Tennessee will head back to Knoxville after just 40 minutes on the court in the 2024 SEC Tournament from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
One-seed Tennessee was bounced by nine-seed Mississippi State by a score of 73-56 in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament.
Tennessee was uncharacteristically bad on Friday afternoon in the Music City. While the Vols have had some lackluster halves to begin games this season, Tennessee usually found their way in the second 20 minutes. Tennessee only had one double-digit loss on the season, after all.
Not on Thursday, though. Tennessee was run out of Bridgestone Arena as Mississippi State had their way for all 40 minutes of the game. Bulldogs’ head coach Chris Jans said after the game that Mississippi State wanted to hit Tennessee in the mouth to start the contest, and they did. Tennessee was blitzed out of the gates and never found their footing despite a couple of runs throughout the second half.
Zakai Zeigler ended with a game-high 20 points and Dalton Knecht finished right behind with 14 points. Jahmai Mashack added 10 points but was the third and final double-digit scorer in the game for Tennessee. Jonas Aidoo had five points, Santiago Vescovi had four points, and Jordan Gainey had three points. Josiah-Jordan James and Tobe Awaka did not record any points despite 30 minutes and 10 minutes on the court, respectively.
Tennessee will now head back to Rocky Top to reload and reset. The Vols have suffered two straight losses heading into the NCAA Tournament and will need to make a few quick fixes or alterations before stepping back on the court for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
After the Vols’ loss on Friday, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans, guard Cameron Matthews, and forward D.J. Jeffries met with the media to discuss their reactions to the game. Jans spoke about the game plan that Mississippi State used to attack the Vols on Friday and what made it effective.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, guard Zakai Zeigler, and guard Jahmai Mashack also met with the media in Nashville. Barnes gave his broad thoughts on the Vols’ loss while Mashack and Zeigler spoke about what went wrong and what things need to be fixed.
More from RTI: Mississippi State Embarrasses Tennessee In SEC Tournament
Check out both team interviews below:
Tennessee – Rick Barnes, Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack
Mississippi State – Chris Jans, Cameron Matthews, D.J. Jeffries
