Early deficit dooms Mississippi State in 73-64 loss to Tennessee

Mississippi State showed a little more fight on Wednesday against Tennessee. But the end result was a familiar one for the Bulldogs.

Josh Hubbard had a game-high 31 points but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs dropped a 73-64 decision to Tennessee at Humphrey Coliseum. With the loss, State dropped to 11-13 overall and 3-8 in the SEC. Tennessee improved to 17-7 overall and 7-4 in the league.

“We dug ourselves a hole along with the way we started the game by not being assignment-correct with the gameplan that we had installed,” head coach Chris Jans recalled. “Our ball-screen coverage was nothing that we’ve haven’t done in the past. It was pretty simple.

“We were all over the board and not in the right spots with the right coverages and with the right angles. They took full advantage of it. They were dunking the ball in our goal four or five times in the first 5-6 minutes and that was very frustrating.”

Hubbard was 13 of 24 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3 point range, and scored 30 or more for the fourth time this season. With his four 3 pointers made, Hubbard also tied the school record with 280 made 3 pointers in his career. Hubbard was the lone Bulldog in double figures while Jayden Epps finished with nine points. Sergej Macura led the Bulldogs in rebounds with eight.

“We knew what we had to do going into this game,” Hubbard noted. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, a very physical game. That stretch where we got within five points, they didn’t get a bunch of offensive rebounds and we were better on the offensive end. When we do that, we can create momentum and get back into the game.”

Ja’Kobi Gillespie led Tennessee with 18 points. Nate Ament added 16 for the Volunteers while J.P. Estrella had 12 points.

Leading by 11 at halftime, Tennessee quickly stretched the lead out even more with an 11-2 run to open the second half. The Bulldogs did fight their way back later in the half and had an 18-0 run to get within five points with six minutes remaining.

But Tennessee answered with an 8-0 run to remove all doubt and sent State to a seventh loss in its last eight SEC games.

“We got a little momentum there and just had to keep it,” added Epps. “We just got to put together a 40-minute game or at least 35 minutes. We got to figure out a way to play a full game and scratch and claw and fight the whole game, and maybe win some of these games we got left.”

For the game, State shot 41% from the floor and made 7 of 22 from 3 point territory. The Bulldogs were 7 of 13 at the foul line and had 11 turnovers. Tennessee shot 44% from the field and made 4 of 13 beyond the 3 point arc. The Vols were 15 of 18 at the foul line, had 11 turnovers and dominated the glass, 45-31, including 13 offensive rebounds.

Thanks to Hubbard’s 20 first-half points, the Bulldogs stayed close with Tennessee for much of the opening half. But then the Bulldogs went over six minutes without scoring and the Vols reeled off a 12-0 run to hold a 39-28 halftime advantage.

State shot just 37% in the opening half and made 4 of 13 beyond the 3 point arc. State was 2 of 4 at the foul line and had seven turnovers in the half. Tennessee shot 47% in the first half and made 2 of 8 from 3 point range. The Vols were 9 of 11 at the line, had six turnovers and dominated the boards, 24-13, in the opening half.

“It is frustrating,” added Jans. “Certainly nobody plays their best all the time. You always want more and are always scratching to get your team to play at their maximum they are capable of. We had that run in the second half to force them to call a timeout or two. But that can’t be why we played a little harder. It’s got to be from the jump. It’s got to be from the get-go and it’s got to be all the time.”

Up Next

Mississippi State hits the road in its next outing with the annual trip to rival Ole Miss. Following Wednesday’s loss at home to Alabama, the Rebels are 11-13 overall and 3-8 in the SEC. Ole Miss captured the previous meeting with State this season, claiming a 68-67 decision at Humphrey Coliseum in January.