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— Saturday, February 19th Tennessee Volunteers @ Arkansas Razorbacks
Second place in the SEC is on the line in a Top-25 battle Saturday night as the No. 23 Arkansas Razorbacks (20-6, 9-4) host the No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers (19-6, 10-3). Arkansas is a slight favorite at -3 for the 4:00 p.m. ET game at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The SEC contest will air on ESPN.
This is the only regular-season meeting between the Vols and Razorbacks this season. Last year Tennessee won at home in January as underdogs. They have not won in Fayetteville since 2011, with the Razorbacks winning the last five at home and seven of the last 11 overall.
Vols Get it Done With Defense
Tennessee is 15-10 ATS this season, and the under is 14-11 in their 25 games. They are 5-6 away from home and 4-4 in true road games. Tennessee is 4-4 against ranked teams, 0-2 on the road.
The Vols rank 35th in the nation defensively, allowing just 63.1 ppg. They have held five of the last six opponents under 65 points. Tennessee scores 74.4 ppg, and they shoot 35% from 3-point range while allowing 33% shooting from distance.
Tennessee had four players in double figures in Tuesday’s home win over No. 4 Kentucky. Santiago Vescovi led the way with 18 points while Kennedy Chandler had 17.
On the season, Vescovi leads the team in scoring at 13.8 ppg while Chandler scores 13.3. Both Josiah-Jordan James and Olivier Nkamhoua lead the team in rebounding at 5.6 per game. Vescovi had made 74 3-pointers on the season, shooting 40% from deep, and Chandler leads the way with 4.9 apg.
Notae Leads Razorbacks
Arkansas is 16-10 ATS this season, and the over is 14-12 in their 26 games. They are 14-1 at home on the campaign, with the only loss coming against Vanderbilt in early January. The Razorbacks are 2-0 against ranked teams, beating LSU and Auburn.
The Razorbacks rank 34th in the nation in scoring at 78.1 ppg, but they are 155th in shooting at 44.5% and 302nd in 3-point shooting at 31.4%. Defensively they rank 150th in points allowed at 67.8 and 71st overall in allowing 41.15 shooting.
JD Notae leads Arkansas in scoring at 18.8 ppg with 56 3-pointers made. He has been in double figures in every game this season and scored more than 20 points eight times. Notae has made at least two 3-pointers in three straight games and is 13-for-34 in February.
Stanley Umude scored 23 against Missouri this week and averages 11.4 ppg. Au’Diese Toney is averaging 10.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Jaylin Williams leads the team with 9.3 rpg while also scoring 10.2 ppg.
Betting Analysis
- Tennessee Volunteers +3 (-110)
- Arkansas Razorbacks -3 (-110)
- Total Points: 140.5. Over -105. Under -115
Arkansas has gone over 76 points three times in their five games this month but will have their hands full with the Tennessee defense. The Vols haven’t played as well on the road against good teams, allowing 107 points to Kentucky and 79 to LSU.
Arkansas, meanwhile, has won six in a row at home and are 11-1 overall since early January as they’ve charged up the SEC standings and AP rankings.
Betting Pick: Arkansas -3 (-110)
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