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Arkansas falls to Tennessee in road finale

The Razorbacks shot 36.7% from the field for their third loss in the last five games. Arkansas guards Anthony Black and Davonte Davis led the team with 13 points.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The University of Arkansas men's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start, falling to Tennessee 75-57 on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.

Freshman guard Anthony Black and junior guard Davonte Davis led the Razorbacks (19-11, 8-9 SEC) with 13 points each. Black pulled down five rebounds and had one assist and two steals, while Davis finished with a team-high six rebounds, one assist and three steals.

Arkansas freshman guard Nick Smith added 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting and two assists. Junior guard Ricky Council delivered 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and three turnovers for the Hogs.

Tennessee sophomore guard Zakai Zeigler, who ranks first in the SEC in assists per game and second on the team in scoring, suffered a left knee injury three minutes into the game.

However, that didn't slow down the Volunteers (22-8, 11-6) as they jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first three and a half minutes.

Tennessee senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua scored a game-high 16 points and had seven rebounds, while senior guard Santiago Vescovi had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The Razorbacks trailed 34-25 at the half, and their offensive struggles carried over into the final 20 minutes against a Tennessee defense that leads the conference in scoring defense at 58.8 points per game.

It took Arkansas four minutes and five seconds to make its first basket; Davis and Council nailed three-pointers to bring the score to 43-34 with 15:36 to play.

The Hogs shot 36.7% from the field and 8-of-22 from behind the arc. Arkansas finished with 16 turnovers and trailed by as many as 24 points in the loss.

Davis made a layup to cut Tennessee's lead to 12 points, but the Volunteers responded with a 10-0 run to lead 68-46 with 5:05 remaining.

Tennessee attacked the basket efficiently against the Hogs, scoring 42 of its 75 points from the paint. The Volunteers shot 50% from the field and 4-of-16 from three.

Arkansas wraps up the regular season on Saturday against Kentucky. Coverage from Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville begins at 1 p.m. Central on CBS.

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