Darius Acuff was already enormous at Arkansas. The SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year won the SEC Tournament championship. He had scored 49 points in a game at Alabama which many viewed as the best game of the entire college basketball regular season. Acuff averaged 39 minutes per game in the SEC Tournament and has been an iron man in addition to being a dazzling superstar. Acuff's toughness matched his artistry. His clutch gene matched his stamina and endurance. He brought everything to the table. He couldn't have done more than what he did. John Calipari couldn't have asked him to do more than what he did.
Yet, there was room for the legend of Darius Acuff -- as large as it already was -- to grow even more. The answer was simple: Be great in the NCAA Tournament. Extend the greatness of the regular season and the SEC Tournament into the event which really counts, the time which matters more than anything else: March Madness. Those who shine after the brackets are revealed on Selection Sunday are the players who go beyond player of the year or freshman of the year. They become true and complete college basketball icons.
Darius Acuff had his March moment on Saturday night in Portland.
With High Point pushing the Razorbacks all the way in a game which was consistently and uncomfortably close, Darius Acuff stood above the chaos and decided who would win: not High Point.
With the score tied at 83 late in regulation, Acuff reeled off seven straight points, punctuating the personal run with a dagger 3-pointer to bury the No. 12 seed and send Arkansas to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season under coach John Calipari.
The clarity and simplicity of the moment were unmistakable: Arkansas won because it had Darius Acuff and High Point did not. One player separated himself from everyone else. One player elevated his team above his opponent. It was not more complicated than that.
Calipari had the wisdom, accuracy and humility to note after the game that Darius Acuff was the difference. It wasn't Cal's coaching. He simply had the best player on the floor, playing his best when it counted. Arkansas did not play a great game, but Darius Acuff was great when he had to be, and on this night in the Pacific Northwest, it was enough to get Arkansas back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, a place where the Hogs have frequently lived this decade under two different coaches.
This upcoming Sweet 16 will be different from other Arkansas Sweet 16s for one simple reason: Darius Acuff will be in it. It's the best reason to think the Hogs can knock the door down and get back to the Final Four for the first time since 1995.