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Tennessee wasn’t in the mood for another loss on Tuesday night, and it showed.
The 6th-ranked Volunteers, who fell at rival Vanderbilt on Saturday and saw the Commodore fans storm the court in Nashville, bounced back with a vengeance in a 68-56 victory over No. 14 Mississippi State in Knoxville.
Senior guard Chaz Lanier led the way for Tennessee (17-2, 4-2 SEC), scoring 23 points to help the Vols improve to 11-0 at home this season. Jahmai Mashack and Jordan Gainey each added 10 points, and Felix Okpara had 12 rebounds and 9 points.
The game was basically won in the first half, as Tennessee grabbed a commanding 34-16 lead after holding the Bulldogs to 22.2% shooting. Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3), which was coming off a thrilling overtime victory over Ole Miss on Saturday, came out flat. The Bulldogs only managed 6 field goals in the first half and couldn’t recover in the second half.
Mississippi State, which dropped to 1-3 in its past 4 games, was led by Josh Hubbard, who scored 14 points. Riley Kugel added 12 points and RJ Melendez chipped in 10.
Now, Tennessee has the ultimate challenge on Saturday night when it visits No. 1 Auburn for a primetime showdown on the Plains. Tip off is at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
