Arkansas vs. Tennessee: Game Preview, Prediction

By Taylor Sturm
razorbacks basketball
Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports

The Arkansas Razorbacks have started the 2014-15 college basketball season impressively, only losing two games in early December and currently holding a seven-game winning streak. After surviving two tough games against the Georgia Bulldogs and the Vanderbilt Commodores, the Razorbacks travel to Thompson-Boling Arena to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Tennessee has been an up and down team all season long, barely winning games over Tennessee Tech and Santa Clara, while defeating teams like the Kansas State Wildcats and Butler Bulldogs. The good news for Tennessee is that they don’t have any bad losses on the season, which could come into play late in the season as they fight for a berth in some sort of postseason tournament.

Arkansas should be heavily favored in this one behind Michael Qualls, Rashad Madden and Bobby Portis, because the Volunteers just can’t score the basketball. Their first year under new head coach Donnie Tyndall has been more impressive than many, including myself, expected, but no college basketball team will win enough games to go to the 2015 NCAA tournament with the poor stretches of scoring that Tennessee tends to go through at times.

Arkansas is clearly the better team in this one, and although this game will be physical and low scoring, expect the Razorbacks to come out on top due to more talent. Keep a close eye on Josh Richardson in this one, however, because he could single-handedly change the outcome of the game. Likewise, keep a close eye on Arkansas this season, because they could be a dark horse for the Final Four.

Prediction: Arkansas 66, Tennessee 54

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

Share On FacebookShare StumbleUpon

You May Also Like