MBB Preview: Arkansas vs Vanderbilt

March 10, 2020

Who: #11 Arkansas Razorbacks (19-12) vs #14 Vanderbilt Commodores (11-20)
What: Round 1 of the 2020 SEC Championship
When: Wednesday – March 11 – approx. 8:30 pm (CT)
Where: Nashville, Tenn. – Bridgestone Arena (20,000)
How (to follow):
– TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Andy Kennedy, Jon Sunvold, Alyssa Lange)
^ CLICK HERE to Watch ESPN/SEC Network Online
– Radio: Learfield IMG College Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
^ Listen to Razorback Sports Network Online: CLICK HERE
– Sirius/XM: Sirius: 138 – XM Channel 190 – Streaming Online on channel 961
– Live Stats: SEC Tournament Central

– Arkansas Game Notes: CLICK HERE
– Vanderbilt Game Notes: CLICK HERE
– SEC Interactive Bracket: CLICK HERE

Versus Vanderbilt

This will be the 40th meeting between Arkansas and Vanderbilt — all but two have come since Arkansas joined the SEC. The Razorbacks own a 27-12 advantage in the series and are 4-1 versus the Commodores in the SEC Tournament.
Arkansas has won five straight and nine of the last 10. In a scheduling quirk, six of nine games in the span were played in Bud Walton Arena from 2015-2020.

LAST TIME THEY MET — Jan. 15, 2020 — Fayetteville

Jimmy Whitt Jr., scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Arkansas to a 75-55 victory over Vanderbilt at Bud Walton Arena.
Reggie Chaney (6-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 at the line) tied his career-high with 14 points while Desi Sills contributed 13 points and a career-high seven rebounds.
Whitt’s career-high 30 points were unexpected as the game featured three of the top 10 scorers in the SEC – Mason Jones, Isaiah Joe and Saben Lee. All three went scoreless in the first half.
After Lee’s first points – and old-fashion 3-point play at 17:24 – the Commodores got to within four (37-33). However, that is as close as they would get. Arkansas got the back-to-back 3-pointers from Joe to lead by 10 and held a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

Arkansas at Bridgestone / SEC

Arkansas is 5-7 all-time at Bridgestone Arena.
Arkansas has reached the final of two SEC Tournaments played at Bridgestone Arena (2015 and 2017).
The Razorbacks have reached the semifinals in three of the last five SEC Tournaments (2015, 2017 and 2018).
In 27 previous SEC Tournaments, Arkansas is 26-27, won the 2000 championship, has reached seven finals and 14 semifinals.

Best Scoring Duo in the SEC / Among Best in NCAA

Arkansas is the only team in the SEC to feature two players in the league’s top 10 for scoring.
^ Mason Jones (1st / 22.0) • Isaiah Joe (7th / 16.8)
^ Jimmy Whitt Jr ranks 13th in the SEC in scoring (14.1).
^ Arkansas and Alabama are the only two schools with three in the league’s top 15.
Jones and Joe are the best scoring duo among the NCAA Power Conferences.
Arkansas is one of 10 schools to have two players among the NCAA top 125.
The following are the NCAA top scoring duos:
^ Hampton – 46.8 – Jermaine Marrow (24.8 – 3rd NCAA) • Ben Stanley (22.0 – 9th NCAA)
^ UTSA – 45.7 – Jhivann Jackson (27.2 – 2nd NCAA) • Keaton Wallace (18.5 – 64th NCAA)
^ UT Martin – 39.4 – Quintin Dove (20.0 – 25th NCAA) • Parker Stewart (19.2 – 46th NCAA)
^ Austin Peay – 39.2 – Terry Taylor (21.8 – 13th NCAA) • Jordyn Adams (17.4 – 102nd NCAA)
^ Arkansas – 38.8 – Mason Jones (2.0 – 8th NCAA) • Isaiah Joe (16.8 – 125th NCAA)

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.