Tennessee basketball: Mississippi State is Vols’ biggest win of year so far

They have a top five win on their resume against the Arizona Wildcats and two other solid victories over the LSU Tigers and North Carolina Tar Heels. However, Tennessee basketball proved so much more Wednesday night when they beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 72-63 on the road.

Although the Vols, ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll, entered that matchup on a five-game winning streak, they also came in with numerous questions and concerns. Many of those issues, at least for now, have been put to rest.

At 17-6 and 8-3 in the SEC, Tennessee basketball now has a lot to look forward to the rest of the way. Rick Barnes’ team proved they could consistently win on the road, they showed their offensive performances last week weren’t flukes, and they passed a tough test their first game without Olivier Nkamhoua.

Before Wednesday, UT’s two SEC road wins were at the Vanderbilt Commodores and South Carolina Gamecocks. Frank Martin’s Gamecocks seem like a quality win, but they are a good matchup for the Vols, evidenced by UT winning both games by 20-plus points this year. Their other two non-home wins were UNC and at the Colorado Buffaloes.

None of these are bad wins, but when you consider the blowout loss to the Villanova Wildcats and the close loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on neutral courts, the loss at the Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU, and the historically embarrassing blowout loss at the Kentucky Wildcats, there were legitimate concerns about this team away from home. They had more to prove.

Beating Mississippi State proved that. They are at least 25 spots higher than both South Carolina and Vanderbilt in the NCAA NET Rankings, the ESPN Basketball Power Index and the RealTime RPI. That means they’re by far the best team UT beat away from home, and they’re ahead of UNC in the BPI.

When you look at how difficult they are at home, it’s even more impressive. Mississippi State had one loss at Humphrey Coliseum all year, and they were undefeated at The Hump in SEC play. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, had five losses at home before the Vols beat them, and South Carolina had two SEC losses at home.

Simply put, Mississippi State is easily Tennessee basketball’s most quality road win. Honestly, it’s proof that their improvement recently is not a fluke. After all, they’ve now won six of seven, and their one loss is another road game, but it was a close one by one point to the Texas Longhorns, who are now in the top 25 of both polls, and it was due to a bad foul call.

When it comes to not being a fluke, Rocky Top’s offense is now a trend. Since the five and a half minute mark of the Texas game, when they were down 51-35, they have gone on a tear. They scored 16 unanswered in that one to almost win, then dropped 90 against the Texas A&M Aggies and scored 81 against South Carolina.

Dropping 72 against Mississippi State is just as impressive. They allow 66.6 points a game. After being wildly inconsistent to start SEC play, Barnes’ team has figured it out. Santiago Vescovi was always there offensively, but other guys had to step up.

One of the biggest changes has been Josiah-Jordan James, who has found his shot. James has scored double figures each of the past four games and is averaging 15.75 points while shooting 11-of-24 from three during that time. Combine that with both point guards, Kennedy Chandler and Zakai Zeigler developing, and you’ve got a lethal combination.

All of those guards stepping up allowed Tennessee basketball to prove something else Wednesday, which is they can win without Olivier Nkamhoua. That’s not to say Nkamhoua wasn’t crucial, as he was the one reliable stretch-four, and there are still concerns surrounding Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Jonas Aidoo.

However, both of those guys can provide valuable minutes defensively, Uros Plavsic is still a body and John Fulkerson is still a very good finesse player. Most importantly, against a much bigger team, Barnes went small for most of the game Wednesday, and it worked to his advantage.

All of this means unequivocally that the Vols can adjust. Nkamhoua likely being out for the season after an ankle injury at South Carolina was concerning at first, but if Barnes sticks to the right rotations, and if the players do their jobs, they proved they can overcome it.

Getting past this game with a likely win against Vandy at home on Saturday should set Tennessee basketball up to be in perfect shape up for a tough finish to the season. After Vandy, they host Kentucky and visit the Arkansas Razorbacks. Two games later, they’ll host the Auburn Tigers. With those games coming, putting Mississippi State away was their best win of the year so far.