After a dominant non-conference run to start the season, No. 1 Tennessee basketball defends home court against its first SEC opponent, No. 23 Arkansas Razorbacks. Read more for a full Tennessee vs. Arkansas prediction and preview.
The top-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team will play No. 23 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at Food City Center to kick off the SEC schedule and the 2025 calendar year. The time of tipoff is 1 p.m. ET.
General Information:
Teams: Tennessee (13-0) and Arkansas (11-2)
Tip-Off: 1 p.m. EST
Watch: ESPN
Latest on Arkansas basketball:
Tennessee basketball is facing longtime foe John Calipari, but in a new uniform and with a new team. After spending 15 seasons at Kentucky, Calipari was hired by Arkansas in April. The Razorbacks have started the season with an 11-2 record and are currently on a six-game win streak.
Arkansas is led by the tandem of Adou Thiero and Boogie Fland. Thiero is a junior forward who followed Calipari to Fayetteville, Arkansas. After leaping production this year, Thiero is currently leading the team in scoring with 17.8 points per contest. He also adds 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.0 steals a game. Future first-round pick Boogie Fland has come in red hot as a true freshman. Scoring from all levels of the floor, Fland averages 15.9 points on 45/40/83 splits. In addition, he averages 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals a game.
As a team, the Razorbacks rank second in field goal percentage, third in three-point percentage, and fifth in assists per game compared to other teams in the SEC. Fans will keep their eyes open to see how this high-powered offense fares against a stifling Tennessee defense.
Former Vol Jonas Aidoo will return to Knoxville for the first time since his transfer in April of 2024. Rick Barnes didn’t see Aidoo’s decision to transfer coming “because he told everybody he was fine.” After a strong junior season at Tennessee, Aidoo earned the SEC’s All-Defensive team and Second Team All-SEC accolades. His averages of 11.4 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, 4.5 defensive rebounds, and 1.8 blocks were all career highs. In an injury-plagued 2024–25 season, he is averaging just 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Razorbacks.
Latest on Tennessee basketball:
Rick Barnes and his team will not enter conference play with an attitude of complacency. “You can throw it all out. We’re 0-0 like everybody else,” Barnes said. “Rankings mean nothing. None of it, other than maybe people look at it as a way to build their resume right now. But the fact is 0-0 with everybody in the league.”
Alongside other SEC opponents, No. 6 Florida and No. 12 Oklahoma, Tennessee basketball is among just three undefeated DI schools.
In their most recent game, Tennessee basketball defeated Norfolk State 67-52 on Tuesday afternoon at Food City Center to close the calendar year. With a game-high 24 points by fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier, the Vols cruised from the beginning to the end, securing an undefeated non-conference record for the fifth time since joining the SEC (1932–33).
The Volunteers are second in both scoring defense (56.2) and field-goal percentage defense (34.7), and they lead the country in 3-point percentage defense (24.6). In terms of scoring margin, it ranks third as well (23.8).
Before practice Friday morning, Barnes downplayed the reunion storyline of former Volunteer Jonas Aidoo’s return to Knoxville. “But Jonas, really, we loved him when he was here, what he did and loved his growth. But he’s there, we’re here and it’s about competition now.”
Tennessee basketball will look to start the year off hot and take care of business in its first in-conference game of the season.
Tennessee vs Arkansas prediction: Vols by 7 (72-65)
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