Honestly, walking into The Pavilion at Ole Miss is usually a coin flip for visiting teams. It’s either a library or a hornets' nest. On January 7, 2026, it felt like a bit of both until things got weird. Most people saw the final score—Arkansas 94, Ole Miss 87—and figured it was just another high-scoring SEC track meet. But if you actually watched the flow of that game, you’d know it was a psychological war between John Calipari and Chris Beard.
Arkansas came in ranked No. 15 and left looking like a team that could actually make a deep run in March. This wasn't the clunky, disjointed Razorback offense we saw at the start of last season. They looked fluid. They looked fast. And most importantly, they looked like they finally had a point guard who could close the door on a road crowd.
The Darius Acuff Jr. Factor in Arkansas Ole Miss Basketball
Darius Acuff Jr. is a problem. Plain and simple. The freshman guard finished with 26 points and nine assists, but the raw stats don't tell the whole story of how he dismantled the Rebels' defensive schemes. Beard tried everything—traps at the timeline, sagging off to bait the three, even some junk zones—and Acuff just sliced through it.
He went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. That's where you win road games in the SEC.
When the Rebels went on a late surge to cut the lead to 91-87 in the final minute, the air in the arena changed. You could feel the "here we go again" energy from the traveling Arkansas fans. Then Acuff just calmly hit a short jumper in the lane to push it back to a six-point lead. It was a "grown man" move from a kid who hasn't even had his first spring break yet.
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Why the 14-6 Run Changed Everything
Midway through the second half, the game was still technically "in the balance." Then, Arkansas exploded. A 14-6 run pushed a modest lead into a 76-61 cushion.
- Trevon Brazile was the catalyst here. He ended with 18 points, but his two clutch threes during this stretch were backbreakers.
- Meleek Thomas and Billy Richmond III chipped in 13 apiece, providing that "balanced scoring" coaches always rave about in post-game pressers.
- The Rebels simply couldn't match the depth. While Malik Dia and Ilias Kamardine both put up 16 points, they looked gassed by the eight-minute mark.
Breaking the Chris Beard Hex
Before this game, Chris Beard had a bit of a "thing" going against Arkansas. He seemed to have their number, regardless of who was coaching the Hogs. Last season, his Rebels downed Arkansas 83-80 in a game where the Hogs just looked lost in the final three minutes.
This win felt like a massive weight off the program's shoulders. It snapped a three-game losing streak to the Rebels. For a fan base that lives and dies by every possession, finally getting a "W" in Oxford felt like exorcising a very specific, very frustrating demon.
Calipari's post-game vibe was different, too. Usually, he’s deflective or hyper-focused on one "teaching moment," but after this one, he seemed genuinely impressed with his team's toughness. They didn't just out-talent Ole Miss; they out-hustled them. The box score shows five different Hogs with steals. That’s active hands. That’s buy-in.
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The Intangibles You Won't See on ESPN
There was a moment in the first half where Karter Knox dived into the bench to save a ball. Arkansas was already up by eight. In years past, maybe that ball goes out of bounds. This year? This team plays like they’re perpetually down by two.
Ole Miss isn't a bad team. Far from it. They’re sitting at 8-7 right now (0-2 in the SEC), but Beard has them playing hard. They shot well enough to win most games, but they ran into a buzzsaw that was shooting 73% from the free-throw line. You can't give a Calipari team 30 free throws and expect to survive.
The All-Time Series Context
Arkansas now leads the all-time series 53-36. While it’s not the most historic rivalry in the SEC—think Kentucky/Tennessee or the Iron Bowl on grass—it’s become one of the most competitive "geography" rivalries since the Hogs joined the conference.
The distance between Fayetteville and Oxford made this a natural fit back in the early '90s. Honestly, it’s one of those series where the home team usually holds serve. Seeing Arkansas take one on the road, especially in a year where the SEC is this top-heavy, is a massive statement.
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What This Means for the SEC Standings
As of mid-January 2026, Arkansas is sitting pretty at 13-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play. They’re part of a five-way tie for first place.
- Arkansas: High-octane offense, finally finding defensive identity.
- Tennessee: The usual defensive juggernaut.
- Auburn: Dangerous, though they just stumbled against Mizzou.
- Kentucky: Always in the mix under the new regime.
- South Carolina: The surprise contender of the year.
The loss at Auburn (95-73) remains the only real blemish on the Hogs' conference resume. If they can keep this momentum from the Ole Miss win, that Auburn game starts to look like an outlier rather than a trend.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Bettors
If you're following Arkansas ole miss basketball for the rest of the season, here’s the reality of what we learned from this matchup:
- Watch the Free Throw Rate: Arkansas is becoming elite at drawing fouls. If an opponent has a thin frontcourt, the Hogs will exploit it early.
- The "Freshman Wall" hasn't hit: Usually, by January, highly-rated freshmen like Acuff and Thomas start to fade. They look stronger. Keep an eye on their minutes; Calipari isn't riding them as hard as he did his stars at Kentucky, which might keep them fresh for March.
- Ole Miss is a "Buy Low" Team: Don't let the 0-2 SEC start fool you. They played Arkansas tough and lost a heartbreaker to Georgia in overtime. They’re going to upset a top-10 team at home before February is over.
- Betting Note: The "Over" has been hitting consistently for Arkansas. Their pace is significantly higher than in the Eric Musselman era.
The next few weeks are going to be wild. Arkansas heads to Athens to face a No. 21 Georgia team that is hungry after a buzzer-beater loss. If the Hogs can bring that same Oxford energy to Georgia, we might be looking at a top-10 ranking by the time February rolls around.
For those tracking the long-term outlook, this win was the proof of concept. Calipari has the talent. He has the buy-in. Now, he just needs to keep the wheels on the bus as the SEC schedule gets even more brutal.
Make sure to monitor the injury report for Trevon Brazile. He's been the glue for this rotation, and his ability to stretch the floor is what opens up those driving lanes for Acuff. If he stays healthy, this Arkansas team is a Final Four dark horse. Keep a close watch on the defensive rebounding numbers in the next three games—that’s the one area where Ole Miss actually exploited them, and bigger teams like Tennessee will be watching that tape closely. Article finished.