Another tourney season clunker.
So much for that.
Tennessee was just bounced out of the SEC Tournament in embarrassing fashion, losing to Mississippi State, 73-56. Worse than that? They were never really even in the game.
This was an all-time clunker, and one of the most disappointing big-spot performances for this program in recent memory.
A slow, ugly start for Tennessee
Tennessee, much like the first half in Starkville back in January, looked lost offensively. Credit Mississippi State though — the Bulldogs were absolutely swarming on defense to start this one. Constant pressure, instant double teams created a ton of issues for Tennessee in the opening eight minutes of this game. Tobe Awaka really struggled with the double-team traps in the post.
The Volunteers managed to put up just four points during that span, showing no answers for the tough, in-your-face Mississippi State defense. A couple of missed layups and open jumpers didn’t help matters in the opening moments.
Four quick Tennessee turnovers had Mississippi State off and running early, taking a 15-4 lead into the under 12 break. Dalton Knecht was also struggling with the tight defense, starting 1-6 from the field. Overall, Tennessee started 5-21 in the opening 12 minutes.
It’s not like Tennessee didn’t have their looks, they had plenty of open shots. Zakai Zeigler couldn’t buy one, starting 0-5 from deep with an airball and one that bounced off the top of the backboard. Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James started a combined 0-3. Outside of a wide-open corner three, Knecht started just 1-5.
Meanwhile….
Mississippi State was dominant the paint from the start
While Tennessee took turns missing good looks, Mississippi State just kept slashing. The Volunteers couldn’t stop penetration, letting the Bulldogs get to the rim pretty much whenever they felt like it. You don’t see Tennessee get out-physicaled much, but this one wasn’t even close.
Cam Matthews was absolutely unstoppable going to the rim, starting the game 5-5. Tolu Smith, DJ Jeffries, Jimmy Bell Jr. — the plan was all the same. Get to the rim and put the pressure on this Tennessee defense. And they flat out couldn’t handle the action in the paint.
Mississippi State’s physicality on both ends of the floor was the reason they took a 34-19 lead into the halftime break.
Fast start for Tennessee out of halftime, but Mississippi State answers
Key sequence here — Tennessee had to start fast out of the break, and they did.
They were also helped by two quick fouls from Mississippi State star Tolu Smith. Knecht nailed a contested three, Zeigler made something happen in the lane. The Vols were trying to get some momentum rolling, and the aggression level was certainly picking up from the Orange and White.
It was a 9-2 run for Tennessee, but it didn’t last long.
Mississippi State answered with stud freshman Josh Hubbard, who nailed a three off of a screen. Knecht was called for a cylinder violation, and Hubbard hit the Vols with a transition bucket. Matthews went to the rim again and hit two from the line.
Just when you felt like Tennessee was on their way to making this a game, Chris Jans’ squad found a key answer to go back up 19 points. It quickly looked like a replay of the first half.
Mississippi State was once again getting to the rim with ease — Tennessee just couldn’t stay in front of the ball.
Zakai Zeigler was pressing and simply could not handle the defensive pressure.
Dalton Knecht’s signature superman-bail-out was never coming today. The defense on the other side was just too locked in, and the length of DJ Jeffries really bothered him.
You’ve got to hand it to Mississippi State. They just out-toughed Tennessee today, and the Volunteers couldn’t hit their open three-pointers to answer. The Bulldogs’ help defense kept Tennessee from getting anything going downhill, while Aidoo and Awaka had no answers for the tough post play.
If you get beat this badly in the physicality column and can’t make shots, this is the result you’re going to get.
The stats tell the story
- Points in the paint: Mississippi State 42, Tennessee 14. Not only could Tennessee not stay in front of the ball, Aidoo and Awaka struggled on both ends all day long. So much so that Barnes turned to freshman JP Estrella in the second half.
- Tennessee shot 8-33 from three-point range, and the bulk of those came late in desperation from Zakai Zeigler. A couple of early makes would have gone a long way to keep the Vols in this one.
- Dalton Knecht was just 4-17 from the field. That includes 2-9 from three-point range.
- Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James were non-factors offensively. After Rick Barnes implored Vescovi to shoot more, he put up a 1-6 performance from the field, missing a handful of key open looks from three. James did not score in the game, going 0-5 from the field.
March Sadness?
This won’t do much to silence those that point out Rick Barnes’ record in March. It certainly felt like this was a team that could overcome that narrative — and they still can, for the record — but it was an all-too-familiar feeling watching Tennessee lay an egg today in Bridgestone Arena.
A No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament was on the line, and Tennessee got punched in the mouth. The more concerning part is that they never found a counter.
Now the No. 1 seed is long gone, and you have to wonder how this group can flush this performance with just under a week left until they take the floor for their first round matchup as a likely No. 2 seed.
NEXT UP: Selection Sunday (March 17th, CBS, 6 p.m. ET)