Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

No. 15 Arkansas vs. Ole Miss takeaways: Darius Acuff Jr. shows out again to lead Hogs to 2-0 SEC start

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jan 7, 2026 11:44 PM ET

No. 15 Arkansas (12-3, 2-0 SEC) held on to beat Ole Miss (8-7, 0-2 SEC) in Oxford, Miss., on Wednesday evening. Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's game.

Darius Acuff Jr. keeps rolling

Acuff scored 29 points in Arkansas' 86-75 win over No. 21 Tennessee on Jan. 3.

That heroic performance was enough to earn Acuff another SEC Freshman of the Week award, as well as the Naismith Player of the Week award.

The freshman guard picked up right where he left off on Wednesday night, scoring 26 points and dishing out nine assists. It was his ninth 20-point effort of the season, and it's safe to say that the Razorbacks will be able to safely rely on Acuff as a viable scoring option for the rest of the season.

️ On your left pic.twitter.com/KC8whBJo7Q
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball (@RazorbackMBB) January 8, 2026

Malik Dia proves hard to guard

Dia is Ole Miss's biggest star, and it's easy to see why. He led the Rebels in scoring with 16 points on Wednesday on 6-11 shooting from the field.

Dia turns and fires#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/5GZv8e5FGZ
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) January 8, 2026

Not all of those shot attempts were created equal, however. Dia made several tough jumpers, proving his ability to take over a game and score at will.

Razorbacks able to close out another close one

Arkansas ran away from Tennessee in the waning moments of their SEC opener on Jan. 3. It did the opposite on Wednesday.

After trailing by 15 with just under eight minutes to play, Ole Miss went on a run late, closing the Arkansas lead to 91-87 with one minute to go. But despite losing a tight handle on the game, the Hogs didn't lose their cool, with Acuff scoring to make it a six-point game and his teammates holding down the fort defensively. A free throw from Trevon Brazile and one final stop clinched the victory.

Arkansas will travel to Auburn (9-6, 0-2 SEC) on Jan. 10, while Ole Miss will host Missouri (12-3, 2-0 SEC) in Oxford.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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