Live Updates: No. 1 Tennessee Basketball vs. No. 23 Arkansas in SEC opener
Rick Barnes sent the message loud and clear in the locker room after No. 1 Tennessee’s 67-52 win over Norfolk State on Tuesday at Food City Center. The non-conference schedule is over. Now SEC plays. Now the real season starts.
“We’re going into conference play,” Barnes told his team. “You can throw it all out the book. It’s zero-zero. Every stat you put up to this point? It’s zero-zero. Now it counts.”
The first game that counts is No. 1 Tennessee (13-0) hosting No. 23 Arkansas (11-2) on Saturday in a 1 p.m. Eastern Time start (TV: ESPN) inside a sold-out Food City Center.
The Vols went undefeated in conference play for just the fifth time in program history, are off to the second best start to a season in program history and are looking to maintain their No. 1 ranking after spending the last four weeks at the top of the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll.
No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 23 Arkansas: How To Watch
Start Time: Saturday, 1 p.m. Eastern Time
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN App or WatchESPN.com
Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.
KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 76, Arkansas 64 (87% chance to win)
The Line: Tennessee -11.5
A Closer Look: John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks
John Calipari shocked the college basketball world in April when he left Kentucky after 15 years to take the Arkansas job. He took a lot of Wildcats with him, too.
Three of the five leading scorers for Arkansas this season transferred from Kentucky: guard DJ Wagner, forward Adou Thiero and forward Zvonimir Ivisic.
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Thiero averages 17.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 28.5 minutes per game, Wagner averages 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in a team-high 33.9 minutes per game and Ivisic averages 8.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game.
Boogie Fland, a five-star freshman guard, signed with Kentucky to play for Calipari then followed him to Arkansas. Fland, the No. 18 overall prospect and the No. 1 point guard in the 2024 class, is averaging 15.9 points and 6.2 assists per game.
Former Tennessee center Jonas Aidoo is averaging 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16.0 minutes per game at Arkansas after dealing with an injury early in the season. Johnell Davis, the Florida Atlantic transfer, is averaging 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 30.2 minutes per game but has missed the last two games with a wrist injury.
Calipari’s Razorbacks have won six straight games dating back to a 90-77 loss to Illinois on November 28. The Hogs are ranked No. 37 overall in the KenPom.com ratings, coming in at No. 23 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 52 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Arkansas is No. 37 in the NET with a 1-2 record in Quad 1 games and is currently projected by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
