Arkansas remains two games behind Florida in the SEC basketball standings, setting up Saturday's mammoth matchup
The preliminaries are over. The Arkansas Razorbacks were able to defeat Texas A&M, 99-84, on Wednesday night, keeping them within two games of the Florida Gators before Saturday's showdown in Gainesville, the last chance for UA to make a run at the SEC basketball championship for 2026. The Hogs are not in a great or enviable position, but they at least gave themselves a chance to chase down the Gators in the home stretch. Beating Texas A&M was a requirement in that pursuit, and on Wednesday, UA took care of business.
The formula looked very familiar against the Aggies. Arkansas' offense has been a machine at home this season, and Wednesday was no exception. The Hogs scored in the 90s once again, something they have been doing with regularity. Darius Acuff was less than 100-percent (ankle), but he was still a dude on the court, as he usually is. Acuff posted 22 points with 7 assists and just 2 turnovers while pulling down 5 rebounds and facilitating the Arkansas offense. Billy Richmond, who has picked up his level of play in recent weeks, scored 23 points to lead the charge for the Hogs. Trevon Brazile scored 14 efficient points on 4-6 shooting, and Malique Ewin scored 18 points off the bench on 6-7 shooting.
Arkansas was once again able to shoot over 50 percent from the field, another pillar of its offensive profile at Bud Walton Arena this season. The Hogs hit 51 percent of their shots against Texas A&M and were able to complement that efficiency with 33 free throw attempts and 29 makes. Arkansas didn't shoot the 3-point shot well (4-17) but was still very potent and effective on offense.
Arkansas was plus-7 in turnover differential -- 16 forced, 9 committed. The Hogs collected 9 steals to just 3 for Texas A&M. The Razorbacks were getting to the free throw line but still shot eight more field goals (65-57), which came from their reduced turnover amount and their plus-8 edge on the glass, 36 rebounds to just 28 for Texas A&M. Arkansas did just about everything better than the Aggies, and that was enough to win by 15 to set up the Florida showdown.
The big challenge for Arkansas heading into Gainesville is to be able to continue to score at the rate the Hogs have established at home. Florida will offer a defensive challenge UA hasn't faced this season. Now we get to find out if the Hogs are ready to play their best game of the year in the biggest situation they have faced to date.