No. 14 Arkansas opens coach John Calipari’s second season with high expectations following a run to the Sweet Sixteen and the addition of potential one-and-done freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas.
The Razorbacks, picked to finish fifth in the SEC preseason media poll, will open the season against Southern on Monday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Point guard Acuff and wing Thomas are two of the five McDonald’s All-Americans who landed in the SEC. They are expected to make an immediate impact for a team that upset Kansas and St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament before squandering a 16-point lead and losing to Texas Tech in overtime.
Acuff and Thomas and returning wings D.J. Wagner and Karter Knox are expected to take over the offensive load on a team that lost its top three scorers, including National Player of the Year candidate Boogie Fland, from a 22-14 squad.
“I have a good group, but we have a ways to go to be what people think we are going to be,” said Calipari, whose first Arkansas team survived an 0-5 SEC start to earn a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Acuff is considered the latest in a long line of NBA-caliber point guards landed by Calipari, a group that includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Maxey, Derrick Rose and John Wall while Calipari was at Kentucky and Memphis.
Sophomore Knox and junior Wagner were named to the preseason All-SEC third team in the media poll. Wagner, a 2023 McDonald’s All-American, averaged 11.2 points and 3.6 assists while shooting 40.1% from the floor last season.
“I want him to be more aggressive offensively,” Calipari said. “I believe his best version is being more aggressive.”
The Razorbacks have two newcomers up front — 6-foot-10 senior transfers Malique Ewin (Florida State) and Nick Pringle (South Carolina) — to add to 6-foot-10 returnee Trevon Brazile as they seek an improved interior presence. Arkansas was 12th in the SEC and 213th in Division I in rebounding margin a year ago.
“You have to have a post presence or your team’s a fraud,” Calipari said. “We should be a terrific rebounding team, both on defense and offense.”
Wagner, Acuff, Knox, Brazile and Pringle started for Arkansas in an 89-61 exhibition victory over Cincinnati on Oct. 24. Thomas had team highs of 18 points, seven rebounds and 27 minutes off the bench.
Southern, 20-12 last season, was tabbed to finish second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in a poll of league coaches and sports information directors.
The Jaguars won the SWAC regular-season title at 15-3 last season, but they were upset in the first round of the conference tournament by Grambling in overtime.
Senior guard Michael Jacobs, the Jaguars’ only double-digit scorer (11.3) last season while serving as the sixth man, was named to the SWAC’s preseason first team.
“It’s good to have him back,” said Southern coach Kevin Johnson, whose only returning starters are guards Joe Manning (6.4 ppg) and Andre Nunley (2.9 ppg).
Manning (41.3%) and Cam Amboree (35.0%) are 3-point threats for a team that gave up 68.3 points per game last year, 61st in Division I, and limited opponents to 42% shooting from the field.
“To return those guys as a core, I felt good about adding some pieces to keep this at a high level,” Johnson said.
The Jaguars, who also face Marquette, Washington, Texas, Baylor and Illinois this year, won at UNLV and Mississippi State in 2023-24.
