Well, it was good while it lasted.
Tennessee won eight Southeastern Conference games in a row. Arkansas stopped the streak. Or maybe the Vols stopped it.
The Razorbacks got credit for a 58-48 victory. The sellout crowd of 19,200 was an enthusiastic factor. The home team presented a stifling defense. Jaylin Williams scored 13 and claimed 15 rebounds. Too many blocking fouls were called charges.
Rick Barnes thought the Volunteers lost the game. They had their lowest offensive output of the season. They hit 27.1 percent of their field-goal attempts. Fifteen turnovers cost 18 points.
The coach counted seven consecutive possessions that included good to great scoring opportunities but produced nothing.
“We weren’t good enough” was his way of saying Arkansas was really tough in the final seven minutes.
Tennessee has a 19-7 record. It shares third place in league standings with Arkansas at 10-4. The Vols play at Missouri on Tuesday night. Make-up scheduling put the Tigers in the unfavorable position of preceding games on Friday and Sunday.
Tennessee and Arkansas struck a serious blow against the artistic beauty of basketball. Fouls plagued the Vols. There was no flow to their effort. There were long scoreless droughts.
If ugly bothers you, cover your eyes. Tennessee’s four big guys combined for nine points. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield scored one. John Fulkerson and Uros Plavsic had two each. Jonas Aidoo scored four.
“We’ve got to get an inside presence,” said Barnes.
Marksmanship took a beating.
Santiago Vescovi hit two field goals and missed 11 tries. Josiah-Jordan James was better. He made four of 13. Kennedy Chandler hit five of 15. Zakai Zeigler was 2-for-8 but hit six free throws in a row.
Fouls? There were several. James fouled out. Vescovi and Chandler finished with four each. Chandler had three in the first half. Barnes guessed wrong in the closing seconds before intermission. He tried to squeeze one last possession from his point guard. What he got was another charging call.
“You can’t play the game,” said Barnes. “Our guys were frustrated. I know charge-block is a hard call but …”
The Vols thought they were off the floor and the Razorbacks took away their landing space. The officials didn’t see it that way.
The coach said all he could do was tell the players they have to play on.
“Does it affect them? Absolutely.”
Not incidentally, Arkansas makes a living at the foul line.
One of Barnes’ favorite coaching points is consistency. He didn’t appreciate what he got against the Razorbacks. The Vols shot 26.9 percent in the first half and 27.3 in the second.
Sportsmanship suffered a serious blow. Arkansas fans lambasted Vescovi with a lusty chorus of boos every time he touched the ball.
So, what had he done to offend the Bud Walton Arena gathering? Nothing. He was the victim of social media and circumstances. The Twitter account @BooThisGuyatBud picks one visitor for Razorback fans to boo constantly. Vescovi was targeted because he is Tennessee’s leading scorer.
“Obliterate him” was the battle cry.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com