Tennessee entered Bud Walton Arena needing a win to get back to .500 in conference play, and the Vols knew they’d have to take care of the basketball against Arkansas’ pressing defense to emerge with a victory. The smothering Razorback defense forced 20 turnovers and converted them into 27 points. It was too much for the Vols to overcome, and UT fell 73-60. The Vols dropped to 3-5 in SEC play and remain winless on the road this season.

Stokes played his best road game of the year.
Photo by Randy Sartin

Offense: While Tennessee lost, Cuonzo got another encouraging performance from Jarnell Stokes. The sophomore forward was averaging just 5.0 points per game on the road prior to the contest, but scored 18 points and pulled down 10 boards in his best effort on the road this season. Stokes finished 6-7 from the field and 6-9 from the charity stripe. Kenny Hall (14 points) and Josh Richardson (11 points) joined Stokes in double-figures.

McRae (6 points on 2-11 shooting) struggled to get going and Arkansas frustrated him with their ball pressure defense. With Golden’s absence, McRae had to shoulder a larger portion of the ball handling duties, and it took its toll on Tennessee’s leading scorer. Moving forward, Tennessee needs to take some pressure off McRae and work to create open looks for him without the ball.

The Vols shot 43.8% for the game.

Defense: Tennessee struggled to defend Arkansas in transition and gave up numerous easy looks at the bucket. BJ Young led the Razorbacks in scoring with 25 points and beat the Vols in transition, from 3, and from the line, “He knocked down two key 3s, but he did a good job of trying to get to the rim. That’s the biggest key. He scored some baskets in transition and I’ve seen him for a long time,” Cuonzo said. “If you allow him to get baskets in transition. It’s going to be a long night for you. He’s always got his head up and is able to make plays from there.”

The Vols were great at shutting down an opposing team’s best player last year, but have struggled to do so this season. The Vols played poor transition defense and were slow getting back on defense multiple times. With this team’s offensive struggles Tennessee can’t afford opponents easy buckets; that, is an issue that needs to be addressed if the Vols have any hope of postseason play.

Arkansas shot 48.3% on the afternoon.

Final Take: Even though Golden has been struggling, his absence clearly hurt the Vols; yet that’s no excuse. Tennessee has to take better care of the ball, limit opponents in transition, and work to get guards open looks without the basketball. “You’ve got to be able to handle the pressure. That’s the biggest key,” Cuonzo said. “From the bench, you see opportunities, but I’m not on the floor. You’ve got to get the ball over the top and attack the rim.”

Up Next: The Vols host Georgia at 8 p.m.  TV: SEC Network