#6/7 seed dominates #14 Mississippi State, 68-56

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team recorded an impressive 68-56 victory Tuesday night in a top-15 matchup with No. 1 Mississippi State. 14 in front of a sold-out audience at the Food City Center.

No. 6/7 Tennessee (17-2, 4-2 SEC) led from start to finish in the first-ever matchup between the two longtime league rivals. Fifth year guard Chaz Lanier paced the winners with a game-high 23 points.

The Volunteers made three straight shots in the opening minutes, capped by a 3-pointer from Lanier down the stretch, to take an 8-0 edge after just 2:45. They pushed the lead to 15-4 at the 11:41 mark and held Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3 SEC) to a 1-of-13 start from the floor that included nine consecutive misses.

Tennessee pushed the lead to 13, 19-6, with 8:21 left in the frame, at which point the Bulldogs were 2-of-16 on field goals. Lanier continued his hot long-range shooting, pushing his ledger to 4-of-6 to help the home team stretch the margin to 14, 25-11, with 6:09 left in the half. Mississippi State scored the next five points, and the Volunteers then closed the half on a 9-0 run in the final 2:49 to take an 18-point advantage, 34-16, into the locker room.

Defensively, head coach Rick BarnesThe team held the Bulldogs to a 6-of-27 (22.2 percent) clip in the first 20 minutes, including a 3-of-15 (20.0 percent) tally from deep. On the other end, Tennessee went 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) overall, 6-of-15 (40.0 percent) on 3-pointers and a perfect 4-of-4 at the line. It also registered a 9-0 margin in fast break points.

Mississippi State, aided by back-to-back 3-pointers from senior guard Claudell Harris Jr., scored the first eight points coming out of the break. The Bulldogs scored one fewer point in the first four and a half minutes of the second half than they did in the entire first frame, with their extended 15-4 run to begin the session making it 38-31 with 15:34 to play.

However, Tennessee countered by holding Mississippi State without a basket for 6:23, forcing five consecutive misses. Sparked by the second made 3-pointer by the junior forward Felix Okpara career, the Volunteers went on a 14-2 run, including seven straight points in 1:54, to push the lead to 19, 52-33, with 9:38 left.

Nearly three minutes later, with 6:46 remaining, Tennessee claimed its biggest cushion of the night, 59-39. The Bulldogs, who got no closer than 15 until the final 110 seconds of the final 12-point decider, finished with their lowest point total of 2024-25.

Lanier, who made at least five 3-pointers for the sixth time in his only season at Tennessee, scored nine more points than any other player in the game. Older guard Jordan Gainey and Jahmai Mashack contributed 10 apiece for the Volunteers, with the former going 4-of-4 at the line and the latter going 2-of-2 from long range.

Okpara finished the night with nine points to go along with a season and game-best 12 rebounds. Older guard Zakai Zeigler totaling nine points, seven assists in the game and leading five steals, four of which came in the first 10 minutes.

Sophomore guard Josh Hubbard paced the Bulldogs with 14 points, but Tennessee limited him to a 5-of-16 field-goal clip. Junior guard Riley Kugel recorded 12 points as the Volunteers held him to a 3-of-12 mark from the floor. Senior forward RJ Melendez added 10 points, all but two in the second half, for Mississippi State.

The Volunteers, who went 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) at the stripe, allowed the Bulldogs just a 19-of-56 (33.9 percent) ledger from the field in the triumph.

