Tennessee Survives Disaster, Achieves Road Win Backed By Guard Play

Tennessee Vols Basketball Survives Disaster, Achieves Road Win Over Mississippi State Bulldogs Basketball Backed By Guard Play

STARKVILLE, Miss.– The No. 19 Tennessee Vols earned their sixth straight conference win with a 72-63 victory over Mississippi State in Starkville on Wednesday night.

In a first half that saw both the Vols and Bulldogs go on a series of runs, Tennessee was up 12 points ten minutes into the game.

However, a 1-13 stretch ensued for the Vols, and the Bulldogs took the lead led by point guard Iverson Molinar. Tennessee regained the lead, but it was a back-and-forth battle until the final three minutes between UT and MSU.

In the final two minutes and 44 seconds, Mississippi State did not accrue a single point, and the Vols were able to salt it away thanks to Zakai Zeigler. Kennedy Chandler and Josiah-Jordan James' second-half performances were even more impressive, as the guard duo combined for 22 of Tennessee's 37 second-half points.

And it was Chandler and James who indeed showed out for Tennessee to grab another impressive win.

Chandler, James Combine for 36, Lead Tennessee to Win

Josiah-Jordan James had just six games of 14 or more points as a Vol before the Texas A&M game. The junior now has three straight outings with 14+. Triple J also has four consecutive games with double-digit points. He's done that one other time at UT, as he had 47 points in a four-game stretch as a freshman. He has 63 points in the last four games.

So, it's clear that James has been playing his best basketball ever since coming to Rocky Top.

James has been the main reason for Tennessee's offensive turnaround, and since he missed the final shot against Texas, he has displayed a different type of poise on the floor.

On Wednesday night, the junior posted a co-team-leading 18 against the Bulldogs, tied with freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler. The duo was spectacular in Starkville and was instrumental in the Vols' ability to fight in the second half and win the dogfight that was the basketball game in Creed Humphrey.

James continued the trend of being phenomenal from beyond the arc, drilling three threes to join Santiago Vescovi as the co-team-high.

Chandler continued the trend of being a menace on defense, grabbing five steals on the night.

Another thing is minutes. James logged a whopping 37 minutes and Chandler 34, some big minutes for a freshman.

Barnes touched on playing those guys, along with Santiago Vescovi, so much and if it will continue in the future.

"It's February. I told these guys that it would happen," Barnes said. "Especially Josiah and Santi. They're ready for it and they know that. We don't want to do it every time, so we need more out of the posts. As for Kennedy, he's more suited for around 28 minutes per game than 34."

Freshmen Big Men Log Significant Minutes

Although the bigs did not log near the guards' minutes in the Vols win, the pair of freshmen in Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Jonas Aidoo saw the court for some big-time minutes on the road.

Huntley-Hatfield got the start for the Vols, a surprise considering Justin Powell was in the probable starting lineup in UT's game notes at the beginning of the week.

And the five-star freshmen came out looking incredible, scoring Tennessee's first four points in the first 1:24. However, the freshman posted zero points and went 0-3 from the floor with a turnover in the remainder of his 13:36 on the floor. BHH was overall solid, as he wasn't expected to be a crucial offensive presence. Barnes is looking for good defensive play from the freshmen big men, and the head coach noted it during the post-game press conference.

"They did great jobs to be playing in a game like this at this time of year. We knew it would be a physical game, and we rebounded well for the most part."

Jonas Aidoo's previous high minute count in a game was five. The four-star had 12 against the Bulldogs and had four rebounds (3 O, 1 D) and a bucket.

Barnes said that Aidoo "looked like he belonged out there" and that "he's a great rim protector, can make a jump shot at a good percentage, too."

Barnes decided to play Aidoo with John Fulkerson and BHH with Uros Plasvic, combining inexperience with experience in both places. Overall, the head coach was pleased with the big men's performances, as he should be. Neither player lit the house on fire, but both contributed to the win and helped fill the void Olivier Nkamhoua left behind.

Vols Avoid Potential Disaster

With just under five minutes remaining in Starkville, five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler landed awkwardly on a stiff leg and went down to the floor in pain on a delayed reaction. Creed Humphrey fell silent, and the situation especially did not look good for the Vols as Chandler had to be helped off the court by trainers as he could not put any weight on his right leg.

However, the best news the Vols and Vol Nation received all night was when Kennedy Chandler went back in the game.

It was just cramps.

"The cramp felt about the size of my knee, though," Chandler said following the game.

"I saw Chandler go down from afar and my heart stopped for a minute. But when they told me it was a cramp I was totally relieved," Josiah-Jordan James said.

Chandler had been electric for the Vols against the Bulldogs like he has been for most of the season, and the impact of his loss combined with Olivier Nkamhoua would have been detrimental.

But, disaster was avoided. Vols win. And the Vols and Tennessee fans everywhere were able to sleep soundly.

Vols Playing for One Another, Will to Win is the Edge

In a back-and-forth game except for the first ten minutes, the Vols had to stay focused and play gritty enough to achieve victory. And that they did.

Backed by James' leadership and stellar performance, excellent play from Vescovi, Zeigler, and Kennedy Chandler, Tennessee was the better team in Starkville. Mississippi State is a good team, and they showed how frustrating they could be on the defensive side, and Iverson Molinar is one of the top players in the SEC.

But the Vols wanted it more. They played for each other and for Olivier Nkamhoua to achieve one of, if not their most impressive road wins of the year.

"We put in so much work," James said. "If we had it our way, Olivier would still be here of course. But we rallied around him, and he's still coaching guys up, being a part of this team. But we are playing for him. We were heartbroken when we got the news, I was there with him. But this team is looking at the bigger picture now. We are asking ourselves, 'What would Olivier do?'

Next for the Vols is a return to Thompson-Boling Arena to host Vanderbilt on Saturday, February 12, at 6 p.m. ET. 

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Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics