A brilliant stretch of offense to close the nonconference schedule had Arkansas basketball feeling optimistic about the roster’s overall shooting. Entering the SEC opener against No. 1 Tennessee, the Razorbacks ranked fourth nationally in field-goal percentage (50.8%) while hitting 3-pointers at a 36.8% rate.

But preseason concerns appeared to be justified Saturday. The Hogs (11-3, 0-1 SEC) shot a season-low 37.7% from the floor against the Volunteers (14-0, 1-0), going 6 for 29 on 3-pointers and, even worse, 6 for 13 at the free-throw line.

Add it all up, and Arkansas got run out the gym in a 76-52 loss that represented the worst offensive performance of the year.

“Look, you don’t have to make all your 3s, but you can’t miss them all,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said. “You can’t miss 10 in-a-row, or you’re not going to win.”

More: Arkansas basketball needs ‘soul-searching’ after being overwhelmed on the glass by Tennessee

More: Arkansas basketball, John Calipari blown out by No. 1 Tennessee in SEC opener

DJ Wagner and Karter Knox hit on the first two attempts from downtown, but Arkansas then proceeded to miss 19 of its next 21 3-pointers. That drought coincided with a dominant Tennessee run that stretched the lead to double figures, and the Vols led 42-27 at halftime.

The offensive malaise wasn’t a total surprise. Tennessee leads the country in 3-point defense and is second in scoring defense, but it was a giant step back. Arkansas had scored at least 80 points in four straight games.

Boogie Fland and Johnell Davis represented Arkansas’ biggest disappointments from behind the arc. That duo combined to go 2 for 12, with Davis missing all four of his attempts. Davis had missed the Hogs’ previous two games with a wrist injury.

The Razorbacks’ leading 3-point shooter on the season is 7-foot-2 big man Zvonimir Ivisic, who entered Saturday 20 of 44. He went 1 for 2 against Tennessee, but he continues to struggle on the defensive end and has seen his minutes dramatically decrease in recent weeks.

Calipari needs to find a way to keep Ivisic on the floor. His impact stretching opposing defenses is too valuable. The Hogs play most possessions with at least two players who aren’t threats from the outside.

After the game, Calipari said the bad shooting numbers weren’t a product of poor offense. He thought his team generated quality looks, but the shots just would not fall.

However, he didn’t like how the misses negatively affected the Razorbacks in other dimensions.

“If we created a good look, and we miss some of them, I looked at them and said, ‘Guys, you’re not going to make every shot. Just keep playing. Fight.’ You’ve got to learn to fight when you’re not playing well. So this was a great learning experience for this team,” he said.

There are other, more important factors that played into the blowout loss.

Tennessee won the rebounding margin 51-29 and got 29 points from Chaz Lanier. Zakai Zeigler won the battle of New York City point guards against Boogie Fland, and Arkansas couldn’t have asked for a more difficult start to the conference schedule than a road game against the top-ranked team in the country.

Arkansas now has three days to regroup before a home game against No. 23 Ole Miss.

Peyton Bolling was crowned Miss America’s Teen 2025 on Saturday night in Orlando, Florida.

Bolling, who competed as Miss Arkansas’ Teen, is from Rogers and attends Bentonville High School. She performed a jazz dance in the pageant’s talent competition on Saturday. The teen pageant — which includes talent, evening gown and on-stage question segments — is part of the Miss America organization.

Along with the title of Miss America’s Teen, Bolling will receive $50,000 in scholarship money and a yearlong reign, according to the Miss America organization. During her year as Miss America’s Teen, Bolling will travel across the country and use her platform to raise awareness about her philanthropic effort, known as Simple Acts of Citizenship. She’ll also serve as a role model for young girls and a brand ambassador for the Miss America’s Teen program.

