#8 Tennessee (17-6 | 7-3 SEC) at Arkansas (12-11 | 3-7 SEC)
Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 | 8:00pm CT/9:00pm ET
Fayetteville, AR | Bud Walton Arena | TV: ESPN2
Fayetteville, AR – The eighth-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team heads west for a bout with the Razorbacks of Arkansas Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena. Tipoff is set for 8:00pm CT.
Fans can catch Saturday’s game between the Vols (17-6, 7-3 SEC) and Razorbacks (12-11, 3-7 SEC) on ESPN2. Brian Custer (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Steve Hamer describing the action.
Tennessee fell on the road at Texas A&M Saturday night, 85-69. Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht paced the Volunteers with 22 points in the setback, marking his eighth time posting 20-plus in the last nine contests.
The Matchup
The Volunteers are 6-2 in their last eight meetings with Arkansas, dating back to 3/10/18, after dropping the prior six matchups.
Tennessee is looking to post a winning streak of at least three games against Arkansas for the fourth time ever, including the second in Rick Barnes‘ tenure (also 3/10/18 to 2/11/20).
Arkansas has claimed each of the past seven series meetings in Fayetteville, with UT’s last such win a 74-72 decision on 2/4/09.
After being ranked for its matchup with Arkansas on just six occasions (3-3) prior to 2017- 18, this is the eighth time in UT’s 10 meetings since then in which it is ranked. The Volunteers went 5-2 in the previous seven during that span, including 4-1 with the Razorbacks unranked.
Arkansas, after finishing 22-14 (8- 10) in 2022-23 and reaching the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row, was selected third in the SEC preseason poll.
Junior guard Tramon Mark paces the Razorbacks in scoring at 17.6 ppg, adding a team-high 1.2 spg.
News and Notes
This 8:00pm CT tip ties UT’s second-most recent of the year. It had a 9:00pm CT start versus NC State in Texas and an 8:00pm CT tip at Wisconsin.
UT is 14-13 (11-12 SEC) all-time on Valentine’s Day. It is 8-5 (7-4 SEC) at home and 6-8 (4-8 SEC) on the road. The Vols are 0-1 under Rick Barnes, dropping an 83-58 result at #13 Kentucky in 2017. They are 1-0 versus the Razorbacks, claiming a 74-71 home win over #12 Arkansas in 1998.
Zakai Zeigler has 58 points, 28 assists and 12 steals in the last three games. The only other Power Six player to post such a stretch in the last 12 seasons (2012-24) is Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell, who did so twice in 2022-23.
Santiago Vescovi is seven points away from 1,500, two steals from second place (198) all-time at UT, and four from 200. Josiah-Jordan James is one offensive rebound from the top 15 (180) at UT and one start from sole possession of No. 10 (111). Zakai Zeigler is six assists away from the top 10 at UT (388).
Dalton Knecht has two made field goals from 500.
Dominant DK
Dalton Knecht is averaging 26.4 ppg in SEC play. The lone other DI player at even 25.0 ppg in league action, in any conference, is the nation’s leading scorer, Denver’s Tommy Bruner, with a 25.6 ppg mark in Summit League games.
Knecht is putting up 28.4 ppg over the last nine games. The only other Power Six players to post such a stretch in league action over the last 10 seasons (2014- 24) are Markus Howard (2019-20) and Trae Young (2017-18).
Knecht is on pace to be the fourth Power Six player in the last 36 seasons (1988-2024) to average 20.0 ppg and 1.5 turnovers, alongside Keegan Murray (2021- 22), Jeremy Hazell (2009-10) and Hubert Davis (1991-92).
If Knecht scores 16-plus points at Arkansas, he would be the sixth player in the last 13 years (2011- 24) to hit that mark in at least nine straight SEC games in a single season, joining Cameron Thomas (2020-21), J.J. Frazier (2016-17), Sindarius Thornwell (2016-17), Jamal Murray (2015-16) and Ben Simmons (2015-16).
Racking Up Ranked Victories
Over the past four seasons (2020-24), Tennessee leads all SEC teams with 18 AP top-25 wins, good for four more than any other SEC program—Alabama has 14—and tied with Gonzaga and Illinois for sixth nationally. It also paces all SEC schools in AP top- 10 victories with eight, placing co-sixth nationally alongside Purdue and Texas. The Volunteers’ five AP top-five wins in that span lead the SEC and are tied with Arizona, Gonzaga and Michigan State for the most of any team in the country.
Over the last four seasons (2020-24), Tennessee has played a league-high 32 games against AP Top 25 opponents, going 18-14 (.563). The UT Vols are the only SEC team, regardless of number of games, with a winning record against ranked foes during that span, while Auburn’s .474 (9-10) mark is second.
Tennessee (32) and Alabama (31), and Arkansas (30) are the only SEC teams to play 27-plus ranked foes since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
Winning Ways
Over the last seven seasons, dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Tennessee paces all SEC teams in postseason wins (15), while placing a close second in both total victories (161) and winning percentage (.719). In that span, the Vols have claimed a pair of SEC titles, winning the regular season in 2018 and the tournament in 2022.
In that same seven-year stretch, the Vols are one of only two SEC schools with an overall winning percentage of at least .700, alongside Auburn (.723). The only other team above even .650 in that time is Kentucky (.697).
In SEC play over the same seven-year period, Tennessee (79-38; .675) is second in the league in both victories and winning percentage, trailing just Kentucky (80-37; .684). Only Auburn (76-43; .639) and Alabama (74-45; .622) even have 65-plus wins.
Over the last three seasons only (2021-24), UT has an overall record of 69-25 (.734). That is good for the most victories and the second-best winning percentage of any SEC team in that span, trailing only Auburn (68-24; .739) in the latter category.
INAM: “It’s Not About Me”
The Volunteers have posted 20-plus assists nine times this season, including in eight of the past 14 contests. They have 25-plus twice this season, with a high of 27 against George Mason (12/5/23).
Tennessee has a 61.2 percent assist rate that ranks No. 16 nationally, per KenPom, through 2/11/24.
Last season, Tennessee placed second nationally, per KenPom, with a 66.2 percent assist rate. It also logged a 64.9 percent mark in SEC play.
Poll Presence
Tennessee has played 190 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll under Rick Barnes, posting a stellar 141-49 (.742) record. Over 65.0 percent of the Volunteers’ games since Barnes arrived in 2015-16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll.
Furthermore, UT owns a 120-44 (.732) record while ranked in the AP top 20 during Barnes’ tenure, an 89-31 (.742) mark while in the top 15, a 69-22 (.758) ledger while in the top 10, a 30-9 (.769) tally while in the top five, a 17-2 (.895) record while in the top three and a 7-1 (.875) mark while at No. 1.
The Vols are 24-20 (.545) in top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 18-13 (.581) with both teams in the top 20, 10-7 (.588) with both in the top 15 and 7-5 (.583) with both in the top 10.
Dynamic Duos
At Mississippi State (1/10/24), Dalton Knecht (28) and Zakai Zeigler (26) became the first Vol duo with 25-plus points in a game since 11/24/15, when Armani Moore (29) and Kevin Punter Jr. (26) did so against Army West Point. That is the only other occurrence at UT in the last 19 seasons (2005-24).
Knecht and Zeigler also became the first teammates to score 25-plus in an SEC road game since 2/6/21 when Ole Miss’ Romello White (30) and Devontae Shuler (26) did so at Auburn.
It then happened again in Tennessee’s victory at #10/8 Kentucky (2/3/24), as Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Zeigler each scored 26 points.
