Arkansas beats Tennessee 58-48 for 1st SEC tourney win in 7 years
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — JD Notae scored 17 points and No. 3 seed Arkansas beat No. 6 seed Tennessee 58-48 on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament for its first win in Nashville in eight years.
The Razorbacks (24-7) started the game slowly and didn’t take their first lead until midway through the second half. They will play No. 2 seed LSU, which beat Missouri in the quarterfinals, on Saturday in the semifinals.
Amari Davis scored 11 points for Arkansas, which improved to 5-7 in SEC tournament games in Nashville. Chris Lykes added 10 points.
Santiago Vescovi led Tennessee (22-8) with 17 points. Josiah-Jordan James, who missed the last two games with a groin injury, finished with eight points.
Tennessee was held to a season-low in points while shooting a season-worst 27%. The Vols held Arkansas to 58 points, but the Razorbacks shot 39.1% from the floor, including 6 of 20 from 3-point range.
The Razorbacks missed their first eight shots, and they made only eight field goals in the first half. But they rallied to lead 26-25 at halftime.
Notae, who missed his first five shots, made two free throws with 10:17 left to give Arkansas its first lead at 41-40. Davonte Davis made a 3-pointer on the Razorbacks’ next possession after Tennessee had grabbed its final lead at 42-41.
The Vols were up 44-43 with 5:39 to play when Arkansas scored seven straight points, capped by Notae’s 3-pointer for a 50-44 lead.
Tennessee pulled within four twice, the last at 52-48 when Zakai Zeigler hit a jumper with 2:47 left. But Arkansas scored the final six points.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: The Razorbacks won their eighth straight to follow up a nine-game winning streak that ended the regular season. The Razorbacks also improved to 12-3 in games decided by 10 points or fewer this season.
Tennessee: The Vols held three of their last four opponents under 60 points to make up for some of their offensive struggles. But Vescovi was 5 of 13, including 4 of 11 outside the arc, and 3 of 6 at the free-throw line.
UP NEXT
Arkansas split with LSU during the regular season, each winning on their home court.