NASHVILLE—The Vols entered the SEC Tournament on the NCAA bubble needing at least one win to remain in contention for an at-large bid. While the 69-53 win over Mississippi State won’t make them a lock for the tournament, a loss would have ended Tennessee’s dreams of dancing. Tennessee led 35-19 at the half behind 48.4% shooting. For the majority of the second half the Vols led by double-digits and Mississippi State was unable to pose a serious threat to Tennessee’s date with Alabama in the quarterfinals.

Golden scored 15 points against MSU.
Photo by Reed Carringer

Offense: Four Vols scored in double-figures in what proved to be a balanced offensive effort. McRae led the way with 17 points including a highlight-worthy 360 dunk in the game’s waning moments. Trae Golden scored 15 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting, and UT moved to 12-0 when he scores at least 12 points. They’ll need a similar effort from him tomorrow if they’re going to advance past a tough Alabama team that’s fighting for its NCAA Tournament life.

Rarely used Quinton Chievous recorded a career-high 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. He brought some life to Tennessee’s bench, and any points the UT gets from him moving forward will be a bonus. McRae added 13 points on 5-9 shooting, McBee scored 9 on three 3s, and Stokes narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Throughout the contest the Vols got whatever they wanted when they were disciplined and ran their sets. “I thought they did a really good job of executing their offense, attacking our man defense and especially our 1-3-1 defense. I though they did a great job getting opportunities at the rim,” Mississippi State head coach Rick Ray said after the game.

Tennessee shot 51.8% from the floor despite shooting just 25% (5-20) from 3.

Defense: With only six scholarship players available, the Bulldogs clearly didn’t have the weapons to provide a significant challenge for Tennessee’s defense; nonetheless, the Vols turned in a solid defensive effort and held the same team that shot 46.9% last night to 34.5% shooting. More impressive was UT’s 3-point defense. Against South Carolina last night the Bulldogs made 7 of their 15 3-point attempts, yet the Vol defense held them to 3-14 from beyond the arc (21.4%).

When asked to sum up playing Tennessee after the game Mississippi State head coach Rick Ray responded, “The one thing you come away with is just how physical they are. They have the mentality that you may get at the rim but you’re going to have a difficult time finishing at the rim. I think you saw that today. I thought we had a lot of opportunities at the rim that we just couldn’t finish because of the physicality of their defense.”

Final Take: Mississippi State coach Rick Ray said after the game, “I thought Tennessee was an NCAA Tournament team before we played them, and definitely think that now.”

Up Next: The Vols play Alabama tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. ET in a game both teams desperately need to win to bolster their NCAA Tournament resumes. You can follow the action on your SEC Network affiliate.