FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball rose four spots in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll after a 2-0 week that included victories over LSU and Auburn.
The Razorbacks (19-6, 9-3 SEC) are ranked No. 17 in the poll that was released on Monday, Feb. 16. John Calipari's rode career scoring performances from Darius Acuff Jr. and Billy Richmond III in an 88-75 home triumph against Auburn.
Acuff scored 31 points and Richmond chipped in 25 as the Hogs shot 57% from the field to avoid a season-sweep. Auburn beat the Razorbacks by 22 points in January.
Acuff also scored 28 points in the victory over LSU, and he was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for a record seventh time on Monday.
The other ranked SEC teams this week are No. 111 Florida and No. 28 Vanderbilt. The Hogs will face the Gators later this month and already have a home victory over the Commodores. Florida sits atop the SEC standings, and Arkansas is alone in second place.
Michigan (24-1) took hold of the top spot after Arizona suffered two losses in the week. The Wildcats fell to No. 4.
The full top-five is Michigan, Houston, Duke, Arizona and UConn.
Three of Arkansas' six losses this season came to No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Duke, and No. 15 Michigan State. The Razorbacks have ranked wins over No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 21 Louisville.
The Razorbacks return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 18 with a road game against Alabama.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball ranking latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll