Missouri vs Tennessee: 2023 SEC Tournament game preview, TV schedule

It’s Missouri vs Tennessee for a chance to make the SEC Tournament semifinals. Which team has the advantage ahead of this matchup?

TV schedule: Friday, March 10th, 3:00 pm ET. ESPN

Arena: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee

Missouri (23-8) looks to keep their four-game winning streak alive when they meet Tennessee (23-9) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. This will be Missouri’s first game of the conference tournament as they earned a double bye as the No. 4 seed. Tennessee made its way to the quarterfinals by taking down Ole Miss.

The Tigers are finally healthy and have their offense firing on all cylinders, winning their last four games averaging 78.5 ppg over that stretch. Missouri is led by All-SEC First Team senior forward Kobe Brown (15.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and senior guard D’Moi Hodge (14.3 ppg, 2.7 spg) as they eye a run to the conference title game. Missouri should be a lock for the NCAA Tournament, and a couple of wins in the conference tournament should solidify their spot.

Tennessee, on the other hand, dropped a couple of games down the stretch falling out of the double bye on the last day of the regular season. The Vols will be without starting point guard Zakai Zeigler, who suffered a torn ACL in their late-season win over Arkansas. In Zeigler’s absence, Tennessee is led by All-SEC First Team senior guard Santiago Vescovi (12.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg) as the Vols look to get revenge on Missouri, who left Knoxville with a win on a DeAndre Gholston three at the buzzer.

In their previous matchup, Missouri got off to a hot start, taking a 12-point lead into the half, only for Tennessee to come storming back with a huge second half. Both teams proved they could get hot from beyond the three-point line that night, combining for 26 made threes.

The Tigers will need another hot start to have any hopes of beating a good Tennessee team. Missouri, who has struggled at times away from home on the season, has to score early and often to stay ahead of a very good defensive Tennessee team. The Vols have the third-best defense coming into the conference tournament only allowing 57.5 ppg, well below the 80.1 ppg the Tigers average on the season. Tennessee, along with its tough defense, is also one of the better rebounding teams in the country.

This game should come down to a couple of things, first, can Missouri score the ball? The Tigers are undefeated on the season when they make 10 or more threes. And secondly, can they get a strong enough defensive performance to allow them to get and sustain a lead? Missouri has shown they can do both of these things. Missouri fans have a reason to be hopeful since the Tigers have been playing better as of late and should be able to hold off Tennessee in a tight game.