Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Tennessee Volunteers Preview

The Vols lost a backbreaker in OT at Georgia on January 10th. Since then, they have gone 5-2, with wins over UCONN and the Saturday’s win over Florida and both losses being on the road at Vanderbilt, and at Kentucky. What am I getting at? Tennessee is actually playing for something. No, I don’t think they will go to the NCAA tournament. They are currently sitting at 110th in RPI Rankings. To get to the big dance, the Vols would need to win out, maybe lose one game, and win at least two in the SEC Tournament ,and they would still be on the bubble. Doable? Sure. Likely? Probably not.

What are the Vols playing for then?  Mississippi State has lost two straight and the Vols, sitting at 5-5, with a win, would take over that 4th place spot, and be in prime position for a first round bye in the SEC Tournament. Arkansas is also 5-5, thus, they are playing for the same thing. That makes this game paramount for these two teams.

First and most important thing about tonight’s matchup. Arkansas is abysmal on the road. Here’s how they have faired so far:

@ Connecticut: Loss 75-62

@ Oklahoma: Loss: 78-63

@ Ole Miss: Loss: 71-63

@ Kentucky: Loss: 86-63

@LSU: Loss 71-65

@ Alabama: Loss: 72-66

And the Pièce de résistance a 81-58 shellacking at the hands of a mediocre, at best, Georgia team a week ago.

Arkansas is similar to the Vols. New coach, have been wildly inconsistent, and have struggled on the road. They have key wins over Michigan and Vanderbilt, but very bad losses such as the Georgia loss and losing to Houston (RPI Ranking: 248) at home early in the season.

Tennessee has wins over Connecticut, Florida, twice (that feels heavenly to say) but losses to Oakland, College of Charleston, and Georgia on the road, and Austin Peay at home.

Why Arkansas Will Win:

Arkansas is the better team on paper. They average 73.6 ppg and hold their opponents t0 67.2 ppg. Arkansas is also second in the SEC in assists, averaging 14 per game. You also have to factor in that the Vols are coming off of an emotional win Saturday and there’s always potential for a letdown after a big game.

Why Tennessee Will Win:

It’s simple, Arkansas can’t play away from home and Tennessee has been solid, especially since the addition of Jarnell Stokes in January. The Vols haven’t lost in the Tommy Bowl since a January 14th loss to Kentucky, and in that game, they took the now #1 team to the wire before falling 65-62. As far as trends go, Tennessee has gotten better and better as the season goes on where Arkansas has begun to struggle.

Keys to Victory

Tennessee needs to play their game, defense. In their big wins this season, the Vols have held their opponents to field goal percentages of 35.7 against Florida, 36.4 against UCONN and 43.5 @ Florida. Tennessee will also have to crash the boards. When they do this well, especially on the offensive end, they win.

The game is tonight @ 8:00 pm on ESPN3/ SEC Network.