Arkansas basketball, John Calipari blown out by No. 1 Tennessee in SEC opener

Posted by author January 4, 2025 Basketball

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The SEC is the best basketball conference in America, but Arkansas basketball learned the hard way that there could also be a clear pecking order within the league.

The Razorbacks (11-3, 0-1) fell to Tennessee 76-52 on Saturday in their SEC opener. The Volunteers (14-0, 1-0) went on a 12-0 run midway through the first half and never looked back, holding Arkansas to a season-low in points and shooting, as the Hogs were 37.7% from the field.

Tennessee’s stars were terrific. Chaz Lanier led all scorers with 29 points, while point guard Zakai Zeigler dished out seven assists to go along with 12 points. Igor Millicic was arguably the most impactful player, recording a double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds.

The Razorbacks couldn’t match those efforts. DJ Wagner paced Arkansas with 17 points, but he had four of the Hogs’ 15 turnovers.

Here are three observations from Arkansas’ blowout loss to Tennessee.

Arkansas basketball gets bullied on the boards

At the end of the first half, the Hogs had 12 total rebounds. The Volunteers had 27, with 14 coming on the offensive glass.

Arkansas simply had no answer for Tennessee’s two-big lineup, and outside of two brief stretches when he let Trevon Brazile and Zvonimir Ivisic play together, John Calipari stayed small throughout the first period.

The Volunteers took advantage, racking up 13 more shots than Arkansas and turning all of those extra chances into a 42-27 lead at halftime. Tennessee finished the game by winning the rebounding margin 51-29, and the Razorbacks have now trailed by double digits in the first half of all five games against Power 4 competition.

Boogie Fland and Adou Thiero struggle

Tennessee held Thiero to just six points on 3-of-7 shooting. Arkansas’ 6-foot-8 wing entered the game as the Hogs’ leading scorer, averaging 17.8 points per game, but he struggled to create quality looks and went 0 for 4 from the free-throw line.

Fland had 12 points, but he was 5 of 15 from the field and 2 for 9 on 3-pointers. The Volunteers have the second best scoring defense in the country, and they made life miserable for the Razorbacks’ top two scorers.

Arkansas goes cold from downtown

Fland wasn’t the only Razorback to struggle with his shot. The Hogs made their first two 3-pointers of the game, but they missed 19 of their next 21 attempts and finished the night 6 of 29.

Johnell Davis, who returned after a two-game absence with a wrist injury, was 0 for 4 on 3-pointers and failed to score a single point. The shooting got better late in the nonconference slate, but it’s still a massive question mark against the elite defenses of the SEC.