Tennessee basketball opened as nine-point favorites over Mississippi State in Friday afternoon’s SEC Tournament Quarterfinals according to Bet365. The over/under is set at 141.5.
The Vols enter the SEC Tournament looking to defend their outright regular season conference championship and to win the event for the second time in three seasons. Analytical based college basketball website KenPom projects Tennessee to earn an 75-68 victory over the Bulldogs.
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Mississippi State is the only SEC team that Tennessee hasn’t yet defeated this season. The Vols went 14-4 on their way to the SEC Regular Season Championship splitting matchups against South Carolina, Texas A&M and Kentucky.
Tennessee faced Mississippi State in Starkville in its second SEC game. The Vols’ offense was terrible in the first half and they fell behind by as many as 13 points early in the second half before their full court press pulled them back in the game.
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Rick Barnes’ ninth Tennessee team tied the game in the final minute before a late Tolu Smith and-one propelled the Bulldogs ahead of the Vols in the game’s final seconds.
A chance for revenge isn’t the only good thing about the matchup for Tennessee. The quarterfinals matchup is an opportunity for Tennessee to earn a Quad 1 win as it looks to bolster its chances to earn a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Mississippi State advanced to the quarterfinals by overcoming a first half deficit and knocking off LSU 70-60 on Thursday afternoon. The win all but locks Mississippi State into the NCAA Tournament.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Mississippi State is at 1 p.m. ET at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Friday afternoon. Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Marty Smith are on the call for ESPN.
