#5 Tennessee Vols Basketball takes on Mississippi State in SEC Tournament

Tennessee (24-7 | 14-4 SEC) vs. Mississippi State (20-12 | 8-10 SEC)
Friday, March 15th, 2024 | 12:00pm / 1:00pm ET
Nashville, TN | Bridgestone Arena | TV: ESPN

Nashville, TN – The SEC regular season outright champion and fifth-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team opens play at the 2024 SEC Tournament Friday afternoon, facing ninth-seeded Mississippi State in the quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena. Tipoff is slated for 12:00pm CT.

Fans can catch Friday’s game between the Vols (24-7) and Bulldogs (20-12) on ESPN. Karl Ravech (play-by-play), Jimmy Dykes (analyst), and Marty Smith (reporter) will have the call.

Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.

Tennessee dropped a hard-fought battle to No. 15 Kentucky, 85-81, Saturday evening at a sold-out, over-capacity Food City Center in the final game of the regular season. Fifth-year guard and SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht, in his final home outing, registered a career-best 40 points, the 16th such showing in program history and most by any player against the Wildcats in over 11 years, for fourth-ranked Tennessee.

The Matchup

The Volunteers are 10-3 all- time against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament—its most wins over any school—with four straight wins, including a 3-0 mark under Rick Barnes.

Tennessee is 9-2 in its last 10 outings versus the Bulldogs, dating back to 2/27/18. It was ranked in each win and unranked in one of the two defeats (2/1/20).

Before a 77-72 road setback on 1/10/24 in which Dalton Knecht had 26 second-half points, the Vols had won five straight over the Bulldogs, by an average of 14.0 ppg. The streak included the biggest win (34 points) in series history, 87-53, on 1/3/23.

Mississippi State placed ninth in the league at 8-10 after dropping its last four regular season games, but it opened the SEC Tournament with a 70-60 victory over LSU.
Freshman guard Josh Hubbard, a Second Team All-SEC choice, leads the Buldogs with 16.8 ppg.

Rick Barnes is 22-6 against the SEC’s two Mississippi schools as a head coach, including 19-6 in his nine-year tenure at Tennessee.

News and Notes

Tennessee won the SEC regular season crown for the 11th time, notching its sixth outright title.

The Volunteers are 74-57 (.565) all-time in SEC Tournament play, with five championships and an 11-6 record (one title) under Rick Barnes. They are 45-17 (.726) in opening games, including 6-1 (.857) in Barnes’ tenure. UT is 15- 12 (.556) in Nashville, with a 6-5 (.545) mark under Barnes.

Since the SEC Tournament returned from a 26-year hiatus in 1978-79, this is the first time in the non-divisional format—that was used from 1991-92 through 2010- 11—the Volunteers are the top seed. Tennessee was the East No. 1 seed in 1999, 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2009.

The Volunteers have reached the title game three of the last five SEC Tournaments. They fell in the final in 2018 and 2019, then won the championship in 2022.

Dalton Knecht’s 25.5 ppg scoring average in SEC action led all DI playes in league play and marked the second-best figure in the SEC in the last 22 years (2002-24).

Dalton Knecht, a The Sporting News unanimous First Team All-American, won SEC Player of the Year from both the league’s coaches and the AP (unanimous). He is the 10th different Vol—14th honor in 13 seasons—to win SEC POY, second-most of any team.

Zakai Zeigler became the second Tennessee player to win SEC Defensive Player of the Year and the fourth individual in league history to be a three-time SEC All-Defensive Team picks. He claimed First Team All-SEC plaudits from the coaches and Second Team All-SEC accolades from the AP.
 
Jonas Aidoo collected First Team All-SEC designation from the AP, as well as Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team nods from the league’s coaches.
 
Rick Barnes‘ last win was his 100th in SEC play, and his next one will be his 200th overall at UT.
 
Zakai Zeigler (988) is 12 points away from 1,000 in his career, while Santiago Vescovi (206) is five steals shy of the program’s all-time record (211) held by Vincent Yarbrough (1998-2002).

Racking Up Ranked Victories

In the past four years (2020-24), Tennessee leads all SEC teams with 21 AP top-25 wins, good for six more than any other SEC program (Alabama has 15). That tally ties Purdue for fourth in the country.

In that same four-year span, UT also leads the SEC in wins over teams in the AP top 20, top 15, top 10 and top five. Its 19 top-20 wins rank fourth nationally and 16 top-15 victories place third. Its eight top-10 triumphs sit co-sixth alongside Purdue and Texas, while its five top-five wins match Arizona, Gonzaga and Michigan State for the most in the nation.

The eight AP top-10 triumphs during that time are: #1 Alabama (2/15/23), #3 Kansas (11/25/22), #3 Auburn (2/26/22), #4 Kentucky (2/15/22), #5 Kentucky (3/12/22), #6 Arizona (12/22/21), #10 Texas (1/28/23) and at #10 Kentucky (2/3/24).

Over the last four seasons (2020-24), UT has played 36 games against AP top-25 opponents, the most in the league, posting a 21-15 (.583) ledger. The Vols are the only SEC team, regardless of number of games, with a winning record against ranked foes during that span. Auburn is a distant second with a .455 (10-12) mark.

Tennessee (36), Alabama (34), and Arkansas (33) are the only SEC teams to play 30-plus ranked foes since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.

Winning Ways

Over the last seven seasons, dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Tennessee paces all SEC programs in total victories (168), winning percentage (.724) and (through 3/12/24) postseason wins (15). In that span, the Vols have claimed three SEC titles, winning the regular season in 2018 and 2024, as well as the tournament in 2022.

In that same seven-year stretch, the Vols are one of only three SEC schools with an overall winning percentage of over .650, alongside Auburn (.723) and Kentucky (.703).

In SEC play over the same seven-year period, Tennessee (86-39; .688) is second in the league, behind Kentucky (87-38; .696), in both victories and winning percentage.

Only Auburn (81-45; .643) and Alabama (78-48; .619) have even 70-plus wins.

Over just the last three seasons (2021-24), UT owns a 76-26 (.745) overall record. That is good for the most victories and the best winning percentage of any SEC team in that span. Auburn (73-26; .737) ranks second in both categories.

INAM: “It’s Not About Me”

The Volunteers have posted 20-plus assists 11 times this season. They have reached 25-plus thrice, with a high of 28 against Vanderbilt (2/17/24).

Tennessee has a 60.8 percent assist rate that ranks No. 13 nationally, per KenPom, through 3/12/24.

Last season, Tennessee placed second nationally, per KenPom, with a 66.2 percent assist rate. It also logged a 64.9 percent mark in SEC play.

Poll  Presence

Tennessee has played 198 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll in Rick Barnes‘ tenure, posting a stellar 148-50 (.747) record. Over 66.0 percent of the Volunteers’ games since Barnes arrived in 2015- 16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll.

UT is 127-45 (.738) while ranked in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 96-32 (.750) while in the top 15, 76-23 (.768) while in the top 10, 35-10 (.778) while in the top five, 17-2 (.895) while in the top three and 7-1 (.875) while at No. 1.

The Vols are 27-21 (.563) in top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 21-14 (.600) with both teams in the top 20, 12-8 (.600) with both in the top 15 and 7-5 (.583) with both in the top 10.