Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner (1) attempts a shot over Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford (10) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Shawn Millsaps)
KNOXVILLE - Rick Barnes sat at the podium, a disappointed man.
His Tennessee basketball team had just given up 53 points in the second half Tuesday evening against Arkansas, allowing the Razorbacks to shoot 57 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes.
Fortunately for Barnes' third-ranked Volunteers, there was an offensive end of the court and a first half to hang their hat on.
Despite the relatively poor performance in the second half, the Vols cruised to a 106-87 Southeastern Conference win over the Razorbacks in front of 19,282 at Thompson-Boling Aren. In its 11th consecutive win, Tennessee scored 55 points in the first half, built a 21-point halftime lead and led by as many as 30 points prior to the finish.
Barnes wasn't delighting in the first half, though. He was more frustrated about the second.
Tennessee forward Yves Pons (35) looks for an open man while Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe (1) defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Shawn Millsaps)
"You've got to give Arkansas credit," Barnes said. "We told the guys at halftime that (the Razorbacks) are not going to stop playing. I've known (Arkansas coach) Mike Anderson too long, and they're going to come out, push the ball. Offensively in the second half they got whatever they wanted.
"You've got to give them credit. They came out and won the second half."
Tennessee's recent offensive dominance continued, though, as Tuesday's point total was the most for the program in a game since scoring 124 against UNC Asheville on Nov. 17, 2009. Three days after that, the Vols scored 105 against East Carolina.
The Vols (15-1, 4-0) host Alabama on Saturday at 2.
For the eighth consecutive game, the Vols had at least four players score in double figures. Not coincidentally, Tuesday marked the eighth consecutive game the Vols shot at least 50 percent from the floor. They also made 11 3-pointers while making their best rate of those shots (61 percent) of the season.
In his fourth game back from a lingering shoulder issue, Lamonte Turner had his best game of the season, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He made three of his four 3-point attempts while playing only 19 minutes.
Jordan Bowden, the SEC's second-leading scorer in league games, scored his average with 19 points on 6-for-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Those two come off the bench.
Arkansas guard Mason Jones (13) defends Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander (11) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Shawn Millsaps)
Grant Williams (18 points, 14-of-14 free throws), Admiral Schofield (17 points on 3-for-4 3s, all scoring in the second half) and Kyle Alexander (12 points) also reached double figures, while Jordan Bone had eight points and eight assists.
"I would think we're tough to scout," Schofield said. "You don't know whose night it's going to be. I think the best thing you could do is be prepared to play your principles. For us, we don't worry about how the other team scouts for us; we just try to go out and execute.
"The biggest strength we have is continuing to do what we do; when we do get stagnant, that's when we have little mishaps. Once we get back to doing what we do, we're very lethal."
Isaiah Joe led Arkansas (10-6, 1-3) with 23 points. Mason Jones, the SEC's leading scorer in league games, had 18 and Reggie Chaney scored 11. Daniel Gafford, one of the league's top NBA prospects, was held to 10 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes before fouling out.
Along with Gafford, Adrio Bailey and Gabe Osabuohien fouled out. Tennessee made 35 of 39 free throws.
The Vols led 4-3 at the first media timeout, but the insertion of Turner and Bowden, along with John Fulkerson, into the lineup sparked a 14-0 run that grew to a 19-3 spurt midway through the first half. Arkansas had first-half turnovers; Tennessee turned those into 21 points. The Vols shot 50 percent from the field while making 20 of 23 free throws to build the commanding 21-point lead at the break.
The second half was disappointing for the Vols, but also in part due to the standard that's been set for the third-ranked team in the country.
"To be who we want to be, it's going to take everyone understanding exactly what their role is and do it every single night," Barnes said. "We're not going to be perfect, but I do expect us to try to make the right play all the time. We weren't very good with defensive transition; we got better on offensive transition, but we can be better. If we don't get better, we won't have the year we want to have. It's still the first two weeks of January and we have a long way to go, but I told the guys that I would be disappointed if they weren't disappointed in the way we played overall the whole game.
"Arkansas won the game in the second half. They beat us; whether mental, physical, whatever it may be, we lost the second half of that game."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.