Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier (2) steals the ball from Arkansas forward Karter Knox (11) at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn. Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee's Suffocating Defense Throttles Arkansas in SEC Opener

Originally posted on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI
By Daniel Shi | Last updated Jan 4, 2025 3:33 PM ET

KNOXVILLLE, Tenn. — Arkansas struggled to deal with No. 1 Tennessee's defense and superior presence on the glass in a 76-52 to open SEC play.

Forward Igor Milicic Jr. nearly outrebounded the Razorbacks by himself in the first half with nine to the Razorbacks' 12 as a team. Milicic finished the game with 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. The Volunteers finished the night with a 51-29 rebounding advantage, including 24 offensive rebounds.

Hogs' forward Jonas Aidoo returned to his former school and was put on lock down in the first half with no points without a field goal attempt. DJ Wagner led the Hogs with 17 points, with seven in the first few minutes.

Tennessee came into the game No. 2 in scoring defense at 56.2 points per game, held Arkansas to just 27 first-half points, including a seven minute stretch without a field goal.

The Volunteers turned on the turbo jets from the 14 minute in the first half in a 12-12 game and never led by less than 10 points in the second half.

Chaz Lanier, leading the Volunteers with 19,6 points a game, led the charge with four triples and 29 points. Zakai Ziegler and Felix Okpara chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively

Arkansas' early season three-point shooting struggles returned as the Hogs missed its first 10 triples of the second half and finished the game 6-for-29 (21%) as the offense sputtered throughout the night.

The Razorbacks top two scorers in Boogie Fland and Adou Thiero, averaging over 30 points a game as a duo, was held to just 18 points on 8-for-22 shooting. Fland's three-pointer with 33 seconds left limped the Hogs over the 50-point threshold.

The Razorbacks now look to regroup for the SEC home opener against No. 24 Ole Miss. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday and will be broadcast on ESPN2.