Tennessee 75, Mississippi State 68: Jordan McRae recorded 29 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as the visiting Volunteers tamed the Bulldogs.
Jarnell Stokes added 14 points and nine boards for Tennessee (17-11, 8-7 SEC), which finished 17-of-20 from the foul line. Jeronne Maymon chipped in with 10 points and 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double for the Volunteers, who overcame 39.4-percent shooting from the field.
Roquez Johnson led the way with 19 points for Mississippi State (13-15, 3-12), which has dropped 10 games in a row. Fred Thomas tallied 18 points and six rebounds in a reserve role while Gavin Ware grabbed a team-high seven boards for the Bulldogs, who went 3-of-14 from beyond the arc.
Armani Moore's dunk put Tennessee ahead 27-17 and McRae led all scorers with 12 points in the first half as the Volunteers took a 35-24 advantage into the break. Craig Sword's driving layup trimmed the deficit to four with 14½ minutes remaining before McRae knocked down a 3-pointer to stretch Tennessee's advantage to 50-43 with just less than 12 minutes to go.
McRae capped off a 9-2 run with a dunk to help the Volunteers regain their 10-point cushion with 8½ minutes remaining. Mississippi State pulled within 67-63 late, but could get no closer as the Bulldogs lost their third straight in the series to Tennessee.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Tennessee improved to 78-41 all-time against Mississippi State. … The Bulldogs have lost 16 straight games in the month of February. … The Volunteers grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to win the battle of the boards 43-35.
Tennessee | Mississippi St. | |
Jordan McRae 29 | Scoring | Roquez Johnson 19 |
Antonio Barton 4 | Assists | Craig Sword 3 |
Jeronne Maymon 11 | Rebounds | Gavin Ware 7 |
Jordan McRae 7 | Free Throws Made | Roquez Johnson 7 |
Armani Moore 3 | Steals | Jacoby Davis 2 |
Antonio Barton 1 | Blocks | Colin Borchert 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Tennessee | 75 | 39.4 | 6-21 | 17-20 | 12 | 40 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
Mississippi St. | 68 | 42.9 | 3-14 | 17-24 | 10 | 29 | 3 | 7 | 11 |