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SEC Tournament preview: Tennessee vs. Mississippi St. live stream, game time, prediction

By Billy Williford

KNOXVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 21: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts after scoring a basket and drawing a foul against the Florida Gators in the second half of a game at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 21, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 62-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 21: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts after scoring a basket and drawing a foul against the Florida Gators in the second half of a game at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 21, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 62-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Vols start their SEC Tournament against Mississippi State. Here is our quarterfinals preview for the Volunteers and the Bulldogs.

Please tell me you’ve been paying attention to the SEC Tournament so far? It has been absolutely fantastic. I’ve been a big basketball fan all my life, and while I’m not that old, I still remember the good ole days of the Big East.

So far, the 2018 SEC Tournament is reminding me of those fantastic tournaments the Big East used to produce. Remember the 2009 quarterfinal game the showcased two teams in Connecticut and Syracuse that refused to lose? I remember that game like it was yesterday.

A buddy of mine and I was at the SEC Tournament that year, and I remember rushing back to the hotel only to watch like five more overtimes. If you never watched it, I’m sure Youtube has the replay.

Moving on to the critical game of the day, No.13 Tennessee (23-7, 13-5 SEC), that’s right, the No. 13 Vols will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Mississippi State (22-10, 9-9 SEC) is coming off a three-point win against LSU on Thursday night.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was high on Mississippi State, but then they ended the regular season on a horrible stretch of games. Of course, we know about the 22-point loss to the Vols which it got out of hand in the second half. In the regular season finale, LSU beat the Bulldogs by 21 points.

If this game is any indication of how the SEC Tournament has played out so far, it should be close. In six games of the tournament so far five of the games have been decided by five points or less. In fact, two of the games have been decided by only one point. Before we preview both teams, here is the information you need for the game.

No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
When: Friday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m. E.T.
Where: Scottrade Center; St. Louis, MO
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Line: Tennessee -6.5
Over/Under: 133.5

VIEW OF THE VOLS

Record: 23-7, 13-5 SEC
Last 5: 4-1
Last 10: 8-2

The Co-SEC Champs are back in action. Tennessee is coming off a huge win against the Georgia Bulldogs to end the regular season and give them an SEC regular-season title. That’s not all of the good news coming out of Knoxville.

Coach Rick Barnes was voted the SEC coach of the year, which was much deserved in my opinion. Projected 13th in the preseason and coming out with a share of the regular season title is impressive but he didn’t do it alone.

Grant Williams, the sophomore forward, was voted as the player of the year in the SEC. Williams had an outstanding year scoring 15.6 points per game, grabbing 5.8 rebounds, and dishing out 1.8 assists. Williams wasn’t the only player to improve this year.

His partner in crime, Admiral Schofield made 2nd team ALL-SEC with his play this season. Schofield turned into a player that could stretch the floor and shot an impressive 39% from beyond the arc. In the last three games of the regular Schofield was on fire scoring 25, 24, and 26 points. Can he keep that hot streak going?

It also should be noted that Lamonte Turner was the 6th man of the year in the SEC. Turner started to become the clutch player that wanted the ball in his hands at the end of the game and started shooting the three ball better than anyone. In the last five games alone, Turner shot 13-23 from beyond the arc which was good enough for 56.5%.

BRACKET UPDATE

In the latest bracketology, from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, Tennessee is a three seed in the South region playing Charleston. In the CBS Sports projection from Jerry Palm, Tennessee is a three seed in the East region playing Bucknell.

VIEW OF THE BULLDOGS

Record: 22-10, 9-9 SEC
Last 5: 3-2
Last 10: 6-4

The Bulldogs are starving for a win to help their chances for an NCAA Tournament bid. Currently, they are not even in the first eight teams out of the tournament according to Joe Lunardi. A win against Tennessee would surely help things.

As mentioned, Mississippi State is coming off an 80-77 win against LSU in their first game of the SEC Tournament. Both Weatherspoon brothers produced 15 points apiece by shooting over 50% from the field.

The Bulldogs also received a massive performance from Lamar Peters. The sophomore guard scored 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting and made five shots from beyond the arc. He also added six assists and two rebounds. Tennessee will need to contain the big three for a win.

PREDICTION

Tennessee’s’ road the to the SEC Tournament Championship Game couldn’t have set up any better for them. They are 7-1 against teams in their side of the bracket with the only loss coming to Arkansas, which they led the entire game on the road.

However, I do think the game down in Starkville was a little misleading. I think Tennessee is the better team, but I don’t think they are 22 points better. I did pick the Vols to win the SEC Tournament, though. So obviously, that is my pick for this game. 74-68 Vols.

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