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Tennessee basketball: 3 takeaways from Vols SEC Tournament win vs. Arkansas

By Caleb Calhoun

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC Tournament 84-66. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ win.

It’s a rare moment when Tennessee basketball advances this far in the SEC Tournament. But the Vols did just that on Saturday after beating the Arkansas Razorbacks.

With the victory, Rick Barnes’s team improves to 25-7 overall, while Arkansas falls to 23-11. After losing to Mike Anderson’s team to open the SEC season, the Vols responded in a big way in St. Louis Saturday.

They now advance to the championship game Sunday to take on the Kentucky Wildcats, a team they swept in the regular season. However, John Calipari’s team has a ton of talent and is still dangerous. So the Vols will need to be ready. Before looking ahead to that game, here are three takeaways from Tennessee basketball’s Saturday win.

1. Red-hot shooting returned.

Tennessee basketball shot 76 percent in the first half and 7-of-8 from three. That set the tone for the whole game. After struggling on Friday against the Mississippi State Bulldogs from outside, they 100 percent made up for it. The Hogs never had a chance as Jordan Bone, James Daniel III, Lamonte Turner and even Admiral Schofield were untouchable from outside. And Schofield leads to our next point.

2. Inside game was dominant. 

Schofield’s hot shooting outside led to him scoring 16 points overall. Meanwhile, Grant Williams did his job with 12 points, and the two had 7 and 5 rebounds respectively. Add in Kyle Alexander’s 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, and it’s clear that as good as the outside shooting was, the inside game remained dominant. The combination of the two is why the Vols finished with 16 assists.

3. Depth showed for the Vols.

Williams and Schofield both had three fouls with 10 minutes left, and Jordan Bowden had four. But even with those, the Vols managed to hold onto the win. Sure, it’s because of how red-hot they were from outside and their dominant inside game overall. But this is also a testament to Rick Barnes, who made sure Tennessee basketball could withstand such drama this year. Turner and Daniel were once again valuable off the bench, and John Fulkerson and Yves Pons both provided valuable minutes down low. Yes, it’s hard to criticize them for their play in this game.

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