Mizzou men’s basketball vs. Tennessee Volunteers: SEC Tournament lineups, TV, time
THE DETAILS
When: 2:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tennessee)
TV: ESPN
Odds: Tennessee -6
STARTING LINEUPS
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 24 | Kobe Brown | 6-8 | Sr. | 15.9 |
F | 0 | Mohamed Diarra | 6-10 | Jr. | 3.6 |
G | 5 | D’Moi Hodge | 6-4 | Sr. | 14.1 |
G | 4 | Deandre Gholston | 6-5 | Sr. | 10..5 |
G | 10 | Nick Honor | 5-10 | Jr. | 8.5 |
P | No. | Tennessee | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 13 | Olivier Nkamhoua | 6-8 | Fr. | 10.6 |
F | 2 | Julian Phillips | 6-8 | Fr. | 9.0 |
G | 15 | Jahmai Mashack | 6-4 | So. | 4.2 |
G | 30 | Josiah-Jordan James | 6-6 | Sr. | 10.1 |
G | 25 | Santiago Vescovi | 6-3 | Sr. | 12.7 |
About Tennessee (23-9, 11-7 SEC):
The Volunteers defeated Mississippi 70-55 to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will take on Missouri on Friday afternoon. Josiah-Jordan James tallied 20 points, his fourth consecutive double-figures performance since returning from injury. He did not play in the team’s loss in Knoxville. Santiago Vescovi, the team’s leading scorer, posted 15 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
One of the major storylines for the Tennessee program is the injury to star guard Zakai Ziegler. Ziegler is out for the season with an ACL injury. The pesky defender caused havoc on the defensive end with an average of two steals per game and also dished out more than five assists per contest. Tennessee lost its first full game without him but seemed more controlled in its win over Mississippi. The Volunteers had 15 assists on 24 made baskets and limited Mississippi to 22 points in the second half after the Rebels got off to a fast start. Tennessee trailed 25-19 midway through the first half, but closed on a 20-8 run.
Missouri and Tennessee only met once in the regular season with the Tigers winning on a buzzer beater from DeAndre Gholston. Tennessee trailed for most of the game but seemed to seize control in the final minutes. The Volunteers missed two free throws on their final possession of the game and Missouri drained a three-pointer for the win on the other end. While this game does not have at-large bid implications, it could impact seeding and will give Tennessee more time to adjust without Zeigler before the NCAA Tournament.
About Missouri (23-8, 11-7):
For the first time since joining the Southeastern Conference, Missouri enters tournament play with a double bye. The Tigers finished the regular season with four straight wins over Mississippi State, Georgia, LSU and Mississippi. Those four wins followed back-to-back losses and essentially clinched an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
In Missouri’s win against Tennessee earlier this year, the Tigers were without Isiaih Mosley due to personal reasons. It is unclear if he will play in a game for the rest of the year. In the win, Kobe Brown scored 21 points, Gholston added 18 and Sean East posted 17 points off the bench. Missouri had a 17 point lead in the second half, but the Vols took a six point lead with 4:32 remaining. The Tigers scored five straight points at the free throw line and later won on a Gholston buzzer beater.
If Missouri were to win Friday, it would face the winner of Alabama and Mississippi State in the semifinals on Saturday. This will be Missouri’s first test against a top opponent in nearly a month and could serve as a springboard into the NCAA Tournament.