No. 1 Tennessee basketball defeated No. 23 Arkansas, 76-52, in a dominating fashion in its first SEC matchup of the season.
In its first conference game, Tennessee basketball defeated No. 23 Arkansas 76-52 Saturday afternoon in front of a packed Food City Center. With the resounding victory, top-ranked Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) tied the program’s finest start ever, which was set 102 years ago in 1922–23.
Saturday afternoon marked John Calipari’s first game as Arkansas’ head coach against Tennessee. Jonas Aidoo, a transfer forward from Tennessee, returned to Food City Center with Arkansas in the SEC game. Aidoo finished with four points and five rebounds in 29 minutes for Arkansas.
To lead the Razorbacks was sophomore guard D.J. Wagner. He finished with 17 points on 50% shooting (6-12). Being picked up fullcourt by Zakai Zeigler caused standout freshman Boogie Fland to struggle. He finished with 12 points on 33% shooting (5-15). Skilled forward Adou Thiero was relatively quiet today tallying 6 points on seven shots.
Tennessee nearly shot better from 3-point range (38.5%, 10 of 26) than from the field (39.1%, 27 of 69). Arkansas also struggled from the field, shooting 37.7% (20-53) and 20.6% from behind the arc (6-29).
Tennessee led by as many as 27 points and only trailed for 3:09.
Takeaway #1: Dominating the glass
The Volunteers controlled the rebounds battle Saturday afternoon. Tennessee outboarded Arkansas by 22 and finished with a season-best 51 rebounds. Of those 51, the Vols tallied 24 offensive rebounds compared to the Razorbacks’ nine.
At the helm of this success was standout transfer forward, Igor Milicic Jr., He finished with a career-best 18 total rebounds.
Milicic emphasized that becoming a successful rebounder requires consistency. You must continue to crash the boards despite your fatigue. You must agree to make contact.
“I just need to go jump and get it,” Milicic said. “It’s not that hard, honestly.”
“It’s just another opportunity to score,” Milicic said. “It is all of us. We get extra opportunities to score and it shows with the shooting that we have here. It is really fun — and of course, sometimes you get a putback, right?”
Barnes praised Milicic Jr.’s ability to anticipate, be quick, and have strong hands. He gave his effort extra credit.
“Even if he is not shooting the ball well, I can count on him to go get 10 rebounds or go get five O-boards,” Zeigler said. “It is just really impressive he does it day in and day out.”
Milicic Jr. is currently up to 8.9 rebounds per game for the season after Tuesday’s contest.
Takeaway #2: Stifling defense
Coach Calipari and his team’s offensive performance today was significantly impacted by Tennessee basketball’s second-ranked defense in the nation. In 13 games, the Razorbacks routinely score 82.5 points per contest, but today, they missed that mark by 30 points.
Arkansas’ offense was thwarted by the Vols’ quick rotations and help-side defense. Coach Barnes occasionally told his team to play defense 94 feet and press. As a result of their efforts, Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler both recorded three steals that afternoon.
Tennessee made it a goal to wear down the Razorbacks’ players physically, make them uncomfortable, and make them shoot difficult shots.
Takeaway #3: Zeigler, Lanier, Milicic Jr: Three-headed monster
If anyone wondered if the Chaz Lanier experiment would translate to SEC play, the Tennessee guard gave a definitive response on Saturday afternoon. With a season-high 29 points, Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier led all scorers. He converted 10-of-20 field goal attempts, 5-of-9 three-point attempts, and 4-of-4 free throw attempts. Today would mark his third consecutive 20-point performance and seventh overall.
The supporting cast of Lanier was equally outstanding. Perhaps the most productive player on the court was Igor Milicic Jr., who was a part of the same offseason transfer portal haul. With 13 points and an incredible 18 rebounds, he recorded a double-double. He also added five assists to go with his impressive stat line.
To further solidify the trio’s dominance of the game, senior guard and reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Zakai Zeigler contributed 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
The victory likely guarantees Tennessee’s fifth consecutive week at the top of the rankings, setting a program record.
The Volunteers will travel to Gainesville, Florida, and take on the Florida Gators in a top-10 in-conference matchup Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. EST live on ESPN2.
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Next up for Tennessee (14-0): at Florida (13-1) – Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. EST
Next Up for Arkansas (11-3): vs. Ole Miss (12-2) – Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. EST