Tennessee 106, Arkansas 87 - Final
Lamonte Turner scored a team-high 21 points and three other Tennessee players scored at least 17 as the No. 3 Vols routed Arkansas in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Admiral Schofield, who sat for all but six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, scored 17 second-half points on 7/10 shooting for Tennessee, which won its 11th consecutive game dating back to late November. Guard Jordan Bowden added 19 points on 5/6 from 3-point range and reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams pitched in 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Isaiah Joe led the Razorbacks (10-6, 1-3 SEC) with 23 points on 7/13 from 3-point range. He scored 12 of his 23 after halftime. Mason Jones, who entered the game scoring 20.3 points per game, added 18 alongside Joe.
Arkansas turned the ball over 19 times in the loss, led by Adrio Bailey's five. Jalen Harris had four, pushing his streak of consecutive games with three-plus turnovers to three.
Reggie Chaney added 11 points off the bench, scoring all 11 after halftime, and Daniel Gafford 10 points and seven rebounds. Gafford fouled out with more than four minutes to play.
Tennessee 97, Arkansas 75 - 2:55 left
Tennessee is shooting 57 percent in the second half and 53 percent for the game. Admiral Schofield has 17 second-half points and has dominated since the break.
Tennessee 91, Arkansas 61 - 7:44 left
This has the chance to be Arkansas' worst defensive showing of Mike Anderson's tenure.
Tennessee is scoring at a 1.422 PPP clip for the game and 1.5 PPP in the second half. Better than 12 minutes into the second half, the Vols are 11/14 from the floor, 5/7 from 3-point range and 9/10 at the line, extending their lead even as Arkansas is 10/15 shooting since halftime.
Lamonte Turner has a game-high 21 points and Jordan Bowden has 19. Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe each have 14 to lead Arkansas.
Tennessee 76, Arkansas 52 - 11:16 left
Schofield, after not scoring in the first half, now has 14 points on 6/7 from the floor in the second half alone. Jordan Bowden leads all scorers with 17 on 5/5 from 3-point range. Tennessee is 8/9 shooting as a team since halftime and 4/4 from distance.
The Razorbacks are 8/12 shooting since halftime, but it doesn't much matter the way Tennessee is scoring the ball. The Vols are averaging 1.4 points per possession through eight-plus minutes. That's elite offense from Schofield and Bowden, and some shaky, shaky defense from a young team on the road.
Tennessee 64, Arkansas 42 - 15:26 left
Admiral Schofield did not score in six first-half minutes because of two early fouls. He made up for some lost time in the opening four-plus minutes of the second half, hitting 4/5 shots for nine points. He's got all of the Vols' points since the break.
Arkansas is 4/7 from the floor since halftime and Jalen Harris has four points. A bad night turned worse as Daniel Gafford picked up his fourth foul with 17:53 left. Mike Anderson elected to start Gabe Osabuohien to begin the second half in place of Adrio Bailey/Reggie Chaney.
Tennessee 55, Arkansas 34 - Halftime
Arkansas hadn't given up 50 points in a first half all season prior to Saturday's game against LSU. The Razorbacks have now allowed 50-plus before halftime in back-to-back games for the first time since December 1986, per HogStats.com. Tennessee scored at a 1.375 point per possession clip in the first half, led by 14 from Lamonte Turner, 12 from Grant Williams and 11 from Jordan Bowden.
The 55 points are a season-high for points in a first half for Tennessee. The Vols shot 50 percent in the first half after a 2/9 start.
Arkansas looks largely lost, and it hasn't helped that Daniel Gafford is in foul trouble for the fourth consecutive SEC game. He scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in 12 first-half minutes. Isaiah Joe leads the Razorbacks with 11 points on 3/7 from deep, and Mason Jones has seven thanks to a pair of scores in the final 1:30 of the half. Arkansas needs more from him.
Mike Anderson's bench scored just five points in the first half, and three came from Gabe Osabuohien at the line. Desi Sills has the lone made field goal by the reserves. Reggie Chaney, coming off a great game against LSU, is struggling against Tennessee's experienced frontline. He committed three fouls in six minutes and turned the ball over once.
