Tennessee Basketball: Vols move into 1st place with win at Miss. State

The Tennessee Volunteers basketball team moved into a tie in first place last night with a blowout win at Mississippi State.

The Tennessee Volunteers had a tough task last night, as they went into Humphrey Coliseum and had to face a very tough Mississippi State team. The Volunteers handled that task, blowing out the Bulldogs, 76-54. Tennessee handed Mississippi State just their second loss at home on the year on their senior night.

Tuesday night was big for the Volunteers. They came away with a blowout win against a good basketball team in Mississippi State. The Bulldogs will have a great chance at making the NCAA Tournament, so this is a big win for the Volunteers. Not only did Tennessee come out with yet another SEC win, but they also climbed into the first place spot with an Auburn loss at Arkansas. Both Tennessee and Auburn are now tied at 12-5 with one SEC regular season game left.

If both Tennessee and Auburn win or lose on Saturday, they will share the SEC regular-season title. If Tennessee beats Georgia at home on Saturday and Auburn loses at home to South Carolina, the Volunteers will capture their first SEC regular-season title since 2008. For a team that was predicted to finish 13th in the SEC by “experts”, they have proved the doubters wrong as they have a chance to finish 1st in the SEC. Both teams have tough matchups though. Volunteers fans will know their fate on Saturday, as Auburn tips off at 3:30 Eastern and Tennessee tips off at 6:00 PM Eastern.

Game Recap

The Volunteers started off slow, going down by eight points with 9:44 left in the 1st half. Tennessee didn’t step off the gas after that though, as they went on a run of their own and never looked back. The Volunteers took a 40-34 lead into halftime.

Tennessee started off the 2nd half red-hot, making shot after shot. In the 2nd half, Tennessee went on a stretch where they hit 12 straight shots. Not only was the Volunteers offense on fire in the 2nd half, but their defense was relentless, forcing 13 turnovers on the night. The Volunteers defense allowed just 20 points in the 2nd half while scoring 36 in the half.

The Volunteers continued to increase their lead throughout the 2nd half, never letting the Bulldogs get within 14 points after the 14-minute mark. The Volunteers biggest lead of the night was 22 points when Jordan Bowden hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to cap off an amazing night.

Admiral Schofield had yet another amazing game, as he had a game-high 24 points, also grabbing 7 rebounds. Schofield has averaged 21.6 points over the last three games. Schofield will be a key part for the Volunteers if they want to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

The Volunteers were able to win a game on the road where Grant Williams attempted just three shots. Yes, you heard that right, Williams only shot three times on the night and the Volunteers won by 22. Williams shot 2-3 on the night and was able to draw fouls all night, as he went 4-6 from the free-throw line.

The Volunteers got some great play from their bench, as Tennessee’s bench outscored Mississippi State’s bench, 25-6. Lamonte Turner had a perfect night shooting, going 4-4 from the field and 2-2 from beyond the arc. Both Derrick Walker and Yves Pons got key minutes for the Volunteers. Walker played 15 minutes and came away with seven points on 3-3 shooting. Pons played 11 minutes overall last night, the most of his career. Pons scored just three points but contributed all over the court, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists.

Next Up

The Tennessee Volunteers head back to Thompson-Boling Arena as they take on the Georgia Bulldogs for Senior Day. Tipoff is at 6:00 PM Eastern. The game will be televised on SEC Network.