No. 16 Tennessee, No. 23 Arkansas two of SEC's hottest teams

Updated Feb. 18, 2022 3:22 a.m. ET

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A look at weekend action around the Southeastern Conference:

Two of the SEC’s hottest teams face off as No. 16 Tennessee (19-6, 10-3) visits No. 23 Arkansas (20-6, 9-4). The host Razorbacks have won 10 of 11 and are ranked for the first time since Dec. 13 at No. 24. Arkansas is coming off a

PLAYER TO WATCH

LSU forward Tari Eason is averaging 23 points and nine rebounds during the Tigers' three-game winning streak after losing six of seven. His run includes 21 points, nine rebounds and three steals in Wednesday night's

TEAM TO WATCH

Tennessee has won eight of nine since last month’s 107-79 blowout loss at Kentucky that no doubt motivated the Volunteers' 76-63 payback Tuesday night in Knoxville. Their only loss in this stretch was 52-51 to Texas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 29. Since then they’ve won by an average margin of 13 points and held South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Kentucky below 41% shooting. The Vols face a challenging stretch with a visit to Missouri on Tuesday before a Feb. 26 showdown against first-place Auburn at home, where they are 14-0 this season. A return match against Arkansas looms on March 5.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Alabama junior Jahvon Quinerly had 21 points in Wednesday's victory over MSU, his fourth 20-point outing this season. ... LSU senior forward Darius Days had 15 points and 12 rebounds against Georgia and is averaging 11.7 points and 8.0 boards during the Tigers' three-game winning streak. ... Arkansas coach Eric Musselman achieved his seventh consecutive 20-win season and third in a row with the Razorbacks, who reached the milestone for the 35th time in school history. ... Kentucky shot a season-low 34% (23 of 67) at Tennessee and allowed a season-high eight blocks. ... Last-place Georgia has dropped 14 of 15 and lost by an average margin of 13.6 points this month alone.

ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE

Top-ranked South Carolina (23-1, 11-1) faces No. 13 Tennessee (21-4, 10-2) on Sunday in a nationally televised game between the league’s top two teams. The Gamecocks beat Auburn on Thursday night for their 12th consecutive victory. Included in the run was Sunday’s

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Poll: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll

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Jahvon Quinerly

Darius Days

Tennessee Volunteers

Arkansas Razorbacks