Arkansas basketball survives High Point, advances to Sweet 16 of March Madness

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Sweet 16 is becoming the norm for Arkansas basketball, and the Hogs are once again headed to a regional semifinal.

The No. 4 Razorbacks (28-8) survived a Cinderella scare from High Point on Saturday, March 21, outlasting the Panthers (31-5) to secure a 94-88 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. High Point’s Cinderella run in March Madness lasted just two games.

Advertisement

The game was tied 83-83 with 3:19 remaining when Darius Acuff Jr. put his head down on back-to-back possessions and drove straight to the paint for consecutive layups to give Arkansas a four-point lead.

The freshman All-American wasn’t done, pulling up from the top of the 3-point arc on the next possession and canning a triple to make it 90-83. It proved to be a dagger.

Point-guard matchup lived up the hype

Acuff and High Point’s Rob Martin put on a show for the fans inside the Moda Center. They went right at each other on both ends and spearheaded a furious pace for all 40 minutes.

Acuff, the SEC Player of the Year, finished with 36 points and six assists on 11-for-22 shooting. He was especially dynamic after halftime with 23 points in the second period.

Advertisement

Martin, the senior guard who played at three different schools in four years, scored 30 points and dished out five assists. Arkansas could not stay in front of him, but the Hogs got just enough stops at the finish line.

High Point hunted 3-pointers

The Panthers weren’t shy about hoisting it from deep. They attempted 12 triples in the first 10 minutes and finished the night 10 for 38. Having a mathematical advantage from behind-the-arc was their best shot at an upset, and it nearly worked.

High Point missed 10 of its first 11 3-point attempts, but that didn’t derail the strategy. The Panthers proceeded to make five of their next nine, and that hot shooting kept the game tight in the first half. It looked like a 3-pointer from Chase Johnston would give High Point a lead heading into the intermission, but Darius…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/arkansas-basketball-survives-high-point-035656406.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-03-22 03:56:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.