Next up for Tennessee is a trip to Auburn, Ala., where it takes on top-ranked Auburn in a top-10 showdown, live on ESPN from Neville Arena, which will host the first College GameDay of the season that morning.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops Instagram and X/Twitteras well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER POSTGAME NOTES
• The Volunteers, who recorded their 16th shutout in the last three seasons (2022-25), improved to 34-14 all-time in Food City Center shutouts, including 33-12 since the 2007-08 capacity reduction and 27-6 in Barnes’ 10-year tenure.
• Tennessee also increased its record to 91-33 all-time playing in front of 20,000-plus fans at the Food City Center, including 32-9 under Barnes, with 26 of the last 41 over the last four years (2021-25 ).
• The crowd of 21,678 Tuesday night was the sixth of the season, all in Tennessee’s last seven outings, with over 19,000 fans at the Food City Center.
• Tennessee is now 91-46 all-time against Mississippi State, with its 91 wins third-most against any foe, trailing only Vanderbilt (131) and Georgia (90).
• The Volunteers improved to 10-3 in their last 13 meetings with the Bulldogs, a span dating to February 27, 2018.
• Tuesday marked the first time in 137 all-time meetings – 22 were before the advent of the AP poll in 1948-49 – the Volunteers and Bulldogs were both in the AP top 25.
• In addition, Tuesday marked just the 12th time Tennessee has faced an AP-ranked Mississippi State team – the last being Jan. 12, 2012 – while, by comparison, it was the 12th time in the last 13 series meetings that the Volunteers were ranked .
• Each of Tennessee’s last two home games have featured a first-ever AP top-25 series matchup as it beat No. 23, Georgia, 74-56, just six days ago, on January 15th.
• Barnes improved to 24-7 as a head coach against the SEC’s two Mississippi schools, including 21-7 with the Volunteers and 10-1 at home (all at Tennessee).
• Against Mississippi State specifically, Barnes increased his career record to 15-4, going 12-4 during his Tennessee tenure.
• Tennessee’s .797 (59-15) Tuesday winning percentage during Barnes’ tenure is the best on any day of the week.
• The Volunteers are 3-0 in the home SEC for the fourth time in seven years, including the third in the last four and second in a row.
• Tennessee improved to 32-23 (.582) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 4-1 (.800) in 2024-25 and 17-4 (.810) at home.
• Barnes-led Tennessee teams are now 15-10 (.600) in AP top-15 matchups, including 6-1 (.857) at home.
• The Volunteers moved to 20-7 (.741) at home versus AP top-25 foes in the Barnes era, including 15-1 (.938) since Jan. 30, 2021.
• Tennessee now owns a 12-4 (.750) mark when hosting AP top-15 teams under Barnes, including 10-1 (.909) since Jan. 30, 2021.
• The Volunteers improved to 38-38 (.500) against AP top-25 opponents under Barnes, including 22-11 (.667) since Jan. 22, 2022.
• Tennessee is now 24-23 (.511) when facing AP top-15 teams in the Barnes era, including 17-6 (.739) record since Dec. 22, 2021.
• The Volunteers have held 18-plus-point leads in 15 of their 19 contests this season, including a margin of 26 in 10 of 16.
• Fifteen of Tennessee’s 17 wins are by 12-plus points, with eight by at least 22, four by at least 35 and two by 40-plus.
• Tennessee has allowed 35 or fewer first-half points in 17 of its 19 contests so far, including 29 or fewer on 11 occasions and 22 or fewer five times.
• The Volunteers have held a halftime advantage in 15 of their 19 outings this season, including a margin of seven-plus points 12 times, double digits 10 times, 12-plus eight times, 14-plus seven times and 23-plus three times.
• Mississippi State’s 16 points before halftime marked the second-lowest first-half total by a Tennessee foe in 2024-25, trailing only Western Carolina’s 15 on Dec. 17, 2024.
• The last time Tennessee allowed 20 or fewer points in a half in an SEC contest was Feb. 17, 2024, when Vanderbilt had exactly 20 at the Food City Center.
• Mississippi State scored 10 fewer points than in any other game this season, its previous low being 66 on both Jan. 14 at Auburn and Dec. 14, 2024, against McNeese State in Tupelo, Miss.
• Okpara’s 3-pointer to beat the clock with 14:21 left in the second half marked his first long-range make (and attempt) as a Volunteer and the second make of his career, with the second coming on Dec. 3, 2022 against St. Francis (PA) during his time at Ohio State.
• Okpara has now grabbed double-digit rebounds nine times as a collegian, including twice in his lone season at Tennessee.
• The 12 rebounds for Okpara set a season best – his previous high was 11 on Nov. 27, 2024 against UT Martin – as well as the third-highest career total and marked the fifth time he pulled down the fewest. a dozen rebounds.
• Okpara’s 4-of-5 free throw mark matched the most marks of his career, with the previous three times he hit four from the stripe all on six attempts.
• Okpara’s 32 minutes set a season high – his previous best was 30 on Jan. 11 at Texas – and tied for fourth in college.
• Lanier recorded 20-plus points for the 23rd time in his career, including his eighth this season, with all eight posting at least 22.
• Mashack recorded his 13th double-digit point total, including his fourth in 2024-25 and his second straight at home.
• Mashack connected on two 3-pointers for the sixth time, including the second this season and the second — along with a Feb. 25, 2023 outing against South Carolina — without missing.
• Gainey scored in double figures for the 11th time in 19 games this season after doing so 10 times overall in 36 appearances in 2023-24.
• Gainey matched a career high with two blocks for the fourth time in the last 11 contests after hitting that mark five times – all during his freshman and sophomore years at USC Upstate – in his first 108 appearances.
• Zeigler collected five-plus steals for the sixth time in his career, including hitting that mark for the second straight home run.