FAYETTEVILLE — Even minus Moses Kingsley's contribution, Arkansas' bench outscored Tennessee's on Saturday.
Kingsley scored 17 points and three other Razorbacks added 27 points off the bench in Arkansas' 85-67 win over the Volunteers.
The Razorbacks outscored Tennessee 44-21 in bench points.
Jimmy Whitt scored 10 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers for Arkansas. Anton Beard scored 12 points and used his defense to create a couple of uncontested layups. Manny Watkins scored five points and hit a long-jumper to help the Razorbacks build a double-digit lead before the first media timeout.
"Our bench was really big," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "If we're going to be a team that's going to be in contention for anything moving forward, our bench has to step up and play well."
Whitt's production was his most since scoring a career-high 15 points at Missouri last month. Prior to the Tennessee game, Whitt had combined to score 10 points in the six games since Missouri and was scoreless in three straight games.
The freshman entered the game hitting 38 percent of his field goal attempts, but made four of five shots against the Volunteers. Whitt hit a 3-pointer on his first attempt and added a layup during his first wave of playing time.
"It's a confidence booster just any time when you see your first shot goes in," said Whitt, who played 20 minutes. "It gets you in a rhythm for the rest of the game."
The 44 bench points tied a season-high for the Razorbacks, who also had 44 in a win over Northwestern State in December. That was before leading-scorer Dusty Hannahs was inserted in the starting lineup.
Arkansas' bench had struggled of late. The Razorbacks' reserves combined for 15 points in their two games prior to Saturday against Texas Tech and Florida.
The bench built on a strong start by the Razorbacks against the Volunteers. Arkansas' starters hit five of their first nine attempts and built a 12-2 lead before the backups took the floor.
"Just watching the starters go out there and set the tone for us, it's hard to not do what they're doing," Whitt said. "They did a good job energizing the bench, so we wanted to pick up where they left off."