John Calipari acknowledges that Tennessee “manhandled” Arkansas in the crucial Vols victory.
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John Calipari, the future Hall of Fame head coach, is rarely humbled by a crushing defeat. That’s exactly what happened on Saturday when Calipari and No. 23 Arkansas were welcomed by No. 1 Tennessee in what was expected to be a competitive SEC matchup.
However, Tennessee was able to produce a genuinely overpowering 72-56 victory, thus it was not the case at all. The Vols easily won, and even Calipari was astounded by the quality of Rick Barnes’ guys. Calipari was forced to acknowledge UT’s possession of Arkansas in this one immediately following the final whistle:
Calipari stated, “I’ve had better days,” through Wes Rucker of 247. “There’s a reason Tennessee is the top team in the nation. I’m not sad that we came here and didn’t win. It’s the most manhandled team I’ve ever seen. How did we lose by only twenty-five? That might have been fifty.
Everyone can see from Calipari’s statements that even he was astounded by Tennessee’s appearance. With Chaz Lanier leading the way, the Vols indeed had a memorable day. Lanier, the nation’s top transfer, made five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 29 points.
Another transfer, Igor Miličić Jr., scored 13 points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds, so he wasn’t the only Vols star to put on a show. Arkansas had no way to halt the Vols down there as they controlled play around the glass.
The win puts Tennessee at a perfect 14-0 for the season, something that few anticipated from this team prior to the start of the new campaign. The big matchup with No. 6 Florida comes next. Will the Vols get better and go 15-0? Making that happen will require a lot of work, but the victory over Arkansas should undoubtedly boost confidence in the locker room.
