John Calipari, Arkansas Beat High Point to Advance in March Madness as Fans Hype Darius Acuff Jr.

Arkansas guard and likely top-10 NBA draft pick Darius Acuff Jr. posted 36 points and six assists to lead the No. 4 seed Razorbacks to a 94-88 win over No. 12 seed High Point in the second round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on Saturday in Portland, Oregon.

Senior guard Rob Martin scored 30 points to lead the resilient underdog Panthers, who fought hard all game and found itself tied with Arkansas at 83 with 3:19 remaining. Martin made a three-point play and a layup on back-to-back possessions to pull the Panthers even.

However, Acuff was too tough down the stretch, scoring seven straight points on a pair of layups and a three that put Arkansas up 90-83 with 1:03 left.

Acuff, a 6'3" freshman, looks like a potential star on the next level. Jonathan Wasserman placed him sixth in his latest NBA mock draft for Bleacher Report.

"Consistent production and late-game execution have been major selling points to Acuff throughout the season," Wasserman wrote in part. "But he's playing at an ever higher level lately, having just averaged 30.3 points and 7.7 assists during Arkansas' SEC tournament run."

Acuff, who scored a career-high 49 points earlier this season in a 117-115 double overtime loss to Alabama, has now averaged 30.0 PPG in the NCAA tournament.

Fans and analysts raved about him after the game.

Arkansas has now advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the West region. The Razorbacks will play either No. 1 seed Arizona or No. 9 seed Utah State on Thursday in San Jose, California.