ST. LOUIS — The No. 2 seeded Tennessee men’s basketball will face sixth-seeded Arkansas in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday at the Scottrade Center. The game tips around 3:30 p.m. ET and will be televised live on ESPN and streamed online via WatchESPN.
The Volunteers (24-7) claimed a share of the SEC Regular-Season Championship after being picked to finish 13th by select media during the preseason. On Tuesday, UT swept the SEC’s postseason honors, as Rick Barnes won Coach of the Year, Grant Williams won Player of the Year and Lamonte Turner was Co-Sixth Man of the Year. Williams, who was also named First Team All-SEC, joined Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bernard King as the only Vols to earn SEC POY distinction as underclassmen.
SEC Co-Player of the Week and Second-Team All-SEC honoree Admiral Schofield averaged 23.5 points and 5.0 rebounds last week while delivering from the field (17-34, .500) and the free-throw line (11-13, .846) in victories over Mississippi State and Georgia to clinch a share of the title. In Saturday’s game against UGA, Schofield led the Vols in scoring for the third game in a row with 23 points to help UT comeback from a double-digit deficit to defeat the Bulldogs.
Tennessee won its first matchup of the tournament, defeating seventh-seeded Mississippi State in a hard-fought 62-59 victory in the quarterfinals. Turner led the way with 15 points, eight rebounds and a career-high four steals. Williams posted his first double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. On the night, UT held a 50-33 edge on the glass, including 22 offensive rebounds.
Arkansas claimed the only matchup between the two teams this season, beating the Vols in a 95-93 overtime game in the SEC opener in Decemeber. The winner of our game will advance to the finals and will face the No. 4 seeded Kentucky or ninth-seeded Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
THE SERIES
• Overall: Arkansas leads, 20-19
• In Knoxville: UT leads, 11-4
• In Fayetteville: UA leads, 10-4
• Neutral Sites: UA leads, 6-4
• Current Streak: Arkansas has won six straight
• Last Meeting: UA won, 95-93, in OT in Fayetteville, 12/30/17
• Rick Barnes vs. Arkansas: 3-5
• Rick Barnes vs. Mike Anderson: Anderson leads, 7-2
RIGHT NOW
• Tennessee enters Saturday’s SEC Tournament semifinals riding a league-best, five-game win streak during which the Vols are allowing only 59.2 points per game while boasting a +8.6 scoring margin.
• Tennessee pulled down a season-high 22 offensive rebounds and was +17 on the glass Friday vs. Mississippi State.
• The Vols are rated No. 10 in the NCAA’s RPI. Arkansas is No. 29.
• SEC Co-Player of the Week Admiral Schofield is averaging 20.2 points and 6.6 during UT’s five-game win streak.
• KenPom.com rates Tennessee’s strength-of-schedule eighth nationally.
A WIN WOULD…
• Extend Tennessee’s win streak to six games.
• Keep the Vols undefeated in rematch games this season. Tennessee is 6-0 in such games.
• Put Tennessee in the SEC Tournament title game for the first time since 2009.
• Make this Tennessee squad one of just four teams ever to reach the 25-win mark. This is the 109th season of Tennessee basketball.
THE LAST MEETING WITH ARKANSAS
• After a late surge by Arkansas, No. 19 Tennessee came up short in overtime, 95-93, at Bud Walton Arena on Dec. 30, 2017.
• With a 68-61 edge in the final four minutes of the second half, the Razorbacks (11-2, 1-0 SEC) stormed back into the game behind a 12-2 run to take their first lead of the contest. Down by one with 18 seconds remaining, Tennessee’s Jordan Bone drew a foul and tied the game at 73-73 to force overtime.
• Arkansas had all the momentum going into overtime and pulled away early on in the extra period with a 16-5 run. The Vols (9-3, 0-1 SEC) clawed back to make it a two-point game with eight seconds left behind back-to-back 3-pointers by Lamonté Turner, but it wasn’t enough. The teams combined to score 42 total points in the five-minute overtime period.
• The Volunteers had five players with double-digit scoring, paced by Bone’s season-high 21 points. He also had six boards and five assists in 38 minutes of action. James Daniel III had a big game off the bench, scoring 17 to go with four assists and a pair of rebounds and steals.
• Admiral Schofield finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Grant Williams and Turner chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
• Arkansas was paced by Daryl Macon, who finished with 33 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field. Jaylen Barford added 28.
• Facing a high-pressure Arkansas defense, Tennessee guards Jordan Bone and James Daniel III combined to commit only three turnovers in 73 minutes played.
TENNESSEE vs. ARKANSAS IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT
• Tennessee is 3-3 all-time against Arkansas at the SEC Tournament.
• The most recent meeting was an 80-72 Arkansas victory at the 2015 tournament in Nashville. UT was the No. 10 seed, and the Razorbacks were the No. 2 seed.
• Saturday’s clash marks the third meeting since 2011 for Vols and Razorbacks in the SEC Tournament.
24 WINS AND COUNTING
• This is one of only six Tennessee teams to win at least 24 games in a single season (see chart below).
• Tennessee has logged its 26th all-time 20-win season and its first since 2013-14, when the Vols finished with 24 victories and advanced to their seventh Sweet Sixteen.
• Tennessee also recorded 23 regular-season victories for the first time since 2009-10 (23).
• In 31 seasons as a Division I head coach, Rick Barnes has now led his teams to 20 or more wins 21 times.
RANK SEASON RECORD POSTSEASON
1 2007-08 31-5 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2 2009-10 28-9 NCAA Elite Eight
3 1999-2000 26-7 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
4 2006-07 24-11 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
5 2013-14 24-13 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
6 2017-18 24-7 TBD
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