The #12 Tennessee Volunteers (21-8, 10-6 SEC) close out its home slate with a mid-week matchup against Southeastern Conference foe the Arkansas Razorbacks (19-10, 8-8 SEC). The matchup will be the first time the two teams will play each other this season. Arkansas and Tennessee split a pair of matchups last year.
Wednesday’s tipoff is at 9 p.m. EST inside the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Vols are a 6.5-point favorite, and the over/under total is 134 points.
What to Know – Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas enters the final week of the regular season looking to pad it’s resume heading into tournament play. The Razorbacks should confidently be locked into the NCAA Tournament, but pick up a pair of victories this week could bump Arkansas up in the seeding.
Over the weekend, Arkansas narrowly dropped a road conference test at Alabama, 86-83, to snap a two-game winning streak. The Razorbacks find themselves in the middle of the pack in the SEC standings.
Offensively, the Razorbacks are third in the conference averaging 75.3 points per game while leading the conference hitting 48.3% of their attempts from the field and 31.9% from deep. On defense, Arkansas limits opponents to 66.2 ppg, 41.1% shooting from the floor, and 31.2% from the 3-point line.
This season Arkansas has a 15-13-1 record against the spread and a 3-6 mark ATS on the road. Over the last five meetings against Tennessee the Razorbacks are 4-1 ATS.
What to Know – #12 Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee is out of the race for the regular season conference title, but there is still a lot of work to do for a Vols squad that has dropped four of its last six games. After losses to Kentucky and Texas A&M, the Vols bounced back over the weekend with an 85-45 blowout win over South Carolina.
Sitting fourth in the conference standings, UT could still pick up the 2-seed in the SEC Tournament with wins this week. Tennessee is currently a projected 3-seed for the NCAA Tournament.
The Vols offense is eighth in the SEC scoring 71.8 ppg behind 43.2% shooting from the floor and 32.5% from beyond the arc. Defensively, Tennessee leads the conference holding opposing teams to 56.7 ppg, 35.9% shooting from the field and 24.7% from three.
Tennessee is 15-14 ATS this year and 10-5 ATS on its home floor. The Vols have failed to cover the spread in six of their last eight contests.
The Pick is In
With the regular season winding down every game is important even if team’s are no longer in contention for the conference title. These final games play an important role in NCAA Tournament seeding.
Both teams have shown flashes this season of elite play. UT gets the job done on the defensive end, while the Razorbacks like to attack the basket on offense and get the ball in the hole.
We like Tennessee to win this one at home, but the offensive efficiency of the Razorbacks helps Arkansas cover.
The Pick: Arkansas Razorbacks +6.5
