Tennessee scored its final basket against the University of Arkansas with 4:50 left, but the Vols kept hitting free throws.
No. 9 Tennessee hit 12 of 14 free throws over the last 3:56 — and 20 of 26 for the game — to beat the Razorbacks 79-74 on Wednesday night in Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.
Arkansas (9-2, 1-2 SEC) hit 8 of 10 free throws.
“In my opinion, it was the free throws attempted,” Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said of the difference in the game. “I didn’t know we were that physical.
“I think Tennessee’s pretty physical, but I guess we were physical tonight.”
Despite the free-throw discrepancy, the Razorbacks had three chances to take the lead or tie the score with less than a minute to play.
Senior forward Vance Jackson, who scored 14 points off the bench, missed an open three with 50 seconds left and Tennessee leading 71-69.
“Man, it felt good,” said Jackson, who hit 3 of 6 three-pointers. “I probably should have stayed in it a little bit. I kind of leaned back because I thought it was good. It just rolled out on me.
“But it’s not going to stop me from shooting. I’m going to keep shooting.”
Connor Vanover, the Razorbacks’ 7-3 sophomore, rebounded Jackson’s miss, but he couldn’t convert on a contested put-back attempt.
Tennessee freshman guard Keon Johnson hit 4 of 4 free throws on back-to-back possessions for the Vols to give them a 75-71 lead with 33 seconds left.
Arkansas senior guard Jalen Tate hit a three-pointer with 26 seconds left to pull the Razorbacks within 75-74.
Santiago Vescovi hit two free throws to give the Vols a 77-74 lead with 14.1 seconds left.
Both teams were out of timeouts, and Tate missed a three-point attempt with six seconds left.
“I thought it was a great shot,” Musselman said. “It hit the back rim, but it was straight. It wasn’t left, it wasn’t right.
“I thought it was a good look. I thought Jackson’s look was a great look.”
Sophomore guard Josiah-Jordan James, who led the Vols (8-1, 2-1) with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals, hit two free throws with 5.3 seconds left to clinch the victory.
Junior guard Victor Bailey scored 17 points for Tennessee and Johnson, making his first start, added 14.
“I thought our guys did a great job defensively the last five minutes,” Musselman said. “The free throws attempted in the second half for Tennessee — that’s the ballgame.”
The Vols hit 17 of 21 free throws in the second half.
Arkansas came into the game averaging 23.8 free throws.
“We’re an extremely high free throw attempt team,” Musselman said. “So frustrated with us not [having more attempts]. We were trying to get into the teeth of the defense and not settle for threes.”
The Razorbacks shot 52.7% from the field (29 of 55) after shooting 26.8% (19 of 71) in an 81-68 loss to Missouri.
Arkansas hit 8 of 20 three-pointers against Tennessee.
“I was really, really happy with our field goal percentage, with our shot selection,” Musselman said. “That’s what was addressed leading up to this game, based on how poorly we were offensively against Missouri.
“So I think we took a step forward. Razorback fans don’t want to hear that. Obviously, we lost the game. So we’ve got to just keep getting better.”
Arkansas outrebounded Tennessee 37-28 and matched the Vols at 36-36 on points in the paint.
“Some positives, but nobody wants to lose,” Musselman said. “We got on the plane to win the game, and we didn’t accomplish that. It’s pretty plain and simple.”
The Razorbacks suffered a season-high 20 turnovers and were outscored by Tennessee 19-4 in points off of turnovers.
Tate, who had 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, uncharacteristically had 6 turnovers. He had 22 turnovers in the first 10 games.
“We should have had more points off those turnovers, but we didn’t,” Vols Coach Rick Barnes said. “That’s a credit to them.”
Junior guard JD Notae led the Razorbacks with 19 points. He hit 7 of 11 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, after being 6 of 18 from the field against Missouri.
“I was upset with his shot selection [the previous game],” Musselman said. “I told him. I told him in front of the team.
“Tonight I thought he was great. He goes 7 of 11 from the field. Just like a lot of guys, he turned the ball over too much [four times], but their swarming defense will do that to you.
“But definitely a step in the right direction. I told him I wasn’t going to play him the minutes if he didn’t play exactly the way we wanted him to, and I thought he did that tonight, I really did.”
Tennessee overcame a 40-33 halftime deficit to take a 69-61 lead with 3:56 left when senior forward John Fulkerson — who had 16 points — hit 1 of 2 free throws.
That cushion helped the Vols hang on in the final seconds.
“It’s important because you let a team like Arkansas stretch it out on you, they’re a hard team to come back against,” Barnes said of getting an eight-point lead. “Once they get to feeling good and going, like most teams, they can put some runs together.
“I just thought we played with much more purpose offensively [in the second half].”
Vanover, who shot 0 of 11 against Missouri, had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Tennessee held Arkansas freshman guard Moses Moody — who came into the game averaging 16.9 points — to a season-low 6 points on 1-of-8 shooting.
It also was a tough game for junior guard Desi Sills, who went scoreless and missed his only shot attempt. He shot 1 of 10 against Missouri.
“Desi’s had some really hot streaks and some cold streaks in the year and a half I’ve been here,” Musselman said. “He’s struggled the last two games, for sure.
“With Moses, it’s just a matter of getting clean looks. We’re playing against long guys that are athletic and there’s going to be an adjustment once we get into league play.”