Alabama Basketball Routs Ole Miss on the Road, 97-83
STARKVILLE, MS — Tennessee continued its recent strong play Wednesday night, outlasting Mississippi State to earn a 72-63 win at Humphrey Coliseum.
Tennessee jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the game’s opening minutes, but Mississippi State quickly came charging back, erasing the Vols’ lead with over five minutes to play in the first half.
From there, it was a neck-and-neck SEC basketball game with neither team leading by more than five points until Tennessee pulled away in the final two minutes.
After losing three of their first four road games this season, Tennessee is starting to find some rhythm away from home. The Vols have won three straight SEC road games and have done so in a number of ways.
In Starkville, it was Tennessee’s offense that kept them just ahead of the Bulldogs for most of the second half. Tennessee didn’t rain threes like they did in Columbia Saturday, but a balanced scoring effort — four Vols in double figures — and strong guard play led to Tennessee scoring 70 points on the road for the third time this season.
The Vols continued to limit their offensive dry spells, leading to more consistent offensive production. Tennessee’s longest scoring drought was just 2:45.
“Ball movement, player movement, better passes,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said of why UT has done a better job avoiding dry spells. “The lull started because we took three not so good shots. … I think because we got off to a good job shooting the ball, we kind of lulled ourselves into thinking it would be that easy and it wasn’t. … When we get the ball moving and guys are able to catch the ball facing the basket as opposed to trying to drive, and we did over dribble too much during that period when we bogged down. That’s normally the case, but the fact is we’ve gotten more consistent and aren’t staying in those luls as long.”
Tennessee’s offense was even more consistent in the second half, totaling 37 points and never going more than two minutes without a basket. Mississippi State kept making mini runs, but the Vols’ offense seemed to keep delivering when it needed baskets.
Credit to Josiah-Jordan James who scored 13 second half points including 10 points in the first eight minutes of the half as UT’s offense struggled to find its footing. Santiago Vescovi and Kennedy Chandler also earned crucial, momentum shifting baskets in the second half.
The offensive consistency was a major sign of growth from this team. After suffering major scoring droughts in its first six road games, Tennessee avoided them in back-to-back games.
In the first game without Olivier Nkamhoua, Mississippi State tested Tennessee’s interior in a big way. The Bulldogs start one of the biggest lineups in the SEC and the plan was to go right at Tennessee’s interior defense.
Mississippi State ran offense through its front court and had success, scoring 22 points in the paint and shooting 23 free throws.
“We knew they were going to pound it inside,” Barnes said. “We fouled way too much early but you have to give them credit for that. You have to give them credit for that. They put intense pressure on you inside. We knew that those shots in there they’d get it on the glass and it was going to be a high-level, physical game around the rim.”
It was a major test for freshmen big men Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Jonas Aidoo. Huntley-Hatfield earned his first career start, making a pair of early baskets before failing to make a massive impact.
Playing his first real college basketball minutes, Aidoo impressed in 12 minutes totaling two points, four rebounds and a blocked shot.
“What I really liked, I thought he looked like he belonged,” Barnes said of Aidoo. “I didn’t think he looked awkward out there at any time and when we go zone, there’s no doubt he gives us something we don’t have. What we will have with him out there is a rim protector.”
Despite playing a 2-3 zone for much of the second half due to foul trouble and freshmen big men combining for 25 minutes, Tennessee outscored Mississippi State in the paint and lost the rebounding battle by just two boards.
The Vols didn’t win the interior battle, but against a good front court they more than held their own.
With its front court holding its own, Tennessee’s backcourt proved to be the difference. The Vols’ trio of point guards combined for 40 points on just 26 shots.
That trio got the job done on the defensive side of the ball too. Chandler and Zakai Zeigler combined for 10 steals including three Zeigler steals as Tennessee held Mississippi State scoreless in the final two minutes.
“They got their hands on a lot of basketballs,” Barnes said.
Tennessee wasn’t perfect, but they showed offensive maturity and defensive toughness in its sixth straight SEC win. That’s a big step forward from where the Vols were a month ago.