Ali Mims, Miss Alabama’s Teen, was named first-runner up for Miss America’s Teen on Saturday and earned $10,000 in scholarship money. Mims, from Harpersville, was featured throughout the finals event and performed a soprano aria during the talent competition, singing “O Mio Babbino Caro” (“Oh, my Dear Papa”) from Giacomo Puccini’s 1918 opera “Gianni Schicchi.”

Also, Mims was one of three winners in Tuesday’s evening gown preliminary for Miss America’s Teen, earning a $3,000 scholarship.

Mims is a student at Chelsea High School. Her philanthropic platform for Miss Alabama’s Teen is the Joyful Noise Foundation: Music Education for the Special Needs Community, It raises money to put musical instruments in special needs classes.

A total of 51 teens were in the running for 2025, competing in preliminary events this week and the finals on Saturday at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando. All had previously been crowned at pageants in their home states or Puerto Rico.

Aside from Bolling and Mims, the top five finalists were:

• Brooke Bumgarner, Miss Mississippi’s Teen 2024 (second-runner up)
• Abigail Mignucci, Miss New Jersey’s Teen 2024 (third runner-up)
• Macie Krause, Miss Texas’ Teen 2024 (fourth runner-up)

As runners-up, Bumgarner, Mignucci and Krause each earned $10,000 in scholarship money, according to the Miss America organization. The finals were livestreamed on the Miss America YouTube channel and PageantVision.com.

The top 11 contestants for Miss America’s Teen were:

• Ali Mims, Miss Alabama’s Teen 2024
• Keira Bixler, Miss California’s Teen 2024
• Melissa Le, Miss Louisiana’s Teen 2024
• Peyton Bolling, Miss Arkansas’ Teen 2024
• Nicole McClain, Miss Hawaii’s Teen 2024
• Kynlee Schultheis, Miss Oklahoma’s Teen 2024
• Macie Krause, Miss Texas’ Teen 2024
• Abigail Mignucci, Miss New Jersey’s Teen 2024
• Carrington Manous, Miss Georgia’s Teen 2024
• Avery Bradley, Miss Iowa’s Teen 2024
• Brooke Bumgarner, Miss Mississippi’s Teen 2024

The undefeated and top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers kick off SEC play at home with a Saturday afternoon matchup against the No. 23 Arkansas Razorbacks. The contest is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET with TV coverage on ESPN and streaming on-demand.

• How to watch: Live streams of the Tennessee vs. Arkansas game are available with offers from FuboTV (free trial), SlingTV (low intro rate) and DirecTV Stream (free trial).

#23 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2) at #1 Tennessee Volunteers (13-0)dd

NCAA men’s basketball matchup at a glance

When: Saturday, Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. ET

Where: Food City Center, Knoxville, Tenn.

TV channel: ESPN

Live streams: FuboTV (free trial) | SlingTV (low intro rate) | DirecTV Stream (free trial)

In a conference that claims seven of the top 17 teams in the most recent of Associated Press national rankings, Tennessee has risen to the top with its perfect start and ability to win on either end of the floor. The Vols rank No. 2 nationally in scoring defense (56.2 ppg), No. 2 in field goal percentage defense (34.7%) and No. 1 in 3-point defense (24.6%).

Arkansas ranks among the most efficient offenses in the country with the fourth-best field goal percentage (51.5%) and 14th-best effective field goal percent (58.3%). The Razorbacks wrapped a competitive non-conference schedule with an 11-2 record, but moved into a January schedule that begins with three straight games against ranked opponents.

Tennessee Vols vs. Arkansas Razorbacks: Know your live streaming options

• FuboTV (free trial) – excellent viewer experience with huge library of live sports content; free trial lengths vary.
• SlingTV (low intro rate) – discounted first month is best if you’ve run out of free trials or you’re in the market for 1+ month of TV
• DirecTV Stream (free trial) – not the same level of viewer experience as FuboTV, but the 7-day free trial is the longest in streaming.

The Vols and Razorbacks are set for a 1 p.m. ET start on ESPN. Live streams are available from FuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and SlingTV (low intro rate).