yahoo - 3/19/2026 9:24:33 PM - GMT (+2 )
Be sure to follow USA TODAY Sports' live bracket updates and scores, keeping track of all of NCAA Tournament's Day 1 games.
Fourth-seed Arkansas (26-8) faces No. 13 Hawaii (24-8) in the first round of the Men's NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
For John Calipari, this is his 25th March Madness appearance. With two wins this weekend, he will reach the 17th Sweet 16 of his career.
The Razorbacks are led by SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff Jr., who was dominant in Arkansas' SEC tournament championship run. The freshman is a likely high-lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
More: John Calipari unleashed Darius Acuff by taking page out of NBA book
Arkansas vs Hawaii live scoreThis section will be updated.
What TV channel is Arkansas vs Hawaii basketball on today?- TV channel: TBS
- Streaming:Sling TV
Brad Nessler, Wally Szczerbiak and Jared Greenberg will call the game for TBS.
Arkansas vs Hawaii March Madness game start time today- Date: Thursday, March 19
- Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
- Location: Portland, Ore.
- John Leuzzi: Arkansas
- Ehsan Kassim: Arkansas
- Austin Curtright: Arkansas
- Craig Meyer: Arkansas
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Thursday, March 19
- Spread: Arkansas (-14.5)
- Over/under: 158.5
- Moneyline: Arkansas (-1400); Hawaii (+825)
Pringle did not participate in Arkansas' open practice on Wednesday. He had a sleeve on his right leg and stood off to the side for a majority of the workout, occasionally going through dribbling drills, grabbing rebounds and passing to his teammates.
Pringle is averaging 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds this season. He plays 19 minutes per game.
John Calipari has history of early March Madness upsetsAlthough it seems like a no-brainer to have Arkansas over Hawaii, Calipari's recent history might suggest otherwise.
In his final three seasons at Kentucky, Calipari's teams lost in the first weekend of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, two of them truly shocking upsets. Kentucky lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2024. The Wildcats were a No. 3 seed that season but fell to No. 14 Oakland by a final of 80-76.
Kentucky was a No. 2 seed in the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament when it went up against No. 15-seed Saint Peter's. It was arguably the biggest upset of the year.
Darius Acuff Jr. stats- 22.9 points per game
- 3.2 rebounds per game
- 6.5 assists per game
- 48.6% field goal percentage
- 44.5% 3-point field goal percentage
Projected as the No. 6 to Dallas Mavericks, by For The Win:
"Now led by Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks need to find players who can help Dallas stay competitive on offense and Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. can do exactly that. The SEC Player of the Year is excellently efficient at operating ball screens or in isolation. He leads freshmen for points created per 40 minutes (43.1) either by himself or through an assist, per CBB Analytics. He can score well from either side of the court and is among the freshmen leaders in both alley-oop assists (15) and field goals made in transition (62) this season. There is a reason rival coach Sean Miller thinks this generational guard should have his name in the mix at No. 1 overall."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness live: Arkansas vs Hawaii score, updates in NCAA first round
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