It has been a roller coaster ride as of late for the No. 11 Tennessee
Volunteers.
After showing the toughness to beat the Florida Gators in overtime, they
followed up with a surprise loss at the hands of Vanderbilt. The Vols,
however, were able to bounce back and dominate Kentucky at home, only to
fall short at Alabama on Saturday.
In that stretch, Tennessee (22-5, 10-4 SEC) has recorded their two
victories at home during the week. The games that they have dropped have
been Saturday games on the road.
In order for the Vols to keep their midweek win streak alive, they must
tackle the Arkansas Razorbacks tonight at 8 p.m. in Thompson-Boling
Arena.
“They are a very young team with a whole bunch of talent,” Vol head coach
Jerry Green said of the Razorbacks.
The Razorbacks have struggled all season long, compiling a 14-13 record,
6-8 in SEC play. But this is the SEC and anything can happen.
On Feb. 23, the Razorbacks stunned Vanderbilt 78-63. However, they come
into tonight’s contest fresh off a heartbreaking loss to LSU, 78-67.
Arkansas is a very deep basketball team that can throw as many as 11
players on the floor at any given time. Their strength is their depth and
their rotation of players. They have two players averaging near 30 minutes
per game while five others average around 20 minutes, which will provide
fresh athletes to run with the Tennessee depth.
The Razorbacks are led by freshman forward Joe Johnson, although he has
only played in 16 games due to academic reasons early in the season.
“He’s a real load, and is just playing great basketball for them lately,”
Green said of the freshman.
Johnson has started all 16 games that he has played in and averages 15.2
points and 5.6 rebounds. The 6-8, 225-pounder from Little Rock will be a
constant threat for the Volunteers, especially from behind the arc where he
shoots with 41 percent accuracy. Look for him to play around 32-35
minutes.
Following Johnson will be 6-5 senior Chris Walker. Walker is listed as a
guard but, with his 220-pound frame, will probably play down low for the
Razorbacks.
Walker is averaging 11.9 points and 4.9 boards for Arkansas. Like Johnson,
Walker will see around 30 minutes of action and is also a three-point
threat, shooting 40 percent from long range.
Alonzo Lane will be the middle man of Arkansas’ three-forward lineup. Lane
is a 6-7, 240-pound freshman that will mostly pick up the garbage under the
goal for easy putbacks. Lane shoots 57 percent, so the Vols will have to
keep him from getting easy shots.
Arkansas’ guard tandem is led by the versatile T.J. Cleveland. Cleveland
averages 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.7 steals while shooting 42 percent
from three-point range. The 6-1 sophomore can do it all for the Razorbacks
and will be a tough task for the Big Orange backcourt.
Brandon Dean is another sophomore guard for Arkansas who can shoot. He will
see plenty of action while running the Razorback offense.
Off the bench will be Teddy Gipson, who shoots 36 percent from downtown. He
will see nearly 20 minutes of action for Arkansas. Also coming off the
bench will be Carl Baker, who grabs 4.6 boards.
Arkansas will be able to matchup their skill with Tennessee with ease.
However, the Razorbacks list no true center on their roster, with their
tallest player being Johnson at 6-8.
“Just because they do not have too many big guys, that does not mean that
it’s going to be an automatic that we can go inside on them,” Green
said.
Another problem for Arkansas will be their inexperience. The Razorbacks
have six freshmen and five sophomores on their team. As far as
upperclassmen go, they boast only one junior and one senior.
Although the Vols play five freshmen themselves, they are led by a mixture
of age and experience which would benefit them late should the game be on
the line.
The Vols will look to get back on the winning track tonight at
Thompson-Boling Arena with hopes of finishing off the season strong. Tipoff
is set for 8 p.m.
