If the Alabama Crimson Tide make another deep run into March Madness, Wednesday night’s game at Coleman Coliseum could be a big catalyst.
No. 25 Alabama overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and a stellar performance from Arkansas true freshman Darius Acuff Jr. to beat the No. 20 Razorbacks 117-115 in a double-overtime shootout in Tuscaloosa.
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Acuff dazzled the crowd and the national audience watching ESPN with 49 points, the second-highest scorer in Arkansas history and the second-highest scorer in college basketball this season.
Labaron Philon scored 35 points, a career high for Alabama (19-7 overall, 9-4 SEC), and dished out seven assists. Aiden Scherer added 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Crimson Tide. Freshman Amari Allen also had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Alabama will need every shot, every rebound, every possession to topple the Razorbacks.
Arkansas (19-7, 9-4) took an early lead and led by 14 points in the first half as the Hogs came out firing. In the second half, Alabama went on an 18-4 run to tie the score. The Tide led by six points with five minutes left in regulation, but Acav hit a three-pointer with 11.9 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
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Even when Arkansas got into foul trouble and four of the Razorbacks’ players fouled out, neither team was able to get too far away from the other, or trail by too much. Houston Mallette’s 3-pointer gave Alabama a 117-113 lead with 51 seconds left in the second overtime, giving the Crimson Tide the lead for good.
Arkansas freshman guard Meleek Thomas scored 24 points and sophomore Billy Richmond scored 20 points. The Tide led 43-36 in rebounding.
Alabama defeated the Razorbacks for the sixth straight time dating back to 2022. The Crimson Tide has won five straight games since a 100-77 loss to the SEC-leading Florida Gators on Feb. 1 in Gainesville. Arkansas’ three-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday.
After the game, Arkansas head coach John Calipari met briefly with reporters to discuss his team’s double-overtime loss to Alabama. Here’s what the longtime college basketball coach had to say about Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide.
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John Calipari offers brief comments on officiating and troubles after Arkansas loss to Alabama
Arkansas committed 26 fouls in Wednesday’s game, while Alabama committed 17. Calipari was asked how much the foul trouble affected the Razorbacks’ chances of winning.
“It makes it very difficult. I don’t want to talk about fouls and stuff like that because I don’t want to get in trouble,” Calipari said.
The longtime coach, who is in his second season at Arkansas after 15 seasons at Kentucky, praised Alabama.
“Give Alabama a little confidence,” Calipari said. “They fought until the end. Credit to my team. They fought. I told them afterward, ‘I’m so proud of you. You fought. Never gave up.’ We had a chance until the end.”
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What Arkansas coach John Calipari saw from Alabama basketball after halftime
“We didn’t stay in front of people and you had a guy- We kept saying he liked to go left. He kept going left and they kept calling fouls. So, we knew (Alabama) was trying to change the pick-and-roll to slow Darius down, so… they did. Some good things, we’ve got to adjust, we’ve got to get Billy (Richmond) out and guys, but it hurts this team, you know, in a tough game, you’re going to call a lot of those fouls and when the lease is due, we’re down to two.”
John Calipari talks electric freshman Darius Acuff’s pro night against Alabama
“He had the boot on for two days and still did it. I said, ‘Do you think you might have to miss this game?’ He said: ‘Are you crazy? “He didn’t care. The injury, whatever it was, he was in the boot for two days.”
John Calipari asks how difficult it is to slow down Alabama basketball
“At halftime, we scored 11 points in transition. They scored two. We were very fast, too. You have two very fast teams.”
John Calipari on Arkansas loss to Alabama: ‘You have to fight for your life’
In response to a question about freshman Meleek Thomas, who scored 24 points in 37 minutes before fouling out, Calipari expanded:
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How did Alabama slow down Arkansas after the Razorbacks got off to a hot start?
“Well, they started saying, ‘We’re going to put guards in the pick-and-roll so we can switch and at least stay ahead. That’s what they wanted to do. But, I mean, we shot 3s. We shot more 3s than them. We shot more than them. We only had seven turnovers. They had a couple more rebounds than us. We both had six blocks, they had one, and you got beat.”
Watch the full press conference below.
2026 Alabama Basketball Schedule
With five games left in the regular season, Alabama travels to Baton Rouge on Saturday to take on the LSU Tigers (14-12, 2-11). Tip-off time for the Alabama-LSU game is 5 p.m. Central Time. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
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All start times are Central.
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Nov. 3: vs. North Dakota State (W, 91-62)
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November 8: In St. John’s (W, 103-96)
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Nov. 13: vs. Purdue (L, 87-80)
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Nov. 19: vs. Illinois (W, 90-86)
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Nov. 24: vs. Gonzaga (L, 95-85)
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Nov. 25: vs. UNLV (women, 115-76)
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Nov. 26: vs. Maryland (women, 105-72)
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Dec. 7: vs. UTSA (W, 97-55)
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Dec. 13: vs. Arizona (L, 96-75)
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Dec. 17: vs. South Florida (W, 104-93)
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Dec. 21: vs. Kennesaw State (W, 92-81)
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Dec. 29: vs. Yale (women, 102-78)
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January 7: At Vanderbilt (L, 96-90)
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Jan. 10: vs. Texas (L, 92-88)
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Jan. 13: Mississippi State (W, 97-82)
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Jan. 27: vs. Missouri (W, 90-64)
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February 1: Florida State (L, 100-77)
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February 7: Auburn (W, 96-92)
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February 11: Mississippi State (W, 93-74)
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February 14: vs. South Carolina (women, 89-75)
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February 18: vs. Arkansas (W, 117-115, 2OT)
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February 21: LSU, 5 p.m., SEC Network
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February 25: vs. Mississippi State, ESPN2 or ESPNU
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February 28: Tennessee, ESPN or ESPN2
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March 3: Georgia, 5:30 p.m., ESPNNews
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March 7: vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Comprehensive:19-7.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: John Calipari speaks after Arkansas 2OT loss to Alabama