College basketball rankings: Arkansas' star freshman Darius Acuff Jr. is carrying Razorbacks
Acuff has been a spark lately for Arkansas
As a statistical monster for the nation's top-ranked team, Duke star Cameron Boozer is probably going to be everybody's national player of the year, and deservedly so. He's been incredible for an incredible team.
He'd get my vote this morning.
But if the question is about which player is best equipped to put a team on his shoulders and take it somewhere in the NCAA Tournament bracket that exceeds his team's season and seed, that dude is Darius Acuff Jr. The freshman at Arkansas went big again Friday. He took 21 shots, made 11 of them and finished with 37 points, five assists and five rebounds in an 82-79 win over Oklahoma that likely popped the Sooners' bubble while advancing the Razorbacks to Saturday's semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
"I know he's been compared to a lot of NBA guys, as he should," Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said heading into his quarterfinal matchup with Acuff and Arkansas. "He just has like that Derrick Rose, Allen Iverson speed -- with power. And he makes the right pass. For a young guy, he doesn't get sped-up too much. He can score at all three levels. He can get to the rim at ease. He can hit you and get some separation on a pull-up. And he's got deep range. He's phenomenal."
How many SEC coaches do we need to hear say something like this about Acuff before we all properly appreciate what we're watching? (Here's what Texas coach Sean Miller said about Acuff last week.) The projected top-10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft is now averaging 22.7 points and 6.4 assists for an Arkansas team that's 15th in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Duke remains No. 1 for the 21st consecutive day following Friday's win over Clemson.
Duke will now meet Virginia in the championship game of the ACC Tournament in one of three power-conference title games scheduled for Saturday. The others are Arizona-Houston in the Big 12 Tournament and St. John's-UConn in the Big East Tournament.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds in Friday's 68-53 win over Clemson. The Blue Devils' next game will be Saturday against Virginia in the championship game of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 35-3 |
| 2 |  | Aday Mara finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Friday's 71-67 win over Ohio State. The Wolverines' next game will be Saturday against Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 35-3 |
| 3 |  | Anthony Dell'Orso finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Friday's 82-80 win over Iowa State. The Wildcats' next game will be Saturday against Houston in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 36-2 |
| 4 |  | Alex Condon finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 71-63 win over Kentucky. The Gators' next game will be Saturday against Vanderbilt in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. | -- | 27-8 |
| 5 |  | Kingston Flemings finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Friday's 69-47 win over Kansas. The Cougars' next game will be Saturday against Arizona in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 30-7 |
| 6 |  | Braylon Mullins finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Friday's 67-51 win over Georgetown. The Huskies' next game will be Saturday against St. John's in the championship game of the Big East Tournament. | 2 | 33-5 |
| 7 |  | Ugonna Onyenso finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Friday's 84-62 win over Miami. The Cavaliers' next game will be Saturday against Duke in the championship gane of the ACC Tournament. | 4 | 30-6 |
| 8 |  | Jared Garcia missed six of the eight shots he attempted in Friday's 74-58 loss to Purdue. The Cornhuskers' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 28-7 |
| 9 |  | Tamin Lipsey missed nine of the 11 shots he attempted in Friday's 82-80 loss to Arizona. The Cyclones' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 29-8 |
| 10 |  | Jordan Scott missed five of the seven shots he attempted in Friday's 88-84 loss to UCLA. The Spartans' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 3 | 27-8 |
| 11 |  | Fletcher Loyer finished with 19 points and four rebounds in Friday's 74-58 wn over Nebraska. The Boilermakers' next game will be Saturday against Michigan State/UCLA in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. | 3 | 30-9 |
| 12 |  | Keaton Wagler missed five of the six 3-pointers he attempted in Friday's 91-88 loss in overtime to Wisconsin. The Illini's next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 28-8 |
| 13 |  | Mario Saint-Supery finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 75-65 win over Santa Clara. The Zags' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 31-4 |
| 14 |  | Latrell Wrightsell missed all five shots he attempted in Friday's 80-79 loss to Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide's next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 25-10 |
| 15 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 37 points and five assists in Friday's 82-79 win over Oklahoma. The Razorbacks' next game will be Saturday against Ole Miss in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. | 1 | 28-9 |
| 16 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Friday's 78-68 win over Seton Hall. The Red Storm's next game will be Saturday against UConn in the championship game of the Big East Tournament. | 1 | 30-7 |
| 17 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Friday's 78-68 win over Seton Hall. The Red Storm's next game will be Saturday against UConn in the championship game of the Big East Tournament. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 18 |  | John Blackwell finished with 31 points and six rebounds in Friday's 91-88 win in overtime over Illinois. The Badgers' next game will be Saturday against Michigan in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. | 1 | 24-11 |
| 19 |  | Melvin Council Jr. missed 13 of the 14 shots he attempted in Friday's 69-47 loss to Houston. The Jayhawks' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 4 | 24-11 |
| 20 |  | Malik Reneau missed five of the six shots he attempted in Friday's 84-62 loss to Virginia. The Hurricanes' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 26-9 |
| 21 |  | Donovan Atwell missed seven of the 10 shots he attempted in Thursday's 75-53 loss to Iowa State. The Red Raiders' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 23-11 |
| 22 |  | Nate Ament missed 12 of the 13 shots he attempted in Friday's 75-68 loss to Vanderbilt. The Vols' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 25-12 |
| 23 |  | Isaac McKneely missed six of the eight shots he attempted in Thursday's 78-73 loss to Miami. The Cardinals' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 24-11 |
| 24 |  | Kennard Davis Jr. missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Thursday's 73-66 loss to Houston. The Cougars' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 23-12 |
| 25 |  | Jarin Stevenson missed seven of the 11 shots he attempted in Thursday's 80-79 loss to Clemson. The Tar Heels' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 24-9 |
| 26 |  | Donovan Dent finished with 23 points and 12 assists in Friday's 88-84 win over Michigan State. The Bruins' next game will be Saturday against Purdue in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. | NR | 24-12 |
