Playing with its slim NCAA tournament hopes on the line, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team hung around with second-seeded Tennessee in Friday’s Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal.
For a half, anyway.
Then the Volunteers’ Josiah-Jordan James helped bury the Bulldogs’ tournament chances once and for all.
James began the second half by hitting four 3-pointers in a span of 3 minutes and 22 seconds, pushing a 2-point Tennessee lead into double digits and keeping MSU firmly at arm’s length.
No. 10 seed Mississippi State (18-15) bowed out of the SEC tournament with a 72-59 loss to Tennessee (24-7), effectively closing the book on the Bulldogs’ hopes for an NCAA bid.
“It’s very hard and very difficult because I thought we had a chance to really get there this year,” coach Ben Howland said. “… We had so many close losses during the year, so many losses that would have made the difference.”
Howland named a few of the games that kept Mississippi State from returning to the Big Dance for the first time since 2019: Colorado State, Florida, Arkansas and Alabama — and more.
“You can just keep going — all those games where you really felt like we had a great chance to win and just couldn’t close the deal,” Howland said. “That is probably the part that is most frustrating for me.”
All the games Howland mentioned were away from home; the Bulldogs went just 1-9 in true road games this season. Friday’s game, too, was away from Humphrey Coliseum, and MSU couldn’t overcome the Volunteers at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.
The loss — and a failure to make the NCAA tournament despite so much talent on the roster — could mean the end of Howland’s tenure after seven years in Starkville.
“In terms of me next year, that will all be determined when I sit down with my boss, (athletic director) John Cohen, and discuss the program and the future,” Howland said.
Once again Friday — if for the last time — Howland made Mississippi State competitive but not enough to win.
MSU hung around for roughly 21 minutes, trailing 39-37 at the break. Iverson Molinar, Tolu Smith and D.J. Jeffries all scored nine points in the first half, and Shakeel Moore added eight.
But the Bulldogs couldn’t account for James’ shooting to start the second half. The former five-star recruit buried one triple after another, with only a 3 by Moore breaking up the run. James finished his hot streak by dropping off a nice pass inside, watching forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield miss a layup and catching a pass from Zakai Zeigler on the wing to put Tennessee ahead 51-40.
James had a game-high 16 points for the Vols, who had five players in double digits. The Bulldogs also featured balanced scoring, with Molinar, Smith, Jeffries and Moore all reaching double figures.
But Tennessee’s eight 3-pointers — most of all James’ four — handed the Volunteers the victory. Mississippi State made six triples, heating up from deep after a long cold stretch.
The Bulldogs made just two 3s in their final four regular-season games before hitting three Thursday against South Carolina.
“When you look at what we’ve done this year — we’re 18-15 — probably the biggest thing we didn’t do as well was shoot the ball,” Howland said, pointing to MSU’s 2-for-37 stretch to close the season. “You’re not going to win at this level shooting the ball that poorly.”
The inability to shoot from distance was just one of the reasons Mississippi State’s season will end in the NIT at best. Besides being unable to come out in top in close games, the Bulldogs only had Smith — last season’s leading SEC rebounder — available for 20 contests.
Guard Rocket Watts, a transfer from Michigan State, played in just 19 games, averaging 4.4 points per contest.
“There was a lot of adversity, especially surrounding the fact that one of our top two players missed a ton of games, but I’m just proud of the way the guys handled it and continued to battle,” Howland said.
Throughout the season, Mississippi State sure did battle. It just wasn’t enough.
Howland said the Bulldogs will “absolutely” accept an NIT bid if one is extended to them, though Cohen said MSU will not host games at Humphrey Coliseum because of ongoing renovations, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
“Obviously, we wanted to be in the NCAA tournament, but it would be an honor to continue to play for our players and our coaches,” Howland said. “And so I hope that happens for us.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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