Postgame Notes: MSU vs. No. 9 Tennessee

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State fell 70-59 to No. 9 Tennessee in-front of 8,797 fans at Humphrey Coliseum. The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 12-6 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
The Volunteers secured their fifth straight victory and have won nine of the last 10 in the series. Each of Tennessee's nine victories have come as a ranked team since 2016-17.
Mississippi State led for a majority of the first half and grabbed its largest lead at 19-10 advantage with 6:38 remaining. The Vols regrouped behind 13 of the last 17 points to even the score at 23-23 heading into the locker room.
Tennessee used eight three-pointers during the second half highlighted by a quartet of triples over the last 10 minutes to pull away for the 11-point win.
The Bulldogs collected 10 steals and forced Tennessee into 17 turnovers. State has piled up 10+ steals in three of its last four outings and 10 of 18 games this season.
The Maroon and White converted those 17 turnovers into a 20-13 advantage in points off takeaways.
As a team, the Bulldogs connected on 19-of-57 from the floor (33.3 percent), 7-of-26 from three-point territory (26.9 percent) and 14-of-22 from the free throw line (63.6 percent).
Conversely, Tennessee was 23-of-51 on its shot attempts (45.1 percent), made 10-of-24 of its triples (41.7 percent) and were 14-of-15 at the charity stripe (93.3 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Tolu Smith

Recorded his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Marked his fourth double-double of 2022-23 and 17th career double-double.
His 13th game in double figures this season and 49th career outing of 10+ points.
Moved to within 76 points of becoming the 6th MSU player since 2017-18 and 42nd player overall to reach 1,000 career points in program history.
Started 68 of 69 career outings in Maroon and White.

D.J. Jeffries

Contributed another all-around effort with nine points, four rebounds, and three steals.
Recorded multiple steals for the 7th time this season and 23rd time over his career.
Drew to within 48 points from reaching 1,000 for his career
Started 49 of his 52 career games at MSU.
Was 2-of-2 from three-point range which marked his 5th game this year with multiple treys.

Eric Reed Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Provided three points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Grabbed 5+ rebounds in 10 games this season and 28 times during his career.
Dished out multiple assists in 11 games this season and 29 occasions over his career.
Notched 2+ steals for the 9th time in 2022-23 and 28th time in his career.

Dashawn Davis

Added nine points, five assists and two steals.
Knocked down multiple treys for the 5th time this year.
Has distributed 5+ assists in three games in 2022-23 and for the 22nd time in his career.

Bench

Shakeel Moore was State's top performer off the bench with a career-high 20 points to go along with three steals and two assists.
His performance enabled the Bulldogs to hold a 20-6 edge in bench points.
Connected on a season's best 8-for-8 mark from the free throw line.
Amassed 10+ points for the second time in the last three outings and for the 21st time during his career.
Collected multiple steals in 11 of his 16 appearances this season and for the 40th occasion over 75 career games.

Mississippi State University Athletics