Tennessee basketball 2019-2020 season recap: Vols top five wins
2. Arkansas Razorbacks
Tennessee wins 82-61
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020
Most of these wins by Tennessee basketball had a combination of being against a quality opponent and being a thriller. This one, though, wasn’t a thriller. It was just against a quality opponent, and it makes the list because of how impressive the Vols were. Their win over the Arkansas Razorbacks was one of their most complete performances of the season.
Remember, Arkansas was a top 50 RPI team this year under first year head coach Eric Musselman, and they reached 20 wins on the season. Coming off a home loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, UT could not afford to lose two home games in a row. That made this matchup crucial, and they made sure to deliver for the crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena.
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Rocky Top dominated Arkansas 82-61. Jordan Bowden found his stroke in this game with 16 points to go along with six assists and three rebounds. Yves Pons had 12 points, and John Fulkerson added 14 points and eight rebounds. Off the bench, Olivier Nkamhoua had an impressive 10 points and six rebounds as a freshman.
But Nkamhoua was just part of the freshman show. Even with Josiah-Jordan James out, Santiago Vescovi stepped up. He got red-hot, dropping 20 points and hitting three-of-four three-pointers while picking up eight assists. This game was a glimpse of the future on Rocky Top with those guys plus so much other young talent, and it was a complete showing. That’s why it’s on here.