Arkansas' offense scored just .85 PPP in the first half - 16 scores over 40 possessions. Six players have at least one turnover, Adrio Bailey has three and Harris/Gafford have two each.
We expected this to be an uphill battle for Arkansas coming into tonight, and it's proving to be that and perhaps a bit more. Tennessee is legit Final 4 good.
Tennessee 46, Arkansas 28 - 3:11 left first half
Tennessee has hit its last five shots and Jordan Bowden has hit a pair of 3s in that span. He's got 11 points on 3/3 from distance, and Lamonte Turner also has 11 for the Vols. Tennessee now shooting 48 percent from the floor and holding a 20-13 edge on the glass.
Isaiah Joe has hit three 3s so far and not been shy about letting the 3-ball go. He's hit 3/7 from deep for a team-high 11 points. Daniel Gafford has six points, three rebounds and two fouls. Arkansas shooting 36 percent so far tonight.
Tennessee 42, Arkansas 21 - 4:49 left first half
Tennessee is essentially flexing its muscles right now. The Vols' 21-point lead is the largest deficit Arkansas has faced all season. Since the Razorbacks pulled with 25-14, Tennessee has hit four straight shots, including a pair of 3s.
Tennessee 28, Arkansas 17 - 7:25 left first half
Isaiah Joe has hit a pair of 3-pointers to keep this one respectable. He'd missed 10 of his last 12 from distance prior to hitting his first 3. He then buried his second just before the under-8 media timeout to set the current score. Joe, though, is 2/5 from deep and the Razorbacks are 3/9 as a team. Half of their shots are 3-pointers, and Anderson said this week he's not a big fan of that. Need to work the ball inside-out.
Jordan Bowden has a team-high eight points for the Vols, Alexander has seven and Williams has six. Tennessee is leading the bench battle 13-1 and has a 16-4 edge in points in the paint.
Tennessee 23, Arkansas 9 - 11:37 left first half
Tennessee, after a semi-slow start, grabbed firm control of this one early behind a 16-1 run over a span of three-plus minutes. The Vols got buckets from Grant Williams, Jordan Bone, Kyle Alexander and Lamonte Turner during the run. Tennessee now outrebounding the Razorbacks 15-5. Good news, I suppose, for Arkansas is that Turner and Schofield each have two fouls.
Arkansas is 3/11 from the floor in the opening eight-plus minutes and Mason Jones just knocked down the Razorbacks' first triple of the game from the right wing. Daniel Gafford has a team-high four points and two rebounds. Jalen Harris already with two early turnovers.
Tennessee 4, Arkansas 3 - 15:57 left first half
Vols off to a slow start offensively, hitting just 2 of their first 9 from the floor. Grant Williams has missed all three of his looks early on, and Admiral Schofield missed his first look. Tennessee hitting the offensive glad hard, as usual. Vols are doubling up the Razorbacks on the glass 8-4 - half are offensive rebounds for Tennessee.
Isaiah Joe has misfired on his first two shots tonight, one a left-corner 3 that he was left all alone for. The second miss was a long 2, which Mike Anderson could live without. Adrio Bailey also missed a long 2 from the right corner. Daniel Gafford has Arkansas' lone field goal to this point.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jalen Harris, Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Adrio Bailey and Daniel Gafford.
The Razorbacks are 12th in the SEC in offensive efficiency through three league games, scoring just more than 95 points per 100 possessions. That isn't going to cut it, especially against a team of Tennessee's caliber. Arkansas is also last in 3-point and free throw percentage in conference games. Mike Anderson needs marked improvement in both of those areas tonight to stand a chance on the road.
Tennessee's starters: Admiral Schofield, Grant Williams, Kyle Alexander, Yves Pons and Jordan Bone.
The Vols have won 10 consecutive games since dropping their only game of the season to Kansas in overtime back in late November. Tennessee is second nationally in offensive efficiency and 17th in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield are the obvious names to watch, but Tennessee's guard play is exceptional as well. Keep an eye out for guard Jordan Bone, who's had five assists in each of the Vols' conference wins and scored in double figures twice in that span.