Mississippi State coach has a harsh but true statement about Tennessee after throttling the Vols
The Tennessee Volunteers got punched in the mouth by the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Friday afternoon. The Vols were completely outclassed in a 73-56 loss that sent the Vols home early from the SEC tournament. Aside from the Vols' ice-cold shooting from beyond the arc (8 of 33 for the game; 2 of 17 in […]
The Tennessee Volunteers got punched in the mouth by the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Friday afternoon. The Vols were completely outclassed in a 73-56 loss that sent the Vols home early from the SEC tournament.
Aside from the Vols' ice-cold shooting from beyond the arc (8 of 33 for the game; 2 of 17 in the first half), one thing stuck out like a sore thumb between the two teams: the vastly superior hustle and physicality of the Mississippi State players.
Why might that be? Well, according to Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans, the Bulldogs had to take it to Tennessee physically to win.
And there's little doubt that Tennessee was in their own heads after falling behind early. As Mississippi State grabbed 50/50 balls and forced turnovers while slicing to the basket, Tennessee couldn't throw it into the Pacific Ocean from the end of the Santa Monica pier, missing open looks beyond the perimeter that they typically don't. Between Dalton Knecht, Zakai Zeigler, Santiago Vescovi, and Josiah-Jordan James – all good shooters who've splashed plenty of shots from downtown this year – Tennessee started 1 of 13 from three, with the Vols going to the under 12 timeout with just 4 points.
And that might be fitting because any shot Tennessee had at making it to Los Angeles as the West region one seed is gone with the wind. Heck, after that type of disastrous showing, Tennessee doesn't even need to concern itself with seeding. It needs to get back to figuring out how it could have failed so spectacularly on the offensive end and how it was so sluggish on the defensive one.
Mississippi State laid out a blueprint on how to handle Tennessee on both ends of the court. They were able to frustrate Knecht while also successfully attacking Tennessee's defense on the inside. The Vols were outscored an incredible 42-14 in the paint.
Last year's Tennessee team that made it to the Sweet 16 absolutely battered the Duke Blue Devils in the second round to do it. They were the more physical team that set the tone.
This year's incarnation had better find a way to channel that same style and energy because the biggest and best teams await them. Mississippi State punched their ticket for sure on Friday, but they're a mediocre tournament team.
If they can do that to Tennessee, plenty of other teams can have their way with the Vols in the big tournament. Just ask Zeigler after the game.
Indeed.
