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HomeSports#8 Tennessee Vols Basketball drops Mississippi State Bulldogs 87-53 at Thompson-Boling Arena

#8 Tennessee Vols Basketball drops Mississippi State Bulldogs 87-53 at Thompson-Boling Arena

Tennessee Volunteers - UT VolsKnoxville, TN – A stellar offensive performance complemented by stifling defense vaulted No. 8 Tennessee to a dominant rout of Mississippi State, 87-53 in the Vols’ SEC home-opener Tuesday night in Thompson-Boling Arena.
 
Tennessee (12-2, 2-0 SEC) recorded the fourth-highest field goal percentage in program history Tuesday, shooting 69.2% in the 34-point triumph. The Vols connected on 76% of their field goal attempts in the second half.

Tennessee’s red-hot start offensively featured three early triples by Santiago Vescovi. Four Vols scored prior to the first media timeout as the Vols raced to a 16-0 advantage within the game’s opening five minutes.


 
Zakai Zeigler’s first career double-double also featured a career-best single-game assist total as the sophomore registered 11 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Vescovi sparked Tennessee’s offense early, logging 14 first-half points after burying four 3-pointers in the opening stanza. Vescovi has scored at least 14 points in each of the past three games, shooting .600 (12-20) from beyond the arc in that span.
 
Julian Phillips was efficient, tallying 11 points of 5-6 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Tobe Awaka continued his impressive rebounding trend, bringing down six boards while adding nine points on a 4-5 shooting effort.
 
Uros Plavsic and Olivier Nkamhoua mirrored shooting performances, each going 5-5 from the field. Josiah-Jordan James recorded an eight-point night with four assists in his return to action.
 
Mississippi State (11-3, 0-2 SEC) was led by Tyler Stevenson’s 15-point effort. Collectively, the Bulldogs were limited to a .396 clip from the field, making just over 22% of their 3-point attempts. Five Vols reached double-figure scoring in the win, with Tennessee turning defense to offense by accumulated 20 points off 12 Mississippi State turnovers.
 
With the win, Tennessee extends its home win streak to 24 games. Eleven of those wins have been over SEC opponents. The Vols have won eight of the last nine meetings overall against the Bulldogs, including four straight at home.
 
Tennessee made seven of its first 10 shots, including a 4-5 start from beyond the arc. As the midway point of the first half neared, Nkamhoua scored four points on a quick 6-0 UT spurt as the Vols pushed their lead to 24-8.


 
A made James dunk off a fast-break assist from Zeigler extended Tennessee’s first-half lead to 40-14 with just under three minutes remaining before halftime.
 
Tennessee ended the opening half on a 16-8 run after shooting a tick over 64% (9-14) from 3-point land. Mississippi State’s seven first-half field goal makes were overshadowed by the 17 of Tennessee.
 
Tennessee’s largest lead came at the 8:38 mark of the second half as it stretched its advantage to 36 at 75-39 with a James triple. Mississippi State was unsuccessful on all but one of its free throws in the second half, going 1-9 in the final 20 minutes.

The Vols’ first-half point total of 46 was nearly matched in the second frame, with Tennessee registering 41 points after halftime and missing just six field goal attempts, 19-25, in the second half

Defending Thompson-Boiling Arena

Tennessee extended its home win streak to 24 games with Tuesday’s victory—a streak that dates to March 7th, 2021. The Vols’ current home win streak is the sixth-longest in program history. Tennessee has also won 11 straight home games against conference opponents.

First Half Dominance

Tennessee went into halftime possessing a 24-point lead at 46-22. It marked the Vols’ largest halftime lead over an SEC opponent since January 5th, 2019, when Tennessee led Georgia by 29 points at half and went on to win, 96-50.

Points/Assists Double-Double For Zeigler

With his 11-point, 10-assist double-double during the win, Zakai Zeigler became the 15th Vol in program history to record a points/assists double-double and fourth in the Rick Barnes era—joining Jordan Bone, Lamonte Turner and Kennedy Chandler.

Next Up For UT Men’s Basketball

The Tennessee Vols basketball team is back on the road this weekend—traveling to take on South Carolina Saturday in Columbia. The tip-off is set for 2:30pm CT on SEC Network.

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