Arkansas routs Vanderbilt in top-20 clash
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Darius Acuff Jr. scored 17 points and No. 20 Arkansas routed Vanderbilt 93-68 on Wednesday night to hand the 15th-ranked Commodoes their third consecutive loss.
The freshman shot 7-of-14 from the field and had five assists as Arkansas (14-5, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) shot 58% from the field and had 25 assists on 37 field goals.
Malique Ewin and Karter Knox each scored 16 points, while Meleek Thomas had 13 and DJ Wagner added 11. Trevon Brazile had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Tyler Nickel led Vanderbilt with 17 points, all in the first half, and Tyler Tanner added 11.
The Razorbacks' length troubled Vanderbilt (16-3, 3-3), forcing the Commodores to shoot 31 3-pointers, making 10. Arkansas outscored Vanderbilt 50-20 in the paint and outrebounded them by 12.
Arkansas opened with a 13-2 run as Vanderbilt missed eight of its first nine shots from the floor. The lead stretched to 18-4 before the Commodores scored on consecutive possessions more than eight minutes into the game.
Vanderbilt pulled within 11 points at halftime, but went nearly four minutes without a field goal midway through the second half, allowing Arkansas to build its lead into the 20s.
Arkansas has yet to lose a home SEC game and its only home losses all year came against now-No. 5 Duke and now-No. 6 Houston.
Up Next
Arkansas hosts LSU on Saturday.
Vanderbilt plays at Mississippi State on Saturday.