Tennessee basketball: Three takeaways from Vols’ impressive win at Mississippi State
They could never put the game away until the final four minutes, and the fight took what seemed like a serious injury to Kennedy Chandler during those final minutes before he came back in the game, but Tennessee basketball secured a huge 72-63 win at the Mississippi State Bulldogs. It’s the Vols’ sixth straight SEC win and third straight win overall.
Rick Barnes’ team, ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll, jumped out to a 14-2 lead in their first hame without Olivier Nkamhoua. However, Ben Howland’s team never went away, taking the lead at one point in the first half and keeping the game back and forth. UT won by allowing one bucket in the final four minutes, closing on an 11-2 run.
Rocky Top leaves Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss., at 17-6 overall and 8-3 in the SEC with a visit from the Vanderbilt Commodores set for Saturday. Mississippi State is now 14-9 and 5-5 in SEC play with a trip to the LSU Tigers Saturday. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee basketball’s victory at the hump.
1. Elite, clutch shooting made the difference.
It’s pretty simple, really. The Vols shot 8-of-19, or 42.1 percent, from the three-point line and 8-of-9, or 88.9 percent, from the free throw line. MSU was 5-of-14, or 35.7 percent, from three and 14-of-23, or 60 percent, from the stripe. That difference in production is where the nine-point difference came. However, clutch shooting by UT also made a difference.
Kennedy Chandler hit his one three from far out to break a 49-all tie. Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi each went 3-of-6 from three with 18 and 11 points respectively. James hit a clutch three with MSU ahead 59-58 to make it 61-58 and insure the Bulldogs would never lead again. Vescovi hit a deep three with the Vols up 63-61 to give them a two-score lead late.
2. Point guard play carried the defense.
While the three-point shooting kept Tennessee basketball’s offense going, both point guards made the difference on defense. Mississippi State turned it over 16 times thanks to 13 steals by the Vols. Chandler and Zakai Zeigler each had five of them.
It’s worth noting that Chandler, like James, had 18 points. Zeigler came off the bench and had 11 thanks to hitting a three of his own and all six of his free throw attempts. Both of them, though, helped generate their offense through their aggression on defense, and it was helped by James being able to defend in the post. That leads to our final point.
3. Playing two forwards won’t last.
Early, with Brandon Huntley-Hatfield scoring the first two buckets and UT going up 14-2, it seemed like the Vols could offset Nkamhoua’s injury. However, it became clear later on that they need to play small ball. When MSU cut it close, the guards proved this in the second half. At one point, James and Chandler scored 17 straight points for the team in the second half.
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The offense was flowing consistency when Tennessee basketball played Small, and James proved he could play the four on defense. This change is why Vescovi had seven assists on the night. Also, John Fulkerson is probably the best big man to keep in there with one forward, as he runs the pick and roll best. That set up a Chandler layup to break one of the ties late.