NCAAB Game Recap - Mississippi State at Tennessee
Fri Mar 15, 2019 9:30 PM EDT

UConn
45
Hou
84
F
URI
75
VCU
70
F
OhSt
70
MSU
77
F
Fla
76
LSU
73
F
UAB
59
ODU
61
F
Gram
71
PVAM
81
F
NOrl
79
SHSU
76
F
How
69
Norf
75
F
Xav
67
Vill
71
F(OT)
CenMI
81
Buff
85
F
FSU
69
UVA
59
F
IaSt
63
KSU
59
F
Web
49
Mont
78
F
SDSU
65
Nev
56
F
Colora
61
Wash
66
F
UTRGV
72
NMSt
79
F
LongB
67
UCIrv
75
F
USM
59
W Ky
70
F
StJos
60
David
70
F
SMU
74
Cin
82
F
Minn
75
Purd
73
F
Bama
55
KY
73
F
SeLA
66
AbCh
69
F
NCC
65
NCAT
63
F
Seton
81
Marq
79
F
ASU
66
TXSo
80
F
Duke
74
UNC
73
F
GrCan
78
UtVal
74
F
Fres
60
UtSt
85
F
Oreg
79
AzSt
75
F(OT)
CS-Ful
64
UCSB
58
F
ULM
67
GaSo
81
F
StLou
64
Dayt
55
F
NIU
67
BGSU
71
F
WichSt
80
Temp
74
F
Iowa
53
Mich
74
F
MissSt
76
Tenn
83
F
WVU
74
Kansas
88
F
S UT
61
E WA
77
F
UCF
55
Mem
79
F
GMas
57
StBon
68
F
Nebras
62
Wisc
66
F
Aub
73
SouthCar
64
F
USA
67
TxSt
79
F

Mar 15, 2019, 9:30 PM EDT

Final

1

2

T

(6) Mississippi State

28

48

76

(3) Tennessee

34

49

83

No. 8 Vols top Mississippi State 83-76 in SEC quarterfinal
Sat Mar 16, 2019 12:25 AM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee will face Kentucky one more time with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament potentially at stake.

Admiral Schofield scored 20 points and No. 8 Tennessee defeated Mississippi State 83-76 in a Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal on Friday night. The third-seeded Volunteers (28-4) advanced to a Saturday semifinal with No. 4 Kentucky (27-5), the second seed in this tournament.

Tennessee lost 86-69 at Kentucky on Feb. 16 to end a school-record 19-game winning streak but trounced the Wildcats 71-52 at home two weeks later.

"Now we're pretty much on neutral ground where you've got two fan bases that really love their teams," Schofield said. "You've got two teams that are very talented fighting for a championship, an SEC championship. It's going to be a great game, I'm pretty sure."

The semifinal pairing represents a rematch of last year's SEC Tournament championship game, which Kentucky won 77-72 to capture its fourth straight title. The other semifinal matches No. 22 Auburn (24-9) against Florida (19-14).

"This is a big-time rivalry for us," Schofield said. "I don't know about them. We sense they don't respect us as much, but we're starting to get our respect back from that side. But at the same time we've got to go out and compete."

Kyle Alexander and Grant Williams each scored 16 points to help Tennessee reach the semifinals. Jordan Bone had 14 points and nine assists with only one turnover, and Jordan Bowden added 10 points.

Aric Holman scored 20 and Quinndary Weatherspoon had 17 for Mississippi State (23-10). Reggie Perry had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Lamar Peters also scored 15 points.

The Bulldogs rallied from a 34-28 halftime deficit to tie the game at 38-all on a Lamar Peters basket with 17:14 left. Tennessee went ahead for good with 14:17 remaining when Bone hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer as the shot clock was running down.

"I kind of just shot it with confidence," Bone said. "I knew I had to get it up."

The game remained close until Tennessee went on a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 59-46 with 9:33 left as Schofield started to take over.

Tennessee led 53-46 when Schofield drove to the basket, scored and drew a foul with 10:53 remaining. Up to that point, Tennessee hadn't attempted a free throw all night.

Less than a minute later, Schofield threw down a one-handed dunk while getting fouled again. Schofield missed the free throw and three-point play opportunity after both baskets, but his big plays put the Vols in control and delighted a pro-Tennessee crowd.

"I think fatigue probably was a factor because we played last night and they didn't," Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said. "That's definitely an advantage."

Schofield added a 3-point basket later to give Tennessee its biggest lead at 65-51 with 7:02 left.

Mississippi State tried to rally but couldn't get the margin below seven the rest of the way.

"Basketball's a game of runs," Peters said. "We allowed them to make a late run, so it was kind of hard for us to get back in the game."

BIG PICTURE

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs couldn't get to the semifinals, but they've done enough to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2009.

"It's not just making it," Howland said. "We want to go in there and perform. No doubt, this entire team has earned this through a long campaign."

Tennessee: The Vols' 28 wins match the second-highest total in school history. Tennessee went 28-9 in 2009-10 and 31-5 in 2007-08. Now the Vols are seeking their first SEC Tournament crown since 1979 and their first NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed in program history.

TRIO OF T's

The game got a little heated with less than five minutes left when players from both teams jawed with one another after Alexander blocked a shot from Mississippi State's Reggie Perry. Alexander, Schofield and Perry all ended up receiving technical fouls.

NOTABLE NUMBER

Tennessee didn't attempt a single free throw for the first 29 minutes of the game but ended up going 10 of 15 from the foul line.

QUOTABLE

"I just know this league deserves a No. 1 seed is what I believe," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "There's no doubt."

UP NEXT

Mississippi State finds out on Sunday the date, location and opponent for its NCAA Tournament first-round game.

Tennessee faces Kentucky in an SEC semifinal Saturday.

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Leaders

Mississippi State PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
A. Holman 20 0 1 6 0 1
Q. Weatherspoon 17 0 2 1 1 0
Tennessee PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
A. Schofield 20 0 2 7 0 1
G. Williams 16 0 0 4 1 1

Team Comparison

MissSt Tenn
Points For 76 83
Field Goals 28/62-45% 34/66-52%
Three Pointers 9/25-36% 5/11-45%
Free Throws 11/20-55% 10/15-67%
Offensive Rebounds 15 16
Defensive Rebounds 20 24
Rebounds 36 46
Blocks 4 7
Steals 6 10
Turnovers 11 9
Personal Fouls 18 14
Technical Fouls 1 2
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - Tenn Leads Series 2-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Tue Mar 5 MissSt 54 @ Tenn 71 T. Carter 14 A. Schofield 18
Fri Mar 15 MissSt 76 @ Tenn 83 A. Holman 20 A. Schofield 20

Game Information

Stadium: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 19,575
Game Time: