By Joe Rexrode, Kyle Tucker and Brian Bennett
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee, the SEC’s No. 1 seed, showed a little fight to get a 23-point deficit down to 12 late, with Dalton Knecht getting a clean look at a 3-pointer to bring it to single digits.
Brick, out of bounds, never mind.
Final: Mississippi State 73, Tennessee 56. The Bulldogs (21-12) led wire to wire in the SEC tournament quarterfinals, giving their resume a boost while damaging Tennessee’s (24-8) hopes of landing a coveted No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday.
From the opening tip Friday, Mississippi State played with exactly the energy, effort and borderline desperation you’d expect from a team with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line. The Bulldogs, who were on the bubble before this win, came out in such a frenzy that SEC regular-season champion Tennessee looked stunned, and never steadied itself. Chris Jans’ team led by 11 points after eight minutes, 19 at halftime and as many as 23 in the second half.
That dominant performance, in which MSU held UT to 31 percent shooting and outscored the Vols 42-14 in the paint, also all but guaranteed the Bulldogs an invitation to a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Jans. They’d made just one dance in a dozen previous attempts before Jans.
They’ll play the winner of Auburn-South Carolina on Saturday for a trip to the SEC championship game.
So how does the loss affect UT’s chances of being an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed? It can’t help. It sure seems like North Carolina, which beat the Vols at home this season, would have an opportunity to lock that up with more winning in the ACC tournament.
If Tennessee does end up on the No. 2 line instead of getting the No. 1 in the West, it leaves the Vols vulnerable to potential matchups they don’t want — against Connecticut and Purdue. Though MSU big man Tolu Smith had just five points Friday, he forced the Vols to help Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka defend him and allowed MSU to fill up on layups and dunks in the process.
A dominant big man is the biggest matchup concern for the Vols moving forward.
MSU was 22-for-34 on 2-pointers, with Cameron Matthews making all seven of his attempts, all very close to the rim. Freshman sensation Josh Hubbard scored 18.
As for the Vols, it’s not ideal that their worst basketball of the season is the last basketball they’ll play before the NCAA Tournament. Zakai Zeigler hit some meaningless shots late to get to 20 points, but Knecht had just 14 on an off day (4-for-17, 2 for 9 from long range).
So who will be the final No. 1 seed?
The race for the final No. 1 seed — after Purdue, Houston and Connecticut — has been a tight one between Tennessee and North Carolina. It’s safe to say Tennessee is now out of that race after its implosion against Mississippi State. The Tar Heels are now the No. 1 seed in the West Region, though they still have to play Pitt in the ACC tournament semifinals later today. Should UNC lay an egg like Tennessee has today, then there’s a chance Arizona could reclaim the top spot in the West by winning the Pac-12 tournament. But Arizona also has some bad losses — Oregon State, USC, Stanford — that will likely limit the Wildcats to the No. 2 line.
For now, it’s clearly North Carolina’s to lose. Tennessee definitely lost it. — Brian Bennett, senior college basketball editor
(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
