Takeaways: Tennessee Survives Late Collapse to Beat Arkansas 78-74

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After a red-hot start on Saturday, Tennessee chose the worst possible time to go ice-cold. 

Arkansas used an 18-3 run to trim a 24-point second-half deficit to two in the final 60 seconds, and the Vols didn't hit a shot for over six minutes late in the final period. 

Still, all was not lost. 

Santiago Vescovi hit a pair of crucial free-throws with 22.5 seconds remaining, and Zakai Zeigler nailed another pair with less than 10 seconds to go to preserve a 78-74 win on Senior Day in Knoxville. 

The final buzzer set off a raucous celebration, as players hugged, fans cheered and John Fulkerson waved a giant orange Power T flag amidst a checkerboard-clad roar. 

Kennedy Chandler and Vescovi led UT with 15 points apiece on the day. Chandler went 5-of-6 beyond the arc, while Vescovi was 3-of-4 there with four crucial shots at the charity stripe. 

Zeigler had 13 points with five rebounds and six assists, while Josiah-Jordan James totaled 12 points -- seven in the second half -- with seven rebounds and three steals. 

J.D. Notae led Arkansas with 20 points, 15 in the second half. 

In total, the win cements Tennessee’s perfect 16-0 home record this season, and it also clinches a top-two finish for the Vols in the SEC. 

“I can’t thank our fans enough,” Rick Barnes said. “Thompson-Boling has become one of the great places in college basketball.”

Here are more takeaways from the matchup:

Late calls, shots overcome foul trouble

In the second half, Arkansas trimmed Tennessee's lead to 11. 

Then the Hogs went on a power surge, taking the Vols to the wire with less than two minutes left. 

UT coughed up 17 turnovers, 10 in the second half.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” Barnes said. “We didn’t expect it any other way.”

Yet the Vols still managed to survive, but not without several late foul calls, free throws and reviews that went to Tennessee.

“At no point in time did I think (Arkansas) wasn’t going to make a push and get back. What we did to them, they turned around and did to us in the second half,” Barnes said.

“We found a way at the end.”

UT made 20 of 30 from the stripe with four makes in the last couple minutes.

There were 51 fouls called in total, as officials spent several time analyzing the monitor in the last two minutes.

Three Vols finished with four fouls, while James fouled out.

“Some of our fouls (today), you can’t make them,” Barnes said.

Blistering start from long range 

Midway through the first half, Zeigler looked through a sea of red jerseys. 

He saw Kennedy Chandler, fired a pass and Chandler turned Zeigler's outlet into an assist for an 18-point Tennessee lead. 

Then Chandler grabbed a defensive rebound and fired to Zeigler, who connected in front of the Arkansas bench. 

Zeigler's triple put UT at a 9-of-11 clip from deep, and Tennessee finished the first half having hit 9 of 12 from that range. 

Chandler and Santiago Vescovi were a combined 6-of-6 from long range in the first 20 minutes, and they combined for a 2-of-4 effort in the second half. 

UT finished the day shooting 12 of 18 from long range, with a 23-of-50 clip inside. 

Topsy-turvy effort inside

Despite starting hot from long range, Tennessee struggled in the paint. 

The Vols netted just six points in the paint through the entire first half, and they finished the night with just 14 points there. 

They made 3 of 9 layups through the entire game. 

Learning left to do

Now, Tennessee will prepare for postseason play.

The Vols are listed as a 2-seed in next week’s SEC Tournament, and they’ll get a double-bye before playing on Friday in Tampa, Fla. 

“We showed we can play great basketball, but you’ve got to understand what goes into losing,” Barnes said.