Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
No. 9 Tennessee will try to bounce back from a loss to Kentucky when it travels to Mississippi State on Tuesday night. The Vols were riding a five-game winning streak prior to their 63-56 loss to Kentucky on Saturday. Mississippi State has dropped five of its last six games, including an 87-53 loss at Tennessee earlier this month.
No. 9 Tennessee has looked like one of the top teams in the SEC so far this season, suffering just its third loss of the campaign against Kentucky on Saturday. The Vols had won 13 of their last 14 games prior to their 63-56 setback against the Wildcats. Their lone loss during that stretch came on the road at then-No. 9 Arizona in the middle of December. They responded to that loss with a five-game winning streak, including four wins against SEC teams to open that portion of their campaign. Tennessee had its 25-game home winning streak come crashing down in the loss to Kentucky, snapping the nation’s third-longest streak. The Vols were outrebounded by 20, struggling to match Kentucky’s physicality.
first of two on the road this week
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) January 16, 2023
Leading scorer Santiago Vescovi (12.9) played through a shoulder injury, but he went just 1 of 6 from 3-point range after going 17 of 30 (56.7%) over his previous five games. Big man Uros Plavsic was the standout for Tennessee, scoring 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting. The rebounding issues were shocking for the Vols, as they rank fourth nationally in offensive rebounding. They are No. 144 in effective field goal percentage (50.9) and No. 263 in turnover rate. Tennessee is facing a Mississippi State defense that ranks seventh in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency ratings. The Bulldogs rank inside the top 25 in effective field goal percentage, turnover rate and 2-point percentage.