It may not be complete madness, but it’s pretty close. Welcome to March. Tennessee Basketball will be keeping a close eye on the Mississippi State-LSU game Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament. The Vols will play the winner of the matchup on Friday.
UT lost to Mississippi State 77-72 in January and beat LSU 88-68 handily in February. Seemingly, the Vols would rather player the Tigers (17-14, 7-9 in the SEC) than the Bulldogs (19-12, 8-10). However, both teams have plenty to play for with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.
Here are four things for Tennessee Basketball to watch in the matchup.
Giant Killers
State is one of three SEC schools, along with South Carolina and Texas A&M , and one of just 16 schools in the country to beat two AP Top 10 teams in conference play with wins over No. 5 Tennessee Basketball followed by a 64-58 win over No. 8 Auburn. Moreover, State’s losses have come against some strong teams, such as Kentucky, Auburn and South Carolina. The Bulldogs have proven they can play with the big boys, but had a pretty easy schedule – facing the four worst teams in the league – at the end of the season that allowed them to finish strong.
D Up
State has featured a suffocating defense under second-year head coach Chris Jans. The Bulldogs are one of two teams to rank inside the nation’s top 25 last season in scoring defense (61.0 – 2nd SEC – 9th nationally), field goal percentage defense (39.4 – 3rd SEC – 10th nationally) and steals (8.6 – 2nd SEC – 23rd nationally).
Tiger to tame?
In the first meeting with State, guard Trae Hannibal scored 22 points with fellow backcourt mate Jordan Wright scoring 14 points. LSU shot just 41.4-percent from the field (24-of-58) with 3-of-17 from three-point range and 16-of-22 at the line. State made 30-of-65 field goals, 10-of-21 from three-point range and 17-of-22 at the free throw line. LSU had 15 turnovers and just four assists, the fewest for the Tigers since the SEC semifinal in 2016.
Not in the Kitchen
The Tigers will be without Jalen Cook, the starting point guard for LSU that hasn’t lived up to off-court standards. LSU also turns the ball over at the second-highest rate in the conference.
