Arkansas Razorbacks at Tennessee Volunteers Betting Preview
Two of the best teams out of the SEC will square off Saturday as the No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks (24-6, 13-4) take on the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers (22-7, 13-4). The Volunteers will host this one at the Thompson-Boling Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 12:00 pm ET.
This will be the second time this season these two have matched up. Back on February 19, Arkansas was able to take down the Volunteers 58-48 at home. Jaylin Williams was phenomenal in the win for Arkansas, tying a game-high with 13 points and securing 16 rebounds.
Including that victory over Tennessee, the Razorbacks are in the midst of a five-game winning streak. On Wednesday, they took down LSU at home 77-76. Stanley Umude led the team in scoring in the victory with 23 points.
Since losing to Arkansas, Tennessee has won three straight, including a huge victory over No. 5 Auburn last Saturday. On Tuesday, they beat Georgia on the road 75-68.
In the win, Josiah-Jordan James had a game-high 23 points while also bringing down eight rebounds. Kennedy Chandler added 16 points.
More Odds
Tennessee currently has the better odds of winning the National Championship at +4000. The Razorbacks are +5000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Arkansas has had the better offense of the two to this point in the season. They rank 25th in the nation averaging 77.4 points per game (74.5 on the road). The Volunteers rank 87th, averaging 73.5 points (78.6 at home).
Defensively, it is Tennessee with the edge. They rank 22nd in scoring defense as they are allowing opponents an average of just 63 points per game (59.6 at home). The Razorbacks rank 126th, allowing 67.8 points per game (71.7 on the road).
Arkansas Looks For Season Sweep
After picking up a win over Tennessee a couple of weeks ago, the Razorbacks would love nothing more than to pick up the season sweep in the regular-season finale. To do so, they will have to play well on the road, where they are 5-3 this season.
Leading Arkansas’ attack is senior guard JD Notae. On the season, he is averaging 18.8 points on 41.9% shooting. He is also chipping in 4.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.
The Razorbacks have three others averaging double digits, including Stanley Umude (11.6 points, 4.7 rebounds), Jaylin Williams (10.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.2 blocks), and Au’Diese Toney (10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds).
Tennessee Looks To Stay Unbeaten At Home
At 22-7, Tennessee has had a solid season, but they have been downright unbeatable at home. In fact, they are 15-0 at the Thompson-Boling Arena and will look to extend that winning record Saturday.
The Volunteers have just two players averaging double digits in guards Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi. Chandler is averaging 13.6 points on 45% shooting. He is also adding 3.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
Not to be outdone, Vescovi is averaging 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
Other contributors for Tennessee include Josiah-Jordan James (9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals), Zakai Zeigler (8.7 points, 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals), and John Fulkerson (7.4 points, 4.7 rebounds).
Take Tennessee To Win
Both of these teams are red hot coming into this one as they have both won at least three games in a row. Despite Arkansas’ big win over Tennessee a couple of weeks ago, this one could be a vastly different outcome.
To the Razorbacks’ credit, they were superb on defense against Tennessee in the first matchup, but expect the Vols to have a bit more success at home. In particular, I would expect better games from leading scorers Chandler and Vescovi, both of whom combined for just 18 points in the first matchup.
Expect this one to be tight down to the wire, but take Tennessee to win and stay unbeaten at home.
