Preview - Arkansas @ #4 Tennessee

Mario Bravante January 30, 2022

INFO
Date: Monday, Jan. 31
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: #4/5 Tennessee
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena
TV: SEC Network
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LIVE STATS

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas Women’s Basketball secured the signature win of its season so far Thursday night in Bud Walton Arena, dominating No. 12 LSU, 90-76.
The Hogs, who have now won three straight, went for 90+ for the second time in their last three games, and led in this game by as many as 24 points.
Redshirt senior guard Amber Ramirez was simply sublime in this one, going for 25 points, one shy of her season-high.
The Splash Sister was efficient again against LSU, hitting 10 of her 18 shots, including five or her eight threes.
The lead guard duo of Makayla Daniels and Samara Spencer scored 20 points each in the victory.
The Hogs and Tigers played a tight first quarter, as the largest lead of the frame was Arkansas’ 5-0 run to start the game. The Razorbacks began to find the touch from deep to kick off the second quarter, helping them to a 15-2 run that started to separate Arkansas from the No. 12 team in the country.
Spencer and Jersey Wolfenbarger combined for nine points from deep at the beginning of the second quarter. Paired with Ramirez’s success in the midrange, the Hogs found themselves with an 11-point lead at the half.
An electric crowd in Bud Walton Arena helped the Razorbacks find a groove in the third quarter. Ramirez knocked down four of her five three-point attempts in the quarter, and the Hogs ended the third on a 12-1 run to stretch the lead to 20 before the start of the fourth quarter. With a sizable lead, Arkansas was able to keep LSU at bay in the final 10 minutes, closing the game out easily and putting an emphatic stamp on the upset.
Spencer’s 20 points marked her third straight game setting a new career-high.
It was Daniels’ first 20-point game since she dropped 34 on Creighton in December.
Wolfenbarger played a well-rounded game – she scored eight points, pulled down six boards and dished four assists.

STORYLINES

With 2022 in full swing, Arkansas is 14-6, and has won three straight games.
Neighbors’ squad continues to hover towards the top of the NET rankings, and are 25th currently.
Most recently, the Hogs dominated #12 LSU at Bud Walton Arena, 90-76.
Amber Ramirez was excellent in the win, dropping in 25 points, one shy of her season-high.
Both Makayla Daniels and Samara Spencer dropped in 20 points in the win.
It was the Hogs’ first ranked win since Feb. 11 of 2021, when they downed #24 Mississippi State.
It was Arkansas’ second straight year with a win over a ranked Kim Mulkey ranked team, as the Hogs took down #4 Baylor last season, 83-78.
Previously, Arkansas raced past Mississippi State, 74-54.
Sasha Goforth notched her third double-double vs. MSU, going for 13 points and 12 boards.
The Hogs scored 32 points in the decisive third quarter, the most in a single quarter this season.
Last Thursday, Arkansas dominated Alabama on the road, 99-71.
The Hogs’ offense caught fire in this one – the Razorbacks shot 59.4 percent from the field in the win, only the fourth time since 2000 the Hogs shot the ball north of 59 percent.

SCOUTING TENNESSEE

The Lady Vols are 18-2, tied atop the SEC standings and climbing to No. 4 in the AP Poll against one of the NCAA’s toughest schedules despite losing returning starter Marta Suárez for the season to a lower leg injury and playing without top returning scorer Rae Burrell for 12 games (leg injury) and this year’s leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Horston for three (lower leg injury/illness).
However, the Lady Vols are gettable – they just lost at Auburn on Thursday night, who had previously been winless in league play.
Burrell and Horston are back in form, but the Lady Vols lost another player for the season on Jan. 23, when key reserve Keyen Green suffered a left knee injury vs. Georgia. Tess Darby, who missed the Georgia game due to COVID protocols, returned to practice on Jan. 25 and action on Jan. 27.
Tennessee picked up its fifth victory over a ranked team this season on Jan. 23, as the Lady Vols came from nine down to defeat No. 13/13 Georgia in Athens, 63-55. UT recorded four wins over ranked foes the entire 2020-21 campaign and had only one ranked win in 2019-20.
The Big Orange women also have victories over No. 23/22 South Florida (52-49), No. 12/21 Texas (74-70 OT), No. 25/23 Texas A&M (73-45) and No. 19/20 Kentucky (84-58) to their credit and beat RV/RV Virginia Tech (64-58) and RV/RV Ole Miss (70-58) on the road this season.
Tennessee is led by Horston, a dynamic 6-2 junior guard, who paces the team in scoring (15.8 ppg.), rebounding (9.6) and assists (3.8 apg.) in a breakout season for the player who came out of high school ranked No. 2 overall and the No. 1 guard in the 2019 espnW HoopGurlz 100.
Horston leads the Lady Vols with nine double-doubles and has topped UT in scoring 11 times, including double-doubles in four of her last six games.
Tamari Key, a 6-6 junior center, is putting up 9.9 ppg. and 8.4 rpg. to go along with 3.8 bpg. She had a triple-double of 10 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks in UT’s 74-70 OT victory over No. 12/21 Texas.
Key, rated No. 47 as a prep by espnW, is second on the team with seven double-doubles thus far and has scored in double figures in 11 of 20 games for the Lady Vols. She leads the nation in blocked shots (76) and is second in bpg. (3.80), sitting in UT’s single-season top 10 for the third time at No. 8 with 76 swats in 20 contests. She also ranks fifth (86, 2019-20, 31 games) and ninth (72, 2020-21, 25 games) on that list.

MORE INFORMATION

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