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TAMPA, Fla. — Tennessee is advancing to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for the fourth time in as many tournaments, knocking off Mississippi State, 72-59, at Amelia Arena in Tampa Friday.
Here are three quick takeaways.
Chandler In-And-Out With Injury
Tennessee point guard Kennedy Chandler went down holding his foot/ankle in the opening minutes of Tennessee’s win over Mississippi State. The freshman point guard exited the game, limping off on his own power but quickly went into the tunnel.
Chandler returned a few minutes later in the first half and while the point guard didn’t look 100% running on his right ankle/foot.
Still, Chandler was fantastic in the first half, scoring nine points and dishing out five assists while not turning the ball over.
In a rebounding scrum under Tennessee’s basket early in the second half, Chandler went down again holding the same ankle/foot.
This time, Chandler stayed in the tunnel/locker room for some time, but returned again midway through the second half.
Chandler finished with 11 points, six assists and zero turnovers.
* Chandler’s injury appeared to be an ankle, but without any official word we will leave it as a foot/ankle injury. We will have updates postgame.
Vols’ Dominate Turnover Battle
Tennessee is one of the best teams in the country at turning opponents over. Besides star Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State does not have a guard that can effectively play point guard and handle the basketball.
That led to Tennessee dominating the turnover battle in Friday night’s win over Mississippi State. In the first half, the Bulldogs turned it over 11 times to the Vols’ four turnovers. Tennessee capitalized on it with 11 first half points off turnovers.
Kennedy Chandler, Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler’s ability to get their hands in driving lanes made life difficult for Mississippi State. The trio combined for seven steals in the win and Tennessee is at its best when its guards get steals and start running in transition.
The Bulldogs limited their turnovers in the second half, but Tennessee still had half as many as Mississippi State.
Josiah-Jordan James Breaks It Open
Tennessee led for the vast majority of the first half against Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs made a run to cut the Vols’ lead to two points at halftime.
The Vols immediately took control of the game in the second half, going on a 12-3 run in the opening minutes. … CORRECTION: Josiah-Jordan James went on a 12-3 run to open the second half.
James buried four three-pointers in the first 4:15 of the second half and Tennessee never looked back.
The junior wing made the first two triples on back-to-back possessions forcing Ben Howland to take his third timeout.
A few possessions later, James got in transition, made an excellent pass to Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. Huntley-Hatfield missed the bunny but got the rebound. He kicked it out to James who gave the Vols’ an 11 point lead.
Mississippi State never truly threatened again..
