Tennessee basketball holds off Mississippi St. 56-53: Three takeaways

Up by three with just 75 seconds to go, Tennessee basketball came away with three key defensive stops while Yves Pons was on the bench due to fouling out to build a five-point lead and take control. In the process, the Vols, ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the Coaches Poll, held off the Mississippi State Bulldogs 56-53 to end their two-game losing streak.

With just under three minutes to go and the Vols up by only two, Jaden Springer got away with a shot-clock violation. He rebounded a shot he didn’t get off in time and found Keon Johnson to put UT up by four. However, a later Johnson block was initially ruled goaltending, and while the call was reversed, the jump-ball favored MSU even though Rocky Top clearly would have gotten it.

Although Tennessee basketball jumped out to a 15-4 lead at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., the offense went cold after that. Still, they held on to move to 11-3 and 5-3 in the SEC while MSU fell to 9-8 and 4-5 in league play. Up next for UT is the No. 15/18 ranked Kansas Jayhawks in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Here are three things we learned from this game.

1. Yves Pons was elite, but foul trouble exposed issues inside.

As we mentioned, Yves Pons fouled out of this game, and he was in foul trouble for much of the night. When he was in the game, though, he was dominant. Pons was the only player all night to score double-figures, coming away with 13 points on on 6-of-9 shooting. He exerted his will inside. The problem was he was the only guy to do it.

MSU came back from its 15-4 deficit after Pons’ two fouls sent him to the bench. John Fulkerson only had four points. Olivier Nkamhoua only had five. Both only had four rebounds. E.J. Anosike had two points and three rebounds. UT was outrebounded overall 42-30 and allowed 15 offensive rebounds. These were all major issues, and somebody outside of Pons needs to step up.

2. Keon Johnson, Santiago Vescovi led elite perimeter defensive effort.

What Tennessee basketball couldn’t do in the post was made up for by these two guys. Keon Johnson was crucial for the Vols late. When Pons fouled out and MSU had the ball down by three, Johnson took a charge, drew a shooting foul, hit both free throws and then had a key block. Those things proved crucial.

Johnson finished with three steals. Santiago Vescovi, meanwhile, had four steals. They had seven of the team’s eight in the game. There’s a reason the Bulldogs had 18 turnovers. These guys were critical. They also played bigger down low than anybody. Johnson had two of the team’s six blocks. Vescovi led the team with seven rebounds.

3. The Vols had another awful shooting night.

Combine the poor inside play and Yves Pons’ foul trouble with this, and you could see how a good team like Mississippi State could make this game close. UT was an abysmal 3-of-19 from the three-point line, and Victor Bailey Jr. had another awful night going 0-for-5 from the field. Josiah-Jordan James was 1-for-6, and even Vescovi was 2-for-8, but he made up for it defensively.

However, the freshmen were efficient. Johnson was 3-of-6. Then there’s Jaden Springer. In his return, he rejuvenated Tennessee basketball’s offensive backcourt, going 3-of-7 with nine points and five assists. He did have four turnovers, but his return made a huge difference. Little things like that offset a bad shooting night, but the awful shooting has to improve.