The Arkansas Razorbacks (19-11, 8-9 SEC) are below .500 in conference play once again after their 75-57 loss to No. 12 Tennessee on Tuesday night.
It was a frustrating and ugly performance as the Volunteers (22-8, 11-6) led from wire-to-wire and showed why they arguably the best defense in the entire country. The Razorbacks just couldn’t get anything going offensively in the first half, turning the ball over over 10 times and shooting just 37.5% from the floor.
At the other end, Tennessee owned the paint and offensive glass, making it tough on Arkansas to close out defensive possessions. The Vols had a 12-0 advantage in second chance points and 8-1 advantage in offensive rebounds, which helped them take a 34-25 lead into halftime. Arkansas was able to cut the lead to seven early in the second half, but it was basically more of the same and the result was never in doubt.
Arkansas’ struggles in Tuesday night’s loss were similar to what plagued them in the second half of their loss to No. 2 Alabama this past Saturday. The Razorbacks were outrebounded, overpowered in the paint and missed too many free throws in both games.
Let’s go beyond the box score and take a closer look at what happened to Arkansas in their penultimate game of the regular season.