Mississippi State and Tennessee will meet in one of the best SEC games in the regular season’s final week; will the Volunteers win another big home game or can the Bulldogs pull the upset?
TV schedule: Tuesday, March 5, 9:00 pm ET. SECN
Arena: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee
Prior to a rough game on Saturday, Mississippi State (21-8) had turned things around and had gotten on quite a roll. They had won five straight games before losing at Auburn. There were big expectations for Ben Howland’s team, though a 9-7 mark isn’t anything to be disappointed about. The Bulldogs were swept by Kentucky and lost a close home game to LSU, but this is their only shot at Tennessee, a prime shot to show they belong near the top of the SEC.
Quinndary Weatherspoon (18.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg) stands out on this Bulldogs’ team. A few weeks ago he had 31 points in a 68-67 win at Georgia and he’s a solid 3-point shooter. Another guy to watch is junior guard Lamar Peters (11.3 ppg, 5.3 apg), a key distributor who can also shoot well. Freshman forward Reggie Perry (9.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg) is the man to watch down low, collecting a season-high 14 boards against Auburn this past weekend.
They aren’t ranked anymore, but the Bulldogs are still highly rated, sitting at 21st in KenPom and 16th in offensive efficiency. The team is efficient from outside (45th in 3-pointers) and can grab a fair amount of offensive rebounds. Weatherspoon is this team’s best offensive player and when he’s hitting shots, this can be a dangerous group.
Defending their home court, Tennessee (26-3) remains one of this nation’s highest-ranked teams. After a really hot start, including a 19 game winning streak, the Volunteers struggled at Kentucky and lost a close game at LSU. However, they silenced the doubters with a win at Ole Miss and a destruction of Kentucky on Saturday.
Grant Williams (19.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and Admiral Schofield (16.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg) are the scorers to watch for the Volunteers, but they aren’t all the offense. Junior guard Jordan Bone (13.6 ppg, 6.1 apg) led the way with 27 points against the Wildcats this weekend. Williams has shined for most of the year, including his 43-point outburst at Vanderbilt and remains this team’s best offensive player. Schofield put up 27 points in that close loss to LSU.
Tennessee is just 7th in KenPom, but rank 3rd in offensive efficiency. The Volunteers are in the top ten both offensively and defensively when it comes to 2-pointers, with Williams and Schofield very capable down low. This team is 20th in turnovers, and avoiding key mistakes has helped them build that elite record.
For the Bulldogs to pull the upset, they’ll need a great game out of Weatherspoon. They’ll also need their interior defense to step up and contain Schofield and Williams, a task easier said than done. If the Volunteers can build on the momentum from their win over Kentucky then they should pull out this game. They’ll need to make their shots and do what they can to limit Weatherspoon.
I don’t expect the Volunteers to win a second straight blowout at home, but the Bulldogs have their work cut out for them in containing Tennessee’s stars on offense. Expect the Volunteers to hold serve at home, but I don’t think they’ll run away with this game by any means.