Tennessee had a shot at a comeback on Wednesday night in Starkville but was weighed down by a forgettable first half as the Bulldogs outlasted the Vols.
Mississippi State defeated No. 5 Tennessee in Starkville by a score of 77-72 to send the Vols to 1-1 in conference play.
Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler led the way and did most of Tennessee’s scoring in the first half of play. Zeigler ended the first half with 10 points while the rest of Tennessee’s team added in just 12 points. The Vols struggled to find any sort of offensive rhythm in the first half besides from their point guard. Tennessee shot just 15.4 percent from behind the arc in the first half but bumped that up to 37.5 percent with fewer attempts in the second half, evening out at 27.6 percent for the game.
Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht found his shot in the second half as the Vols scored 50 points in the final 20 minutes, more than doubling their first-half scoring output. Knecht had two points in the first half and 26 points in the second half to lead all scorers with 28. Zeigler finished right behind Knecht with 26 points of his own. Still, though, Mississippi State hung around.
Despite outscoring Mississippi State by eight points in the second half, the Bulldogs outlasted the Vols in the final four minutes of play and extended their lead with a breakaway dunk as the buzzer sounded. The Vols were without center Jonas Aidoo for the final five minutes after he fouled out while guarding Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith III, who ended the game with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
More from RTI: Three Quick Takeaways as Tennessee’s Second Half Comeback Comes Up Short At Mississippi State
The Vols (11-4, 1-1 SEC) will look to bounce back from their first SEC loss this Saturday afternoon when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens at 12:00 p.m. ET. on ESPN2.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes and guard Zakai Zeigler spoke with the media after the game to break down their thoughts and reactions to the loss on Wednesday night. Check out both interviews below.
HC Rick Barnes
Guard Zakai Zeigler
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