Tennessee basketball endured a disappointing start to the SEC Tournament, as they fell to Mississippi State in a lackluster fashion, leaving their offensive prowess behind in Knoxville.
Despite entering as the No. 1 seed, the Vols succumbed to the No. 9 seed Mississippi State with a final score of 73-56, concluding their SEC Tournament campaign prematurely. Even with a late offensive surge, Tennessee (24-8) couldn’t recover from an early deficit.
Struggling with their shooting accuracy, the Vols managed only a 31% field goal percentage and a meager 24% from beyond the arc, ultimately being outscored 42-14 in the paint, leading to a disappointing upset.
Contributing to the offense, Zakai Zeigler led with 20 points, while Dalton Knecht, despite a challenging 4-for-17 shooting performance, managed to score 14 points.
From the outset, Tennessee struggled to find their rhythm, while Mississippi State capitalized on dominating the interior, mirroring their strategy from a previous victory over Tennessee in Starkville.
Launching into a 13-2 run with nearly twelve minutes left in the first half, Mississippi State exploited Tennessee’s scoring drought of over five minutes, marked by turnovers and an 0-for-8 shooting stretch.
Although Tennessee briefly ignited with Jordan Gainey and Knecht sinking contested 3-pointers, Mississippi State maintained their momentum, retaining a 22-14 lead by the 8:00 mark.
Another scoreless stretch towards halftime allowed Mississippi State to extend their lead with a 6-0 run, culminating in a dunk that emphasized their first-half dominance.
Beginning the second half at a deficit of 38-19, Tennessee aimed to mount a comeback, starting with a 7-2 run. However, Mississippi State promptly responded, orchestrating a 7-0 run, fueled by Vols’ errors.
As Tennessee endured yet another scoring drought, this time for over two minutes, their hopes dwindled further, trailing 58-38 with just under eight minutes remaining.
A late resurgence ensued as Tennessee embarked on a 10-0 run, narrowing the gap amidst a nearly three-minute scoring drought from Mississippi State, largely propelled by freshman J.P. Estrella’s contributions.
Despite the spirited late effort, it fell short, and Mississippi State secured the victory, advancing past the quarterfinals.
