The Arkansas Razorbacks had a couple of young freshmen playing in their first NCAA Tournament games, but anyone turning on college basketball for the first time to enjoy March Madness would never know.
The No. 4 seed Razorbacks on Thursday cruised past No. 13 Hawaii 97-78 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the standout freshman duo of Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas combined for 45 points to get Arkansas to a second-round matchup against No. 12 High Point, which upset No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 right before the Hogs took the court.
Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas lead Razorbacks in Hawaii win to start March Madness
After the game, Arkansas head coach John Calipari, who's already coached countless phenomenal freshmen in his successful career, was asked during the postgame TV interview how his young stars were able to be business as usual despite being on the stage of the Big Dance for the first time.
"Because they have other worldly confidence," Calipari said. "Both of them could run for president someday. You can't tell them anything about, 'You're not this. You're not that.' They look at you like, 'You're nuts.' Both of them play that way."
Acuff, Arkansas’ first unanimous First-Team All-American, led the Razorbacks with 24 points, plus added seven assists and three rebounds while playing a team-high 36 minutes. Thomas was next on the squad with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Every Arkansas starter scored in double digits as the freshmen led the charge. Senior Trevon Brazile had 19, Malique Ewin with 16 and Billy Richmond III posted 10.
Calipari couldn't ask for a better debut from his young stars to set up a deep NCAA Tournament run for the Razorbacks. Nerves get the best of every player in March Madness, which is what often leads to those infamous first-round upsets like Wisconsin suffered on the same court. That's especially nerve-racking when your team is led by freshmen with no NCAA Tournament experience, but those concerns were vanquished in Round 1 before the Razorbacks play High Point on Saturday.