Mississippi State
18-15,8-10SEC
#9 Tennessee
24-7,14-4SEC
State Drops Decision To No. 9 Tennessee In SEC Tournament
March 11, 2022 | Men's Basketball
TAMPA, Florida – After a win on Thursday earned a spot in the quarterfinals, Mississippi State saw its time in the Southeastern Conference Tournament come to an end on Friday night.
The Bulldogs were eliminated from the event following a 72-59 loss to No. 9 Tennessee at Amalie Arena.
Despite a strong first-half showing in which the Dawgs went nose to nose offensively with the Volunteers, MSU was unable to maintain the pace over the final 20 minutes as Tennessee pulled away.
Both State and Tennessee shot over 50 percent from the floor in the first half. The Bulldogs shot 56.5 percent as a group while the Vols were right at 50 percent. By the time the two teams entered the locker room, MSU was down only two at 39-37.
In the second half, Tennessee took control. The Bulldogs made just six of their last 25 shots from the field (24 percent). Meanwhile, the Vols hit on 14 of their final 28 attempts to surge to victory.
State's efforts were led by Shakeel Moore. He scored a team-best 15 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Tolu Smith added 14 points, D.J. Jeffries tallied 12 and Iverson Molinar accounted for 10.
For Moore, it was his second-straight game to score 10 or more points – the first time he's done so in back-to-back games since late January.
As for Smith, he's now scored 14 or more in each of his last six games, including 20 or more in four of those contests.
Jeffries' 12 points were the most he's scored in an outing since also reaching 12 against Missouri back on February 18.
Molinar has tallied 10 or more points in every game this season.
In addition to having four players score in double figures, the Bulldogs also won the rebounding battle. MSU grabbed 33 boards to Tennessee's 29, however none of it was enough to extend State's stay in Tampa.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM - COACH HOWLAND
"I thought that we came out really strong tonight and had a very good first half. We were really good particularly offensively other than the turnovers. If we hadn't turned the ball over 11 times, we probably would have had the lead. So, I was really proud of how we played in the first half. In the second half, they came out and jumped on us at both ends of the floor. Obviously, Josiah-Jordan Jones hit four three's I think in the first five minutes of the half. The second half, they were huge. That was a problem because James is such a good shooter, and we knew that. I mean, he is shooting great. He shot 50 percent in the last four games going into tonight, and he is 4 for 6 from three. We made a couple of mistakes not going with the body on him. He read it well and faded for wide-open looks. He doesn't need a lot of time. They're a very good shooting team as a club. I think they shoot 37 percent from three as a team in conference games."
"I thought that we got tired. I thought that was evident tonight in that in the second half you could see that some of the guys that are playing a lot of minutes, like these two [Tolu Smith and Iverson Molinar] were really getting worn because when you play back-to-back nights. It's just hard especially when you're playing against a team. That's one of the top 10 teams in the country that is fresh, and that didn't play yesterday. That's the advantage of the double bye is having that opportunity to play a team that's already had to play the night before and getting them. So, credit to Tennessee. I think they've got a really good team. I wouldn't be surprised if they go deep, deep into this NCAA Tournament. They've got a very, very deep team with a lot of size and excellent guard play that can really shoot."
"We absolutely want to continue to play if we're invited to the NIT. Obviously, we wanted to be in the NCAA tournament, but it would be an honor to continue to play for our players and for our coaches. I hope that happens for us. In terms of me next year, that will all be determined after the season is over as it is every year when I sit down with my boss, John Cohen, and discuss the program and the future."
- Mississippi State lost to second-seeded and ninth-ranked Tennessee, 72-59, during Friday's quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament.
- The Bulldogs sliced an eight-point first half deficit down to 39-37 at halftime before Tennessee connected on 10 of its first 14 shot attempts to open up a 16-point lead to start the second half.
- Four Bulldogs registered 10-plus points for the 13th time this season. State dropped to 11-2 when accomplishing the feat.
- Mississippi State held a 33-29 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs have won the battle of the boards in 27 of 33 games this season.
- As a unit, State shot 19-of-48 from the floor (39.6 percent), 6-of-17 from three-point range (35.3 percent) and 15-of-19 from the free throw line (78.9 percent).
Shakeel Moore
- Poured in a team-leading 15 points coupled with six rebounds and three assists.
- Notched 12 of his 17 career games in double figures at MSU.
- Was 5-of-5 at the foul line.
- Drained multiple three-pointers for the 13th time this season.
- His six rebounds were one shy of a season-high.
- Eight of his 11 games with three-plus assists have come against SEC opponents.
- Provided 14 points fueled by a 6-for-7 at the foul line.
- Double figures in 15 of 20 appearances this season and in 35 of 50 career games at MSU.
- Added two assists for his fourth game with multiple dimes.
- Pitched in 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
- The 10 points give Molinar 582 points for the season which is ninth in program history for a single season.
- Molinar also surpassed on the program's all-time scoring list for 23rd place.
- Chipped in six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two points during his second start of the season.
- Shared the team-lead with six rebounds.
- Collected five-plus rebounds on 14 occasions.
- Dished out multiple assists in 12 outings.
- Notched two or more steals in four of his last five games.
- Came away with six points and five rebounds.
- Garnered five or more rebounds in 25 of 33 games.
- D.J. Jeffries was State's top performer off the bench with 12 points and six rebounds.
- Eight of Jeffries' 16 games in double figures have come against SEC opponents.
- Tallied his 12th outing with five or more rebounds.
Mississippi State will await postseason selection. The NCAA Field of 68 will be announced at 5 p.m. CT televised by CBS followed the NIT Field of 32 at 8 p.m. CT televised by ESPNU.
