Tennessee @ Arkansas preview

Tennessee at Arkansas

Last Meeting ( Jan 3, 2017 ) Arkansas 82, Tennessee 78

The SEC tips off conference play this weekend, and the marquee matchup will take place in Fayetteville, Ark., with No. 20 Tennessee visiting the unranked but on-a-roll Razorbacks. The teams are a combined 19-4 so far and both are ranked among the nation’s elite in the current NCAA RPI with the Volunteers sitting eighth and Arkansas holding down the 13th spot.

The Razorbacks are averaging an SEC-best 90.0 points per game, which ranks eighth nationally, while the Volunteers are averaging 77.5 and allowing only 65.3, third in the conference. Both teams will apply full-court pressure at times and rank first (Arkansas, plus-5.8) and third (Tennessee, plus-3.5) in SEC turnover margin. The Razorbacks are 19th nationally in analyst Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted offensive-efficiency ratings and play at the nation’s 29th fastest tempo while the Volunteers are ninth in adjusted defensive efficiency. “Arkansas is a great transition team which can really explode on you,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in a post-practice news conference Thursday. “They can score in bunches and are a multiple defensive team with a lot of depth. It should be a game that’s really an up-and-down game.”

TV: 1 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT TENNESSEE (9-2, 0-0 SEC): The Vols’ only losses have come against top-10 teams Villanova (85-76) and North Carolina (78-73), but they also have beaten nationally-ranked Purdue (78-75 in OT) and the ACC’s N.C. State (67-58), Georgia Tech (77-70) and Wake Forest (79-60). Forward Grant Williams is pacing the squad in scoring (15.4 points) and rebounding (6.6) while guard Jordan Bowden (12.0 points) and forward Admiral Schofield (11.9) also are averaging double figures. Guards James Daniel (3.6 assists) and Jordan Bone (3.5) are setting the table for the offense, which has recorded assists on 66.9 percent of its made field goals, a rate which ranks only behind SMU (67.8) and Michigan State (67.3) nationally.

ABOUT ARKANSAS (10-2, 0-0): Coach Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks have reeled off five straight wins and are 7-0 at home this season, winning by an average margin of 27 points. Guard Jaylen Barford leads five double-figure scorers with 18.6 points and is shooting a team-best 46.4 percent from 3-point range. Guards Daryl Macon (15.3 points), Anton Beard (12.1) and C.J. Jones (10.5) and forward Daniel Gafford (11.7) also average double digits for the Razorbacks who rank 21st nationally in field-goal percentage (50.3).

TIP-INS

1. The series is knotted at 19 wins apiece, but Arkansas has won five straight and six of the last eight, including four straight in Fayetteville.

2. Bowden is shooting 53.2 percent from the floor and even better from 3-point range at a sizzling 61.9 percent (26-of-42).

3. Neither team has been particularly dominant on the glass with Tennessee entering the contest with a plus-2 average rebound margin and Arkansas sitting at plus-0.4.

PREDICTION: Arkansas 79, Tennessee 75