The message from John Calipari was clear right after the final horn.
“They have otherworldly confidence,” Calipari said of his two freshmen stars on the TBS postgame broadcast. “Both of them could run for president someday because you can’t tell them anything about, ‘You’re not this, you’re not that.’ They look at you like your nuts. Both of them play that way.”
That confidence showed up in a big way Thursday.
Fourth-seeded Arkansas rolled past No. 13 seed Hawaii, 97-78, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Moda Center in Portland, Ore.
The Razorbacks leaned on their young stars and fast-paced style to take control early and never let go.
Freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas combined for 45 points to lead the way. Acuff scored a game-high 24, while Thomas added 21 as the Hogs improved to 27-8.
“The kids performed,” Calipari said. “To come out and play how they played, pretty good stuff.”
Arkansas will now face No. 12 seed High Point in the second round Saturday after the Panthers upset Wisconsin earlier in the day.
From the opening minutes, it was clear the Razorbacks had an edge. They jumped out to an 11-0 lead before the first media timeout, using speed, length, and ball movement to overwhelm Hawaii.
The Rainbow Warriors came in known for defense, allowing just 69.7 points per game, but they struggled to match up with Arkansas at nearly every position.
The Hogs pushed the pace and turned the game into a fast-break showcase. They added 11 dunks to their season total, which already led the nation, and kept the crowd buzzing with highlight plays.
Trevon Brazile played a big role inside, finishing with 19 points and multiple powerful dunks.
Hawaii did respond for a short stretch. After falling behind 26-7, the Rainbow Warriors hit 6 of 8 three-point attempts over an eight-minute span to cut the lead to 44-34 late in the first half.
But the Razorbacks quickly answered.
They closed the half on an 8-0 run, capped by a series of dunks and strong defensive plays, to take a 54-36 lead into the break. That 18-point advantage marked the largest halftime lead for Arkansas in an NCAA Tournament game.
One key moment came when Acuff connected with Malique Ewin on an alley-oop. The assist was Acuff’s 220th of the season, breaking a long-standing program record set in 1995-96.
Ewin finished with a strong all-around effort, posting 16 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the year.
“It was a back-and-forth game for a little while,” Acuff said on TBS. “We knew we just had to fight toward the end to get the win.”
Razorbacks pull away behind depth, defense
Hawaii tried to make another push early in the second half, going on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 58-47.
But Arkansas answered again, this time with a quick scoring burst led by Acuff.
He hit back-to-back driving layups and then knocked down a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 75-55 with just over 11 minutes remaining. From there, the Razorbacks stayed in control and never let the margin drop below 15 points.
The Hogs also showed balance across the stat sheet.
They shot 54% from the field (39 of 72) and hit 15 of 17 free throws. Even though they made just 4 of 21 from three-point range, they controlled the game in other ways.
Arkansas recorded 26 assists against a Hawaii defense that had been limiting opponents to just 9.3 per game. They also won the rebounding battle 41-31 and scored 20 second-chance points.
Hawaii was led by guard Dre Bullock, who scored 21 points. Isaac Johnson added 15 points for the Rainbow Warriors, who finished the season 24-9.
The Razorbacks did all this without forward Nick Pringle, who missed the game after suffering an injury in practice. Arkansas relied on a short rotation for most of the contest.
“We were playing for our brother,” Acuff said. “We just had to fight. We knew we had to be tougher without him, for sure.”
If Arkansas wins Saturday, it will advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in Calipari’s two seasons leading the program.
“We know it’ll be a good game,” Acuff said. “They’re here for a reason and they advanced for a reason. We’ve got to play our same Arkansas basketball and we’ll be fine.”
