Mississippi State @ Tennessee preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 5, 2019 ) Mississippi State 54, Tennessee 71

Tennessee squandered an opportunity to earn a share of a second straight SEC title with a late-season meltdown, including blowing an 11-point lead in an 84-80 loss at No. 24 Auburn on Saturday. The eighth-ranked Volunteers, who dropped to the third seed for the SEC Tournament, will look to correct some of their mistakes when they open against sixth seed Mississippi State in a quarterfinal matchup Friday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

After running off a school-record 19 consecutive victories and spending four weeks at No.1, Tennessee has gone 4-3 in its last seven games, albeit all by opponents projected to safely make the NCAA Tournament. "It really goes back to the other three losses we had this year, they pretty much played out the same way, with too many threes and not getting to the foul line enough," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. In their last eight games, Tennessee has averaged 21.8 shots from 3-point range and 14.3 free-throw attempts; the Volunteers had been attempting 18.4 3-point shots and 22.4 free throws per game previously. Mississippi State jumped to a 15-point halftime lead Wednesday against 11th seed Texas A&M and rolled the Aggies 80-54 to set up a rematch with a Tennessee team that posted a 71-54 home victory over the Bulldogs on March 5 in the only game between the teams this season.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (23-9): Quinndary Weatherspoon, an All-SEC First-Team performer (18.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals during regular season) had 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals as the Bulldogs solidified their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2008-09 and won for the seventh time in nine games. Junior guard Tyson Carter (10.7 points) scored 14 points against the Aggies and is averaging 15.8 points over his last eight games as a starter. Reggie Perry (9.7 points, 7.0 rebounds), an All-SEC Freshman pick, has registered 13.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over his last 14 outings; his 8.8 rebounds per game ranks third in conference games, first among freshmen.

ABOUT TENNESSEE (27-4): The Volunteers outrebounded the Tigers 37-25 and received 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists from junior forward Grant Williams, but they shot 9-of-28 from the 3-point line and attempted just 16 free throws. Williams (19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists), who shot 57 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the foul line, was named SEC Player of the Year for the second straight season, senior wing Admiral Schofield (16.3, 6.3, 2.0) also earned first-team recognition and junior point guard Jordan Bone (13.4 points, SEC-leading 6.1 assists) earned a nod on the second team. The Vols will need better play out of guard Lamonte Turner (10.3 points, 3.7 assists), who is 6-of-42 on 3-point attempts over his last seven games, although fellow junior Jordan Bowden (10.5 points, 3.4 assists) has scored 28 points in his last two games after recording 24 on 9-of-33 shooting in his previous five games.

TIP-INS

1. Schofield had 18 points while Williams added 14 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting against the Bulldogs, who held Weatherspoon to seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.

2. Williams became just the 10th player in conference history to win the player of the year award in back-to-back years and the first since Arkansas' Corliss Williamson did so in 1994 and 1995. Former Vols Bernard King and Dale Ellis won the award twice as well.

3. Weatherspoon has garnered three All-SEC nods during his career, becoming the 13th player in program history to accomplish that feat. The 6-5 senior pumped in a SEC-leading 19.4 points per game during conference play and is the SEC's active leading scorer with 1,968 points - third on the school's all-time list.

PREDICTION: Tennessee 86, Mississippi State 73