Tennessee Lady Vols basketball vs. Arkansas: Scouting report, score prediction

Lady Vols basketball heads to Fayetteville this week after a dominant win at home Sunday.

Tennessee (18-9, 10-2 SEC) faces Arkansas (19-8, 6-6) on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network) at Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks also are coming off a big win, beating Missouri 61-33 on Sunday, which set the record for the fewest amount of points Arkansas has allowed in an SEC game.

Here's what you need to know about Thursday's matchup:

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How Arkansas dominated Missouri

Missouri played its worst game of the season Sunday. It wasn't creating good looks on offense and shot well under its average field goal attempts.

Part of that was due to Arkansas' defense, but it was mainly due to Missouri's 22 turnovers – many of them of the dead-ball variety. The Tigers got called for travels left and right, and offensive fouls didn't give them a chance to create any rhythm.

Arkansas blew the doors off the game with 3-point shooting, going 9-for-23 behind the arc. Missouri shot only 28.3% on 13 made field goals, and it only made one of its 15 3-pointers. It was a confidence-boosting win for the Razorbacks, who were coming off a road loss to Vanderbilt when they gave up almost 80 points.

Arkansas hungry for big SEC win

The Razorbacks have lost five of their last seven games.

It started with road losses at LSU and South Carolina, though Arkansas nearly brought home a win from Baton Rouge. It then lost by three points to Alabama, in overtime to Ole Miss and by eight at Vanderbilt.

The Razorbacks are mere possessions away from being 10-2, and upsetting Tennessee would be a signature win for them as the regular season winds down.

Where Tennessee can find success

Arkansas has the No. 3 field goal percentage defense in the conference, holding SEC opponents to 37.6% shooting. But almost every team that beat the Razorbacks shot higher than 40% – and the only two teams that didn't were LSU (33.8% in their first matchup) and South Carolina (39.5%).

But the Gamecocks took 76 shots, thanks to 32 offensive rebounds, so it didn't matter. They also went 27-for-33 from the free throw line. LSU also benefitted from trips to the line, shooting 20-for-29 from the charity stripe. That bodes well for Tennessee, which averages 19.6 free throw attempts per SEC game.

In five of Arkansas' six SEC losses, opponents have outscored it in the paint by an average of 12.8 points. Tennessee needs to dominate the paint and the boards, and establish the fast pace it thrives on offensively to get a win.

Score prediction

Tennessee 78, Arkansas 62: Something clicked for the Lady Vols on both ends of the court in Sunday's dominant win. Tennessee needs to build on that and take care of business on the road. The biggest area of focus is on the defensive end, and I expect the Lady Vols to hold Arkansas to fewer than 70 points.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball vs. Arkansas: Scouting report, score prediction