No. 17 Arkansas went on a 14-5 run in the final 4:01 to defeat No. 22 Vanderbilt 86-75 on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena to win the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2000.
John Calipari becomes the first coach to win this tournament at two different schools. Calipari was proud to deliver the championship to the Razorbacks in just his second season.
"So when you've done this a long time and you're in the business of young people, it is about the name on the back of the jersey," Calipari said.
Darius Acuff Jr. was named the tournament's MVP scoring 30 points and dishing out 11 assists. But it was a big game off the bench for D.J. Wagner who scored 11 points, added four rebounds and four assists. Wagner was 3 of 3 from deep and played 23 minutes and replaced Meleek Thomas for much of the second half.
"Yes, we're doing it for Arkansas," Calipari said. "But me, I'm so proud of D.J. Wagner what he did the last rebound he got, the 3s he hit, how he defended, the energy he brought. I am so happy for Nick (Pringle) and what he did, because Malique (Ewin) did not play well. All of a sudden I'm proud of him because it's the first time he started that way. In the last five minutes, the reason we won was Malique Ewin. Then you have Meleek Thomas. I went down on the bench because I wasn't going to put him back in, not because of him but because of what was happening on the court. And I walked down and I said, Listen, I'm going to stick with this group.
"He looks at me and says, I'm good. I'm great. And I hugged him. And then I gave him a kiss on the cheek. He was, like, what the hell? But you look at Billy (Richmond III). You look at how much Darius has grown. Not only as a basketball player, as a leader. It's incredible. That's what we should be in the business for. You want to win, but it's the name on the back that I'm in the business for."
The Razorbacks, who were up 41-39 at intermission, held a 74-72 lead over Vanderbilt with 3:41 remaining in the game, but then Trevon Brazile hit back-to-back 3's, Ewin hit inside, Acuff canned two free throws and then Brazile hit a field goal with 41 seconds remaining to allow the Razorbacks to take an 86-72 lead.
Acuff had 91 points in his three games in this tournament which is the third highest ever at this event. The two ahead of him both played four games.
"Just my teammates believing in me," Acuff said. "I have to give credit to them. They trust me with the ball and I got to go make the plays. Downhill was working all weekend and today. I just had to be smart with the ball, no late turnovers in the last couple minutes."
Brazile hit a 3-pointer to open the game and then hit another with 15:08 remaining in the first half. How big was it to hit those early 3 pointers?
"Anytime you see a couple go in early, you feel good," Brazile said. "That definitely helped my confidence going down the stretch. Also, Coach Cal calling out in the huddle I was going to hit the dagger again, like he did at Mizzou. Him having that confidence in me, my confidence in myself, it feels good."
Vanderbilt held a 55-49 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game. But then Acuff hit a field goal and Wagner canned back-to-back 3's to give the Hogs a 57-55 lead. Arkansas hit 52% from the field and an unreal 63% (15-24) from deep. They held Vanderbilt to 38% from the field and 42 from deep. Each team shot 15 free throws. Vanderbilt didn't miss and the Razorbacks made 11. Arkansas outrebounded Vanderbilt 36-34.
Richmond added 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block. Brazile finished with 16 points, nine boards, two blocks and a pair of steals. Thomas finished with seven points. Arkansas (26-8) will be a No. 4-seed in the West. They face Hawaii (24-8) in the first round in Portland on Thursday.
Vanderbilt (26-6) was topped by Duke Miles with 19 points. He also added four rebounds, nine assists and four steals. Tyler Nickel also had 19 points and had nine boards. Tyler Tanner added 15 points.