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No. 8 Tennessee Basketball blows out Mississippi State at home 87-53

By Keith Holt

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 03: Zakai Zeigler #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates a three point basket against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 03, 2023 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 03: Zakai Zeigler #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates a three point basket against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 03, 2023 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee Basketball remained unbeaten in SEC hoops play after blowing out Mississippi State on Tuesday night, 87-53. The Bulldogs never got into the game as they started off behind the Vols 16-0 to start the game. Mississippi State didn’t score their first points until the 13:46 mark in the first half. The game never got any closer for the Bulldogs.

Tennessee Basketball blows out Mississippi State, 87-53

In the first half the Volunteers largely outshot Mississippi State, shooting 63% from the field in the first half and an amazing 64.3% from three-point range. The early sharp shooting was led by UT’s Santiago Vescovi who had 14 points in the first half and 4 for 6 from three-point range in the first half. The team also moved the ball well as they had 13 assists before halftime.

MSU could not get it going all game. The team finished the first half shooting just 30.4% from the field and an even worse 18.2% from three-point range. The team was lead in scoring by DJ Jeffries and Tolu Smith who each had five points at halftime. The team also fell behind due to the nine turnovers they committed in the first half of the game. The game was 46-22 in favor of Tennessee at halftime.

The game never got better for Mississippi State as they continued to struggle in the second half and finished the game 4 for 18 shooting from three-point range for a 22.2%-night shooting. The team also only shot 41.2% from the free-throw line for the game. The Bulldogs were led by Tyler Stevenson’s 15 points, as he was the only player for MSU to reach double figures for the evening.  The team’s leading scorer and rebounder Tolu Smith was held to just 9 points and 2 rebounds for the night.

Tennessee Basketball got a well-rounded effort, with five players scoring in double figures for night. The team saw scoring from 11 of the 12 players who entered the game for the Volunteers.  The team shot 69.2% from the field for the game and 57.1% from three-point range. Tennessee also dominated the Bulldogs on the boards out rebounding them 34-19 for the game. The team also shared the ball well with 28 assists. The team had a good performance from reserve guard Zakai Zeigler who provided 11 points and 10 assists for UT.

Tennessee now improves to 12-2 and 2-0 in the SEC on the season and is likely to remain ranked in the top 10. This is the third straight victory for Coach Rick Barnes’ Volunteers who have aspirations of making a run in the NCAA tournament. Their next contest will be on the road against South Carolina on January 7th and can be seen on the SEC Network.

Next. Tennessee tops Clemson in Orange Bowl. dark

Coach Chris Jans’ Bulldogs have lost their third straight game after winning their first 11 games of the season. This loss to Tennessee is their worst of the year. The team fell out of the top 25 rankings this week and will need to win some games to get their season back on track. MSU’s next action will be against in-state rival Ole Miss on January 7th, on CBS at 2pm.

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