Why Vanderbilt basketball couldn't handle Darius Acuff in SEC tournament final – The Tennessean

Sometimes, there’s only so much you can do.
Vanderbilt basketball knew that Arkansas was a good 3-point shooting team − in fact, the best 3-point shooting team in the SEC, at 38.9%. But there was only so much the No. 4 seed Commodores (26-8) could do to stop the No. 3 seed Razorbacks from shooting 15-for-24 from deep in Arkansas’ 86-75 win in the SEC tournament championship game on March 15 at Bridgestone Arena.
The game was closer than the score indicated. Vanderbilt trailed by just two with 3:41 to go, but Arkansas went on an 11-0 run that included two 3-pointers.
“They had guys who were, all season long, poor 3-point shooters who made shots tonight,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said. “So give them credit.”
Billy Richmond, a 22% 3-point shooter coming into the game, was 2-for-4. Trevon Brazile, normally a 34% shooter, was 4-for-5.
But it was Darius Acuff, the SEC Player and Freshman of the Year, who served as the true spark for Arkansas (26-8). Acuff scored 30 points with 11 assists. He made some of the biggest shots of the game, and if Vanderbilt sent extra help, he kicked out to open shooters.
“The speed and physicality, (Acuff) gets into your body,” Duke Miles said. ” … And then it’s a looseness. Being an 18-year-old, a high draft pick like that, he’s very tough.”
With March Madness dawning, it’s a natural instinct to want to draw hefty conclusions from every game, but in this case there may not be any. Acuff is the type of star guard that some NCAA tournament teams have, but Vanderbilt has shut down other top players with Miles and Tyler Tanner. Just days ago, the Commodores were able to handle Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie. Star players often find a way to make the biggest plays, but Tanner and Miles did the same themselves in wins over Tennessee and Florida.
It’s unclear how much, if any, the loss will affect Vanderbilt’s seed in the NCAA tournament. Conference championship games on Sundays often have little impact on the bracket, and that’s likely the case for the Commodores. Byington made Vanderbilt’s case for a high seed, pointing out its 10 Quadrant 1 wins.
And the Commodores’ guards got theirs offensively, too. Miles and Tyler Nickel scored 19 apiece and Tyler Tanner had 15, albeit on just 3-for-15 shooting. Acuff was simply too much to handle, and the shooters around him made plays when needed.
“His shiftiness, his speed and the way he moves is going to be good for the NBA too, it’s not just college,” Byington said. “And with him, you need more than one guy who can guard him with team defense and we were compromised today because we wanted to send multiple bodies out on him to try to help out, and he’s a willing passer. He can make the right play, and we’re trying to make other guys make plays and they did it.”
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.

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