Precocious freshman guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas are pulling their weight, and a little more, to help No. 21 Arkansas win three of four games this season.
Coach John Calipari appears to be getting frustrated with the lack of consistent production from his big men, however, as the Razorbacks prepare to face Winthrop (2-2) on Tuesday night in Fayetteville, Ark.
For the Eagles, six players scored in double figures in their most recent game, a 105-69 victory over Mercer on Saturday.
The Razorbacks beat Samford 79-75 their last time out Friday, when Acuff had 20 points and five assists.
Arkansas had a 38-37 rebounding edge, and that margin was built on the work of wings Thomas (eight boards), Karter Knox (six) and reserve Billy Richmond III (five).
Returning senior Trevon Brazile had seven rebounds, but 6-foot-9 Nick Pringle and 6-10 Malique Ewin combined for two points and one turnover in 26 minutes. The senior transfers were added specifically to bring a paint presence.
Calipari said Richmond was “the reason we won the game. He played so hard and grabbed balls. Now we got to get our fives, the big guys, they got to get more balls and be tougher. You got to be tougher.
“You got to play through some bumps. You got to play ahead defensively, but we’ll get there.”
Calipari likened Samford’s interior play to that of Michigan State, which beat Arkansas 69-66 on Nov, 8. The Spartans had a 39-31 rebounding edge in that game.
Brazile had 15 points in just 23 minutes vs. Samford as Calipari turned to a smaller group at times.
“TB looked wore out,” Calipari said. “I went to him because he was playing better (than the other frontcourt players). You coach a game to win. You worry about egos after the game.”
Calipari, who said he used a six-man rotation in his early days at UMass, said that remains an option if his bigs continue to struggle.
“I’ll do that again,” he said. “I’ll play six. You either deserve to be out there or you don’t. You’ve got to be responsible and don’t put your performance on another player on our team. There are things that you can do to play well. Do them.”
Winthrop also could present a test inside, despite the step up in class. The Eagles had a 43-32 rebounding edge over Mercer.
Senior guard Daylen Berry, who averages 17.8 points per game, leads four Eagles in scoring. Senior guard Kareem Rozier, who had 20 points against Mercer, has a team-high 18 assists.
Winthrop had been a mid-major staple in the NCAA Tournament since 1999 with 11 tournament appearances, the last in 2021. The Eagles made it to the finals of the Big South conference tournament a year ago but fell to High PoInt.
“I think we play a fun brand of basketball because we play fast,” said coach Mark Prosser, who rebuilt with eight transfers this season. “They understand what the expectation is.”