With every passing game, Arkansas freshman guard Darius Acuff is doing more than living up to the hype, he’s actively reshaping the SEC Player of the Year race. What once felt like a long-shot narrative built on freshman promise is now rooted firmly in production, consistency, and dominance against elite competition.
Acuff delivered his loudest statement yet with a career-high 29-point performance against Tennessee, thoroughly outplaying the only SEC player who finished higher than him in the 2025 recruiting rankings. While Tennessee freshman Nate Ament entered the season with more long-term projection buzz, his struggle-filled 13-point outing underscored a widening gap between the league’s two most highly touted newcomers.