Vescovi, Zeigler lead No. 8 Vols to 87-53 rout of Miss St.
AP
Jan 03, 2023
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Santiago Vescovi scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 11 points and 10 assists, and No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers beat Mississippi State Bulldogs 87-53 on Tuesday night.
The Volunteers (12-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) had five players score in double figures as they won for the 24th consecutive time at home, dating to the last game of the 2020-21 season. Julian Phillips scored 11 points and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic had 10 each.
''(Zeigler) saw the floor well,'' Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. ''He was smooth when the inside-out passes came to him.''
Zeigler downplayed his double-figure assists. ''It was just making the right feeds and guys were making shots,'' he said.
Tyler Stevenson scored 15 points to lead the Bulldogs (11-3, 0-2), who dropped their third straight. Mississippi State's leading scorer and rebounder, 6-foot-11 Tolu Smith, had a quiet game with nine points and two rebounds.
Tennessee scored the first 16 points of the game, hitting 6 of 8 shots and 4 of 5 3-pointers. Mississippi State went the first 6:14 without scoring. The Bulldogs missed all five of their shots and had three turnovers. Tennessee led 46-22 at halftime.
''The definition of a gut punch,'' said Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. ''In the blink of an eye, the mood completely changed. You couldn't draw up a worse start.''
''We did an unbelievable job of playing hard,'' Barnes said. ''We got some rhythm going.''
Tennessee hit 36 of 52 shots (69%) from the field. The Vols only shot three free throws and made all of them.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Vols had a come-from-behind victory over Ole Miss that may have counted against them. They slipped a spot to No. 8 in this week's poll, being passed by Alabama. . The Associated Press issued 19 polls in the 2022 calendar year. Tennessee was listed in all of them. Its highest rank was No. 5 in last season's year-end poll.
BIG PICTURE
Mississippi State: After winning their first 11 games, the Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 15 in the poll. The Bulldogs have wins over Marquette, Utah and Minnesota. If Mississippi State is going to recover from this skid, it will need Smith to lead the way.
Tennessee: The Vols continue to be patient in terms of the physical readiness of redshirt senior Josiah-Jordan James. Coach Rick Barnes said James is ''doing better'' as he tries to come back from knee soreness that has caused him to miss eight of the first 13 games. His minutes were limited Tuesday, but he went full speed with a steal and dunk in the first half and finished with eight points in 17 minutes.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State: Hosts rival Ole Miss on Saturday.
Tennessee: At South Carolina on Saturday.
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1st Half
MSST
Bulldogs
22
TENN
Volunteers
46
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Tolu Smith vs. Uros Plavsic (Volunteers gains possession)
19:39
+2
Uros Plavsic makes two point layup
0-2
19:12
Tolu Smith misses two point layup
19:10
Julian Phillips defensive rebound
18:58
+3
Tyreke Key makes three point jump shot (Olivier Nkamhoua assists)
0-5
18:33
Dashawn Davis misses three point jump shot
18:31
Julian Phillips defensive rebound
18:20
+3
Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot
0-8
17:51
Uros Plavsic blocks Tyler Stevenson's three point turnaround jump shot
17:49
Santiago Vescovi defensive rebound
17:41
Tyreke Key misses three point jump shot
17:39
Tyler Stevenson defensive rebound
17:37
Jump ball. Tyler Stevenson vs. Santiago Vescovi (Bulldogs gains possession)
17:14
Tyler Stevenson misses two point jump shot
17:12
Uros Plavsic defensive rebound
17:03
+3
Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot
0-11
16:41
Uros Plavsic personal foul (Tyler Stevenson draws the foul)
16:25
D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot
16:23
Tolu Smith offensive rebound
16:19
Tolu Smith turnover (lost ball) (Jonas Aidoo steals)
16:05
Cameron Matthews personal foul (Santiago Vescovi draws the foul)
15:49
Shakeel Moore turnover (lost ball) (Zakai Zeigler steals)
15:34
+3
Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot (Jonas Aidoo assists)
0-16
15:14
Cameron Matthews turnover (traveling)
15:14
TV timeout
14:48
Zakai Zeigler turnover (bad pass) (Shakeel Moore steals)
14:43
Dashawn Davis turnover (lost ball) (Zakai Zeigler steals)
14:34
Josiah-Jordan James misses two point jump shot
14:32
Shakeel Moore defensive rebound
14:04
D.J. Jeffries misses two point jump shot
14:02
Will McNair Jr. offensive rebound
13:46
+2
D.J. Jeffries makes two point layup
2-16
13:46
Josiah-Jordan James shooting foul (D.J. Jeffries draws the foul)
13:46
+1
D.J. Jeffries makes regular free throw 1 of 1
3-16
13:23
Josiah-Jordan James misses two point jump shot
13:21
Cameron Matthews defensive rebound
13:04
Shakeel Moore misses three point jump shot
13:02
Will McNair Jr. offensive rebound
12:59
Will McNair Jr. misses two point hook shot
12:57
Zakai Zeigler defensive rebound
12:33
Tyreke Key offensive foul (Shakeel Moore draws the foul)
12:33
Tyreke Key turnover (offensive foul)
12:19
Shakeel Moore misses three point jump shot
12:17
KeShawn Murphy offensive rebound
12:06
KeShawn Murphy misses two point jump shot
12:04
Jonas Aidoo defensive rebound
12:05
Will McNair Jr. personal foul (Jonas Aidoo draws the foul)
11:44
+2
Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point jump shot (Tyreke Key assists)
3-18
11:33
Jonas Aidoo shooting foul (Tolu Smith draws the foul)
11:33
TV timeout
11:33
+1
Tolu Smith makes regular free throw 1 of 2
4-18
11:33
+1
Tolu Smith makes regular free throw 2 of 2
5-18
11:20
Cameron Matthews blocks Santiago Vescovi's three point jump shot
11:18
Jamel Horton Jr. defensive rebound
11:03
+3
KeShawn Murphy makes three point jump shot (Jamel Horton Jr. assists)
8-18
10:36
+2
Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)
8-20
10:21
Jamel Horton Jr. turnover (bad pass) (Santiago Vescovi steals)
10:17
Cameron Matthews shooting foul (Santiago Vescovi draws the foul)